Friday 28 March 2014Year 5 124th Edition Tel: 013 262 4416

Patients at Philadelphia Hospital in Dennilton get no surgeries becausethe theatre is not functioning. According to some of the patients, whoawait operations, they have been turned away several times whenvisiting the hospital.The hospital also experiences food shortages and now patient’s rela-tives started to supply food to their family members who are admitted inthe hospital. Even nurses and doctors have reached into their pocketsto feed some of the patients in the hospital.A community member, who wishes not to be named, informed theDispatch that the problems started last year. He added that some of thepatients are admitted since December last year and are still waiting foroperations. “The hospital refers patients to other hospitals in theprovince but most of the patients are told to wait as the hospitals outthere perform many surgeries daily,” he said.An employee, who also wished to remain anonymous, said that theirworking condition in the hospital is also not safe. She added that theysometimes refuse to perform their duties because the Health Departmentis not taking their issues seriously.“The equipment we use in the theatre is very old and we find it difficultto do our daily duties. Air conditioners in the theatre have not beenfunctioning, making the theatre too hot or too cold and this resulted inits closure. Laundry machines were also not working and this also ledto the laundry to be outsourced. The unavailability of essential drugs,basic equipment, cancellation of surgeries, lack of basic supplies suchas food products and cleaning and antiseptic materials as well as poorinfrastructure has caused the rights of patients to basic health to be

No food No Surgeries at Philadelphia Hospitalviolated,” she said.It was also confirmed that the hospital is alsofacing food shortages as patients were givenbread for three consecutive days. Patients arenow relying on relatives for daily suppliesbecause of the apparent failure by the govern-ment to pay service providers. Hospital staffnow fears for patients whose relatives are poorand cannot provide food.A nurse at Philadelphia Hospital, who did notwant to be named, said: "There has to be anurgent intervention, otherwise we might starttalking about patients dying because of thisneglect".Adele van der Linde, Media Liaison Officer ofthe Department of Health and Social Develop-ment responded as follows: The PhiladelphiaHospital’s operating theatre is currently onlyequipped to handle emergency operations dueto outdated medical technical equipment. Othersurgeries are referred. However, the Depart-ment is currently assessing the costs of up-grading the theatres to ensure that it is 100%functional again.The contracted service provider that is con-tracted to deliver groceries to the hospital in-

deed let the hospital down in delivering much-needed fresh producesand this resulted in a backlog over the past weekend. This situation hassince been rectified but the Department has been informed of the non-delivery of service by the company in question and urgent interventionsare being made. We simply cannot allow service providers to render poorquality services that, in turn, lead to poor service delivery in ourhospitals. Healthy, nutritious meals for patients is one of the non-negotiable issues.

The locked door of the main surgury room at Philladelpiahospital. No services are delivered from this room.

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Because of the failure of Elias Motsoaledi LocalMunicipality to upgrade the roads, DA mem-bers took a stand and volunteered to fix theinternal roads at Ga-Matlala Lehwelere in ward14. The roads were in a poor condition and thesituation became worse when the recent rainswashed away parts of the roads and causeddongas, making it difficult for residents to usethe roads. Many roads were damaged after theheavy rains and Limpopo authorities recorded180mm of torrential rain in about an hour. Ac-cording to the community members, munici-palities failed to visit most affected areas wherehouses and roads were severely affected.DA Councillor at Elias Motsoaledi Municipal-ity, David Matsepe told the Dispatch that hereported the condition to the municipality butwith no success as the municipality failed toassist. He then gathered some of the DA activ-ists to fix the roads and make them accessiblefor motorists.“There has been heavy rains which led to someof our roads been washed away. This resultedin those roads been partly and/or completelyclosed, leaving the community struggling toperform some of their day to day duties. Thisalso affected learners and their school trans-portation as taxis were not able to pick them upin the village,” Matsepe added.“Residents in the ward decided to mend theroads as local businesses and the municipalityfailed to give a hand. We then voluntarily fixedthe roads to make them accessible for commu-nity members,” he said.He added that it took about 35 volunteers to dothe job and now the roads are in a bettercondition as they managed to fill dongas thatwere a threat to the community. Matsepe con-tinued by saying that the road fixing is part ofa relief effort to ensure that all residents who areaffected by floods are assisted.

Inaccessibleroads fixed

by DAmembers inGa-Matlala

The Auditor general of Polokwane awarded adisclaimer to the Ephraim Mogale Municipality

Ephriam Mogale get's disclaimerfor financial year 2012/2013 that sent officialsscattering in all directions to avoid the scathing

report some ten pages in all. The Auditor Gen-eral laid out a host of infringements by theMunicipality, in terms of the S.A. Standards ofGenerally Recognised accounting practice, “be-side other regulations pertaining to the soundmanagement of Municipal finances.When asked to comment on the report, thechairman of the Marble Hall Sakekamer MrPaissopoulos said.” The awarding of a dis-

claimer by the Auditor General against thisMunicipality in layman’s terms, would indicatethat the Auditor General was “unable to verifythat the public’s money was spent and ac-counted for correctly” so now we have theworst service delivery report and the worstaudit report.It’s the same old story of the obvious seriousdecline in the management of the Municipality

by incompetent offi-cials, and somethingwe had warned theProvincial Govern-ment, of which it ap-pears, they chose toignore. Added to this,this Municipality onlyused 8% of theirbudget for this lastquarter, which leavesthe option open for theNational Treasury toretrieve the balanceand use it elsewherein the country.

It would seem that the Provincial Governmentis reluctant to correct the situation, in allowingthis mismanagement to continue uncheckedand as a result, we are calling on all members ofthe public to use the power of their vote to forcethe beginning of a change in the upcomingelections he concluded.

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After countless applications for a new house,Mrs Dinah Shabangu has still not received aRDP house from the Elias Motsoaledi LocalMunicipality. The pensioner from SterkfonteinVillage in Elias Motsoaledi ward 24, has beenliving in a mud house for many years. Last yearOctober, the DA Councillor in Elias MotsoalediMokhine Pitje intervened in the matter and tried

Councillor’s failure to address issues left Dinah with no houseto convince the municipality by raising MrsShabangu’s challenges, but the municipalitydid not act on the matter until today.The old woman stays alone in the collapsinghouse and only survives by begging for foodand other household needs from some of thecommunity members. Her house was blownaway by heavy winds in December 2012. Since

then the woman’s lifehas never been thesame as the shelter thatshe was relying onwas damaged.According to MrsShabangu, the house

is now collapsing and she has nowhere to go.She added that during the rain, she experienceselectrical failures and this is also threateningher safety.“I was told that the power transformer was weakwhen I report the matter. I also confronted theward councillor requesting a RDP house butwith no success. Soon I will be homeless anddon’t know where to go, I have no one to turnto except some of the good Samaritans whogive me food,” she said.According to DA Councillor Mokhine Pitje, hetried to address the old woman’s issues to theward councillor but he was turned down. “Heis the one mandated by the municipality to make

affected but no storm water control has everbeen built there to get rectify the situation.Pontsho Morudi, a resident, told the Dispatchthat they raised their concerns to ward 7 coun-cillor Lucas Phala but he has done nothing tochange the situation. “We tried to call him formeetings to resolve service delivery backlogbut he didn’t pitch up. During these recentrains, our roads were damaged in such an extentthat our vehicles have no access to the village.The councillor’s wife always responds on hisbehalf every time the community confronts thecouncillor for answers,” she said.Pontsho added that the village needs stormwater control as their houses are also damagedby rain water during summer. “If the municipal-ity fails to act quickly on the matter, some of thehouses will collapse as water is now coming upfrom the floor. This will affect many poor fami-lies and we do not believe that the municipalitywill act accordingly on the situation,” she said.Another concerned community member, MrMahlangu, said that they invited the councillorto a meeting on Saturday 23 March to resolveservice delivery backlog but he did not pitchup. “The ward councillor failed us in manyways. He does not come to the meetings anddoes not care about the people of ward 7.Failure to attend meetings, we then decided tosubmit a memorandum to the Elias MotsoalediLocal Municipality Mayor Cllr WendyMatemane. In the memorandum we stated clearlythat we do not have basic services in the wardand the councillor neglects the community whovoted for him. We do not have clean water; ourroads are in bad condition. We gave the coun-cillor 14 working days to come to give us clarityabout the poor service delivery we experiencein ward 7. If the councillor fails to come and giveanswers, we will soon march to Elias MotsoalediMunicipal offices against poor service deliv-ery,” he said.Mahlangu added: “At our neighbouring ward,ward 2, roads are tarred and some services areimplemented to prove that the councillor isdelivering. As the community we all ask thesame question: why is our councillor doingnothing at all. We also witnessed that he sendsward committee members to register RDP housesto family members who were identified by himonly. The RDP registration is only done at nightwhen everyone is sleeping. The councillor wantsto benefit a few individuals who are his favour-ites.”Mahlangu concluded: “We demand the coun-cillor to do the job he’s entitled for in the ward.How can he be able to raise our concerns in themunicipality if he does not attend any meet-ings? We will act against the councillor as longas he does not cooperate with the community.”Speaking to the Dispatch Shakes Mokganyetji,Communications Manager at Elias Motsoaledi,said the municipality will investigate the matter.He added that they will check with the commu-nity for roll calls to prove that indeed thecouncillor does not attend meetings.“Our councillors are urged to call communitymeetings every quarter to address challengesfaced by the community,” he said.

Moteti Liberty service deliverybacklog

the final decision and if he fails to act, I don’thave full powers to give assistance to the oldwoman,” he said.Communications Manager at Elias MotsoalediLocal Municipality Shakes Mokganyetji saidthe woman is welcome to contact the municipal-ity if the councillor fails her.“As the municipality we first check with De-partment of Cooperative Governance and Tra-ditional Affairs (COGHSTA) to see if the per-son qualifies for A RDP house. In terms ofemergency we refer them to our district munici-pality. We will be visiting the woman to look atthe situation and we promise to take a step verysoon,” he said.

The community of Moteti Liberty is concerned about poor servicedelivery in the area. According to the community of Elias Motsoalediward 7, the area has never had services from the municipality. People arestruggling to get clean water and the roads are also damaged. Theresidents are currently living on a flood line extremely close to the river.Every time there are severe rains, the community of Moteti Liberty is

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The brand new Ndlovu Research Center building has been put into immidiate use for thecomprehensive research project. The center aims to reflect the Ndlovu Care Group vision to createhope and opportunities through innovative health care, child care and community development.The Ndlovu Research Consortium will explore research opportunity for Masters Degree and PhDstudents with the Utrecht University (UU) and the University of Pretoria (UP). Ndlovu Care Groupwill utilize the Ndlovu Research Consortium outputs to develop itself and professionalize the careof Ndlovu Care Group.This year also the Ndlovu Wits Audiology (NWA) became a reality when funding was grantedfor the implementation of an Audiology project. The Ndlovu Wits Audiology uses its comrehensiveresources and expertise to reduce the negative impact of hearing impairment on the health, lifestyleand the communicative abilities of hearing impaired individuals and their families through differentmeasures that will be considered by the clinic. This includes the prevention of the onset of theear and hearing problems with regular community education programmes on ear and hearinghealth. Early identification and management of ear and hearing problems by offering neonatalhearing screening services at five clinics in the Elandsdoorn area. This will also include schoolscreening, ototoxity monitoring of HIV/AIDS and TB patients of the Ndlovu Care Group Clinicas well as diagnostic assessments.

Ndlovu Care Group -Elandsdoorn Update

An inquest docket was opened at the MotetemaRegional Court after a 50 year old male drowned.The incident took place on Sunday 16 Marchnear Flag Boshielo Dam. According to Consta-ble Boitumelo Matlala of the Motetema SAPS,the deceased was fishing with a friend at theOlifants River. It is alleged that he slipped andfell into the river.He was then swept away by the overflowingriver. His accomplice informed the police and asearch was started immediately. After the search,the deceased was not found until it was dark

Man drowned while fishingand the police postponed the matter to the nextday. On Monday the police continued thesearch but also failed to discover the body ofthe deceased. He was then found on Tuesdayaround 19:00. His body was taken to theGroblersdal State Mortuary for post-mortem.An inquest docket was opened and the policeappeal to community members to be cautiouswhen they are at the river banks.“The rivers are now full after recent rains and weurge people to stay away from the water,” saidMatlala.

The community of Dennilton woke up to find avehicle abandoned in the bushes. The silverToyota Avanza was found abandoned at TenMorgan in Dennilton by unknown people. Thevehicle was noticed by community membersearly in the morning. A few hours later, commu-nity members started to be suspicious and

Stripped off Avanza foundinformed the police. The vehicle was foundstripped off its four wheels and its radio wasalso missing. At the stage it is not known wherethe vehicle was stolen before the criminalsabandoned it in Dennilton. An inquest docketwas opened at Dennilton SAPS and investiga-tions are underway.

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Vulamehlo Kusile Organization (VUKO) hasbeen launched in Moutse on Friday 21 Marchin OR Tambo Stadium. VUKO is a civic organi-zation with its headquarters in Kwa-Mhlangathat seeks to address social challenges amongstthe community. The organization aims to dealwith challenges such as women abuse, childabuse, drugs and substance abuse within thecommunities.According to the chairperson of the Organiza-tion Mr EP Mahlangu the organization alsoaims to strengthen community developmentthrough the formation of co-operatives that willeradicate poverty.On National Human Rights Day, the organiza-tion was launched through a soccer and netballtournament at OR Tambo Stadium in Dennilton.The tournament was also made possible inpartnership with Moutse Sports Forum (MSF).Four soccer teams and four netball teams fromMoutse took part. The tournament also formedpart of the Human Rights Day celebration withyoung people.Soccer and netball participants were specifi-cally under the age of 14 where Mission FC andYoung Killers FC reached the soccer finals.Mission managed to lift the tournament trophyafter penalty shootouts after both teams played0-0 in regulation and extra time. Mission FC won4-2 during the penalties.While the boys were kicking and passing theball on the pitch, young girls were also playingnetball. Moutse teams faced invited teams fromKwa-Mhlanga. In the netball finals, MondliNetball Team from Tambo Village facedBankview Stars Netball Team from Kwa-Mhlanga. Mondli was crowned champions af-ter beating Bankview Stars in a closely con-tested match.After the proceedings, VUKO Chairperson MrEP Mahlangu thanked everyone who made the

VUKO launched in Moutse

launch possible in-cluding MoutseSports Forum, partici-pants and spectatorswho came in largenumbers to rendersupport to the teamswhile celebrating Hu-man Rights Day.VUKO will also hostanother sport event

that will take place on 27 April. The management requests interestedcultural groups, performers, soccer and netball teams to come andparticipate on Freedom Day. Interested participants in soccer and netballmust be under the age of 21. Interested community members are welcometo contact Mr Simon Mahlangu on 083 333 0005. Alternatively people cancall Mr CC Masilela on 083 633 3108.

Champions ofthe tournamentMission FC be-fore they facetheir opponentsin the finals.

Young Killers FCready to face Mis-sion during thelaunching ofVUKO at ORTambo Stadium.

Spectators watched as ladies are playing netball duringthe launch.

A grade 3 learner at Hosia Aphane Combined School received awardsfor the 2013 curriculum.The eight year old Michelle Molheica was awarded 2 merit certificates,3 medals and a trophy. The learner has been awarded after she becamethe best in English reading in three levels.Michelle competed in the Kgobokwane Cluster Schools Reading com-petition. She was awarded 3 medals. She then entered the readingcompetition at circuit level where she was competing with learners fromwithin the boundaries of Moutse Central Circuit. The outstandingreading skills from the learner rewarded her when she became the bestand was awarded 2 merit certificates.After her excellent performance on circuit level, Michelle qualified tocompete in the Sekhukhune District level where she was representingMoutse Central Circuit. She excelled and was awarded a trophy. Herdreams of competing on national level for English reading were shatteredafter the Limpopo Department of Education failed to pay for her fees.Hosia Aphane School Principal Mrs. M Nkgudi told the Dispatch thatthe school has a special programme scheduled every Friday for Mathsand Language. "We have special programmes every Fridays at theschool where we practice Maths and Sepedi in the foundation phase. Wealso do Maths and English in the intermediate and senior phases toperfect our learners in the fields," she said.She added: "We teach our learners how to write poems, letters andessays. We also do public speaking and debates amongst learners ofdifferent age groups per grade. We equip them with reading skills by

Hosia Aphaneleaner gets 2013

curriculum awards

doing ordinary read-ing. We also checktheir language fluencyand also teach thembook handling. Edu-cators offer listeningskills by reading arti-cles and ask questionslater to learners whendoing oral listeningskills," she said.The school principalfurther said they alsodiscover talentsamongst learnersthrough girls talk andboys talk where theymentor and guidelearners for goodbehavior and self-re-spect."We acquire learnersto encourage otheryoung people outthere and we also nur-ture other talents inthe learners; not onlyfor the curriculum, buttalents that they willuse even out of theschool premises," Sheconcluded.

The eight year old Michelle Molheica showing off herawards.

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On Wednesday 19 March Philadelphia Hospi-tal FC hosted Dennilton SAPS FC for aGroblersdal Cluster League match. SAPS startedwith early attacks just after the match startedwhen Sdumo and Promise’s combination wasoutstanding. Philadelphia made a comebacktowards the 15th minute and started attackingbut were denied by the defenders. The hostsstarted to play long passes but they were alsounable to beat the SAPS goalie.The visitors scored their opening goal byPhondo, a close range in the box beating thegoalie to make it 1-0 to Dennilton SAPS. Afterthe goal Philadelphia attacked trying to equal-ize but the Dennilton SAPS goalie, Magagula,made good saves and denied the oppositiongoals. This led to many corners given to Phila-delphia but it didn’t work out.Dennilton SAPS scored their second goal in the30th minute when a Philadelphia defender con-ceded a hand ball in the box. Free kick andpenalty Dennilton SAPS specialist DJ, man-aged to send the goalie to the wrong way and2-0 it was to Dennilton SAPS.Towards the end of the first half, SAPS wasdominating the match but failed to extend thelead when missing many attempts. In the sec-ond half SAPS made a substitution fieldingManamela who managed to score an early goalin the 48th minute, a close range in the box tomake it 3-0 to Dennilton SAPS.The visitors continued pressure and theystarted to shoot out of the box and shots went

Dennilton SAPS humiliates Philadelphia

wide. In the 51stminute, Manamelascored a fourth goalfor Dennilton SAPSafter receiving a ballfrom Sdumo who man-aged to counter andpenetrate defenderspassing the ball toManamela and hemade no mistake andscored a fourth goalfor SAPS. After thebeautiful goal byManamela, the hostsattacked and managedto score their first goalby Lunga, a counterby mid-fielders enter-ing the box. 4-1 in the74th minute. Two min-utes later, SAPS retali-ated by scoring a fifthgoal by Jomo, after

receiving a ball in the box and beating the goalie. In the 81st minute, Jomoscored a 6th goal after he countered from the middle and easily beat thegoalie. Towards the end of the match, Dennilton SAPS player Phondoscored a 7th goal after Philadelphia defenders tried to play an off side trapand he managed to make a run and beat the goalie 7-1 it was to Dennilton

Philadelphia Hospital FC andDennilton SAPS FC mid-fielders bat-tling for a ball.

The host attacking when trying to equalize after Phondo scored an opening goalfor Dennilton SAPS.

SAPS. The matchended 7-1 toDennilton SAPS FCdefeating Philadel-phia Hospital FC andpocketed three leaguepoints.