The maintenance crack team will be working hard to revitalise health institutions
The maintenance of existing public infrastructure in general and health facilities in particular will from now onwards receive as much attention as is the delivery of new infrastructure in Gauteng. The province also believes that a balance between these two areas of development will help deliver infrastructure that is sustainable enough to serve more generations of communities in the future.
The advanced age and condition of many health institutions in the province has also been taken into account in developing this new approach to infrastructure delivery and management. Otherwise, the facilities in many clinics and hospitals might end up degenerating and reach an irreparable state and thus need more resources in rebuilding them from scratch. This is not what the province wants.
There is currently a major shift to the prioritisation of infrastructure maintenance by Gauteng Provincial Government as part of improving the quality of life of communities.
This new policy stance was announced when the Gauteng department of infrastructure development launched a specialised team of artisans who will conduct radical refurbishment of community health centres and hospitals in the province, starting with local clinics. They are known as the Maintenance Crack Team, and their task is to revitalise the look, feel, and function of basic facilities in health institutions. The idea is the brainchild of MEC Jacob Mamabolo, who was deployed to the portfolio of infrastructure development earlier this year.
The Maintenance Crack Team was launched at the Orlando Community Health Centre in the presence of municipal councillors Brenda Dammie, Bongani Dlamini and Sechaba Khumalo from wards 29, 30 and 31. Representatives of Builders Warehouse, who are strategic suppliers of materials to the team, were also present at the launch. The matron outlined the profile of the clinic and also said she was happy that her staff of 60 people would soon be delivering services in a fully refreshed environment.
This clinic was established in 1937 and only had a ward for mental health patients at the time, but has since grown into a fully-fledged health facility with various wards providing different services to the community. However, its structure is now very old and in need of urgent attention due to the high demand from the local community. It caters for a local population of 76 700 people and also has a patient turnover of between 12 000 and 13 000 people at peak periods.
An assessment done by the Maintenance Crack Team has found that the sewer system at the clinic is unable to cope with the growing pressure and is frequently blocked in spite of regular maintenance. It will now undergo major plumbing works. The roof and ceiling also need serious attention and a decision had been made to replace them. The team will also renew the electrical reticulation system, and also undertake painting and landscaping to create a welcoming environment for patients.
Speaking at the launch, Mamabolo said “Big things start small. We’re excited about this project. We could have chosen Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital but we came here in order touch the lives of our people at a local level. We’re linking infrastructure maintenance directly to the improvement in the quality of life of our people”.
“As the main infrastructure developer and manager in our province we understand that it is our primary duty to know the status of infrastructure in our communities. We would therefore like to use the work we do here at the Orlando Community Health Centre as an example of the new maintenance standards and approach that we will be undertaking throughout the province from now onwards.
“We’re entering a new period of more efficiency in infrastructure development. If we do not restore the Orlando Clinic to what it should be, in spite of the skills that the province has at its disposal, then our province will not be able to fully serve the needs of our communities. That is why I assembled this team,” said the MEC.
He said his department was using the deployment of the Maintenance Crack Team as a pilot project and an example of how to revitalise very old health infrastructure in line with the new approach. The team would be based at the clinic for the rest of the week, refurbishing the Dental Ward, and thereafter move block by block until the whole clinic has been revitalised. He said in due course two other prioritised community health centres in Soweto would also be revitalised in similar fashion, namely Meadowlands Clinic and the Mofolo Clinic. The team will then tackle bigger institutions.
The department also thanked Builders Warehouse for their donation of R10 000 towards the revitalisation of local infrastructure. The company also offered to help build additional toilets in the clinic in order to help alleviate attendant pressure on existing facilities.
Two new projects handed over to Tshwane residents
Gauteng MEC for infrastructure development Jacob Mamabolo has handed over the newly completed Women’s Living Heritage Monument and a new mega-size model primary school in the City of Tshwane as part of delivering high impact socioeconomic infrastructure in communities.
The two handover ceremonies were held at Lillian Ngoyi Square in the central business district of the capital city and in Ga-Rankuwa, respectively, with the MEC for Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation Nonhlanhla Mazibuko and Education Panyaza Lesufi both receiving completion certificates of construction and design from the Gauteng department of infrastructure development.
The handovers took place on August 1 2016 following the completion of these two major projects, which had been entrusted to the department as the main infrastructure service delivery arm and overall custodian of immovable assets in the province.
Mamabolo said he was confident about the quality of the work done by his officials and the contractors who have implemented the projects, further saying he was happy the department had also maintained financial discipline by sticking to the allocated budget.
Mazibuko said the completion of the Women’s Living Heritage Monument came at the right time since this was the beginning of an important month which pays annual tribute to the bravery and leadership of the women who organised the 1956 Women’s March against apartheid pass laws.
She said the new monument was a fitting tribute to the turning point that the Women’s March represented in the history of the struggle for freedom and democracy in South Africa.
“The monument is a beautiful piece of work that will be shared not only with the people of the African continent but with the world as a whole,” said Mazibuko.
The monument features a leadership development and training centre and three floors of dedicated walls and space for murals, artworks and artefacts which will tell the story of women’s struggles covering more than a hundred years. The MMC for housing and human settlements, Councillor Ngonyama, said the monument would also create jobs for local communities.
Later on in the day Mamabolo and Lesufi were accompanied by local leaders and hundreds of community members in the area of Ga-Rankuwa as they officially opened a massive new primary school, which features computer laboratories, science laboratories, ensuite bathrooms, and sports facilities. The school will accommodate 1 200 learners from underlying communities, including the area of Tsunami.
Lesufi said the new facility represented a new model of an ideal school that the government would like to build in historically disadvantaged communities as part of developing the professionals of the future who would help South Africa make a mark in the world of science by developing locally designed products, equipment and machinery.
The head of the Gauteng department of infrastructure, Bethuel Netshiswinzhe, also unveiled the pledge book of the recently launched I Care We Care campaign, calling for the protection of public properties located in the various communities. Many community members signed the pledge and vowed to assume public ownership of the new monument and the school.
Infrastructure for and with universities
Partnerships between government and universities for developing sustainable infrastructure solutions for tertiary education institutions are the way to go in order to take advantage of existing and underutilised facilities in the province. This was the main point of discussion when MEC for Infrastructure Development Jacob Mamabolo hosted a round table discussion with chancellors of different universities in Gauteng.
The meeting took place at Emperor’s Palace on July 7, following an earlier one which was held at the Innovation Hub in Tshwane in late May this year. At the first meeting, five of the seven universities had made presentations on their envisioned infrastructure solutions to government.
This time around, key points of discussion on the day ranged from the currently pressing demand for student accommodation to the need for space to build additional educational facilities such as lecture halls, libraries and laboratories. The round table discussion is an initiative of Mamabolo, who has been tasked by Premier David Makhura to champion multiple uses for public facilities and underutilised land parcels within the precincts of schools, hospitals and community centres in addressing other community needs.
The various university representatives have also responded positively to the idea and are now advising on various models that could be undertaken in order to realise the vision espoused by the province.
According to the MEC “the growing demand for education also means the growing demand for student accommodation. Young people are hungry for a brighter future and are therefore seeking high education to reach their goals. We as the Gauteng Provincial Government are committed to the delivery of public infrastructure whose impact fully addresses the needs of various stakeholders in our communities, especially the institutions of learning since education is one of the priorities in our country today.
“We have already started the process of making government-owned land and buildings available for the development of more student accommodation in our province”, added Mamabolo.
With Gauteng accounting for only 1.4% of South Africa’s land area, the tiny province punches far above its weight by contributing around 34% to the national economy and some 7% to the GDP of the entire African continent. Such economic prospects also mean that there is rapid migration as people search for work opportunities to make a living, thus increasing the demand of infrastructure in the province.
Additional story by Abongile Tukani