Residents of Muswani Village, in the Collins Chabane Local Municipality, in Limpopo’s  Vhembe District are struggling to access basic health services because there is no clinic in their area. 

For more than 30 years the community’s pleas have fallen on deaf ears. A resident, who asked not to be named, says they’ve been asking for a clinic since the 1980s – but nothing has been done. “Our [ward] councillor promised to help, but now he is not interested. It is like they [government] are not taking us seriously.”

The municipality’s Integrated Development Plan (IDP) shows plans to build a clinic in the village dating as early as 2019. But this plan has not been actioned.  

Sick and elderly most affected

The lack of a clinic has severe consequences for the community. Pregnant women, the elderly, and those with chronic illnesses are particularly vulnerable. 

“We have to travel 24 kilometres to get to the nearest hospital in Malamulele,” the resident explains. “The road is bad, and it takes hours to get there. Sometimes, people might die on the way.”

It’s not just the patients who suffer. A home-based care worker, who spoke on condition of anonymity, says he often has to travel well beyond the distance stipulated in his contract. 

 “I have to travel long distances every day to provide care to my patients. Our contracts state that we should not travel more than 5 kilometres, but we do. It is exhausting and unfair.”

Unkept promises

David Ngobeni, a leader of the Muswani Concern Group, blames the municipality for the lack of health services. 

“Our councillor only visits us when it is time for elections. He makes promises but does not keep them. We are tired of being ignored.”

The resident says the councillor’s lack of accountability is frustrating. 

“He told us to seek help from the provincial Department of Health in Limpopo because the municipality has no role to play in building the clinic. But the municipality’s plans show that the clinic should have been built in 2019/2020 and 2021/2022. Clearly that means that the municipality has the power to make it happen.”

Both the ward councillor and Collins Chabane Municipality referred Health-e News’ queries to the health department as the agent responsible for healthcare services. The municipality further says it will request mobile clinic services for the village.

Neil Shikwambani, Limpopo health spokesperson, acknowledged our inquiry but didn’t provide any response – despite repeated follow-ups. – Health-e News