15 Sep 2016

Mmathubudukwane, which serves as a service centre to river villages in Mochudi East constituency, will get an P80 million health facility in the 2018/2019 financial year.

Speaking during a kgotla meeting in Mmathubudukwane on Monday (September 12), the Assistant Minister of Health, Dr Alfred Madigele, said the new facility would include a theatre, blood testing lab, x-ray, scans, a 10-bed ward and 25  staff houses.

He said the new building would be an answer to residents’ plea for expansion of the old clinic.

Dr Madigele said the ministry had made sure that the facility was included in the National Development Plan 11 to be discussed in the November Parliament sitting.

The assistant minister also told residents that government would build a new hospital in Mochudi with a similar plan of Mahalapye Hospital.

Dr Madigele said the health ministry boasted of 565 clinics and 27 hospitals, adding that due to the changing times, they had a roadmap that aimed at accelerating services to the nation.

He noted that they had 27 district health management teams in the country and planned to reduce them to 18.

He further said they would decentralise some powers to senior health officers so that they could hire and also take decisions in their offices to help accelerate service delivery.

He added that the health ministry had shortage of doctors, adding that 913 doctors attended to a population of more than 2 million people.

Dr Madigele therefore said they were counting on the school of medicine at the University of Botswana to produce more doctors who will help address the shortage. He said they were expecting 45 doctors to graduate.

He also said the health ministry had a serious shortage of transport mostly due to bad roads that wore out the vehicles which are later condemned. He however explained that they were planning to replace some of them.

He said Kgatleng would receive four vehicles, expressing belief that one of them will be given to Mmathubudukwane clinic to address their plea.

When giving the Village Development Committee report, Ms Naomi Lekgabe requested for expansion of their clinic.

She also said the population had grown and there was need to increase staff to cater for the population.

Residents were thankful for the facility that would be built in their area.

Ms Morakanyane Moatshe said she was grateful for the bigger clinic and requested that another doctor be assigned.

Another resident Ms Masego Sekale shared the same sentiments for the development and further asked for an increase in the number of nurses.

Kgosi Michael Balebetse said the clinic comes at the right time when other developments were earmarked to the area.

He said they were expecting a police station to be built in their village as well as construction of Modipane/Mabalane road. ENDS