GroundUp reports that Midoroni Clinic, located outside Louis Trichardt in Limpopo, has been without running water since mid-2023. It serves the villages of Midoroni, Tshikhodobo, Maebani and Ha-Makhitha.

The problem would appear to be simple to fix as here are three water tanks which are regularly filled. But the booster pump to pump the water to where it is needed does not work. Instead, staff must fill buckets from a tap next to the tanks. Nurses use an inside toilet, which they flush with buckets. They also fetch water for the delivery ward in buckets. The outpatient bathrooms have not worked for two-and-a-half years and patients use chemical toilets in the yard. No toilet paper is provided and there is nowhere to wash hands. There is only one person to do daily maintenance of the whole clinic infrastructure and it is impossible for him to cope with the amount of work at the clinic.

Limpopo secretary for the Democratic Nursing Organisation of SA (Denosa), Jacob Molepo, said the situation made it difficult for nurses to work and was unhygienic for patients. Beyond the water challenges, the clinic is in poor shape. Broken windows are patched with cardboard and the roof leaks. Denosa says it will escalate the issue to the provincial health department since the Vhembe District Municipality has failed to help.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Bernard Chiguvare at GroundUp

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