ZCC Builds P10m Clinic In Mmopane
Nnasaretha Kgamanyane | Monday May 29, 2017 16:20
According to Lekganyane, his grandmother was a loving woman who was given wisdom by God that her children needed more than bread to live. He said Mahlaku had six children whom she taught to live a Christian life.
“My grandmother was also a loving person. She taught her children to love other people. She believed in the word kamoka, where she believed that good things could be achieved when people unite and work together as one. She had a sense of community. The Republic of Botswana and South Africa are one today henceforth,” he said.
Accepting the church’s good deed, the Minister of Health and Wellness Dorcas Makgato, said the donation of the clinic could not have come at any better as the government was engaged in coming up with strategies aimed at improving healthcare. She added that their healthcare system had over the years grown from strength to strength with primary healthcare as its cornerstone. She said in pursuit of quality and safe healthcare services, the government has invested in major health infrastructure. Makgato further explained that they built healthcare facilities that deliver healthcare services at different level of care. She added that those developments ensured that healthcare services were within reach of their communities.
“The process of establishing this clinic started in October 2015 and it has been achieved today with the help of our Public Private Partnership from Kganya Botswana, a product of the ZCC. I am reliably informed that Kganya Botswana has spent over P9 million to erect this clinic,” she said.
She said since Mmopane Block 1 had estimated population of 40,655, it was imperative that its community members have access to medical services. She said they could have built a clinic in the area back in 2010, but due to financial constraints, their goals ran futile till the church came to their rescue.
The Mahlaku Lekganyane Clinic has 21 rooms which include the reception area, screening room, consultation and observation rooms, child welfare room, restroom for health officers, pharmacy and laundry room. The clinic will be opened for eight hours.
According to the minister, 5,395 patients had already been consulted during the trials since last year November to date.
According to the former Vice President, Ponatshego Kedikilwe, the clinic started off as an idea between him and the church’s bishop back in 2014 when he expressed his concern over various issues affecting Batswana such as HIV and AIDS and other health-related challenges.
“Upon the Bishop’s second visit, he expressed interest in building a clinic and that is when a few areas were selected of which after investigations we found it fit to build a clinic in Mmopane Block 1. MoHW helped us find the construction company, which was given nine months to have finished the job. The building was constructed in September last year and was finished in May this year,” he said.
Kedikilwe encouraged the community to take care of itself. He further explained that the relevance of church was to care for both members and those who do not follow it. He stated that all the churches must follow suit the examples of ZCC and practice what they preach.
According to community member, who is also a task force member, Ethel Gumede, the clinic would help her community because they would no longer have to travel long distances to access health services. She said they used to get access to health facilities in nearby areas such as Nkoyaphiri, Metsimotlhabe and Mmopane clinic that were always congested.
“I however, urge the ministry to make this clinic operate 24 hours as we really need access to health facilities in Mmopane Block 1. We would like to have a doctor as our clinic does not have one,” she ended.