In August last year, when supporting a motion that was tabled by the then Member of Parliament (MP) for Takatokwane, Tshoganetso Leuwe, collectively, MPs conceded that it was overdue for healthcare services to be relocated to the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development in an effort to improve healthcare delivery. In a Savingram that was signed by the Ministry of Health Permanent Secretary this Tuesday, the new government announced the transfer of clinics from the Ministry of Health to the Ministry of Local Government and Traditional Affairs. It also advised council secretaries and town clerks to ready their institutions to receive primary health care services, clinics to be specific, back to councils.
The Savingram stated that the relocation requires mobilisation of the procurement personnel for handing over of assets to local authorities. Last year, the previous government admitted to have blundered with centralisation of primary healthcare services and indeed the new administration took people’s concerns serious by moving swiftly to relocate clinics to councils as the public had suggested in the previous kgotla meetings. Then, they had explained that the initial main reason for the relocation was to create a single health authority as well as to enable continuum of care from primary to quaternary care and to enhance standardisation of patient care.
