Through the Taking Parliament to the People programme, the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) continues to be an active advocate for improved service delivery. The programme includes physical presence in the communities to assess the performance of the various government departments, as per commitments made in the State of the Nation Address and budget policies.
Through the programme, the NCOP is able to meet with national, provincial and local government for reports on service delivery, as well as the public to find out the level of satisfaction.
But It does not end with meetings and reports, delegates of the NCOP gather physical evidence on the quality of services delivered and ensure that government spending is done in accordance with legislation that includes the Public Finance Management Act and the Municipal Finance Management Act.
After vising the Free State province in August 2017 for the Taking Parliament to the People programme, with special focus on the delivery of healthcare services, provincial and local government made commitments to address challenges identified by the NCOP. This August, it was time for progress reports and reporting back to the public.
This week permanent delegates to the NCOP were joined by members of provincial legislatures (MPLs) as well as the South African Local Government Association (Salga) to constitute a high-level delegation to check progress in a number of facilities that were identified as requiring intervention by the different spheres of government last year.
The multidisciplinary delegation split into eight groups and visited clinics and hospitals in the Mangaung and Xhariep district municipalities. Members were left disappointed in most of the clinics visited, when it was found that little progress has been recorded, one year after the NCOP made recommendations to the government.
Mr Eddie Makue, Chairperson of the Select Committee on Trade and International Relations, led one of the sub groups and could not hide his disappointment at the slow of service delivery. “We are not happy with the pace of service delivery in this province. It is just too slow and we reiterate our call to the Free State Department of Health. The pace in which you are moving is unacceptable,” Mr Makue said.
He added that the right to quality healthcare was a right for all the citizens of the country enshrined by the constitution, and that it was the responsibility of government to deliver such services.
“Do not wait for the NCOP to come to your province before things get done. You have a responsibility to deliver the service; you are not doing anyone a favour,” said Mr Makue.
Unimpressed by the delays in the construction of new facilities for Dinaane clinic in Thaba Nchu, the NCOP delegation committed to make sure construction of the new structure happened before the end of this parliamentary term (May next year).
“We want to see Dinaane get a new clinic as promised. We want to make sure that building starts before the end of our parliamentary term. We will send our Select Committee on Social Services to follow up on progress,” said NCOP delegate Mr Mntomuhle Khawula.
The delegation emphasised that it was not the responsibility of Parliament to deliver infrastructure. “Ours is to do oversight, so we urge the provincial government to move faster in this regard,” added Mr Makue.
During a community meeting at Botshabelo, to mark the end of an eventful week of oversight, Mr Makue encouraged the public to hold the government accountable and raise their concerns when they were not satisfied with the quality of services delivered, but to do so in a responsible manner.
Among the progress achieved since last year’s visit by the NCOP is the reduction of patient waiting time at a number of clinics and hospitals, commitment by the provincial Department of Health to employ pharmacists in all facilities, to ensure the dispensing of correct medication and ease the pressure from overburdened nurses. The department will also fill nine vacant clinic operations manager posts from 1 November 2018 and employ security guards in all clinics from March next year.
One of the biggest concerns for the NCOP delegates is the poor infrastructure and small size of most of the clinics, which hinders the delivery of quality healthcare. “Many clinics are very small or buildings are not in good state. We need bigger and safer facilities and government must address this matter,” said Mr Makue.
Sakhile Mokoena
31 August 2018
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