North West Health MEC Sello Lehari has committed the department’s support to address healthcare and strengthen service delivery challenges faced by traditional leaders in the province.
This emerged during a meeting between Lehari and traditional leaders in Rustenburg, as part of the department’s ongoing stakeholder engagement programme aimed at building strong partnerships to improve healthcare access and quality.
“The MEC assured the leaders that the department is ready to work together with them on health issues affecting their communities and committed to consulting them regularly on developments and challenges within health facilities located in their traditional areas.
The MEC further announced that the department will prioritise mobile clinics in rural villages and hold quarterly engagements with Dikgosi to monitor progress and ensure accountability.
Traditional Leaders welcomed the MEC’s open-door approach and raised several issues requiring urgent attention,” said the department spokesperson, Tshegofatso Mothibedi.
Furthermore, Lehari apologised to the traditional leaders for delaying to convene such a meeting and assured them that he will establish a consistent communication channel between the department and the traditional leaders.
Some of the concerns raised by the traditional leaders include the failure to finalise the North West School of Medicine, improved functionality of hospital boards and clinic committees, lack of timely communication between them and the department.
Meanwhile, the Chairperson of the National House of Traditional and Khoi-San Leaders Kgosi Thabo Seatlholo told the MEC that the house supports the National Health Insurance, adding that it would bring balance, equity, and access to healthcare for all South Africans.
