Chairperson, I should like to thank the hon Robinson for the question. The answer is that the Nkandla presidential residence is a national key point, so declared by law, and the Department of Health has no jurisdiction over it. This is inclusive of the clinic that was built there.
Chair, I would like to thank the Deputy Minister and would like to ask the question as to why a military hospital has been built on private premises at Nkandla for an exclusive group of people - those within the tender embrace of President Zuma - at the expense of services to the poor in the neighbouring villages.
I believe that there are areas like Emasangweni Amnyama, Bizimali, Qhudeni, Melmoth and Kranskop with large populations that have no health facilities at all or are serviced by one community clinic, yet they are close to Nkandla, which has state-of-the-art medical facilities. Surely this is contrary to our democratic dispensation when all people are meant to have access to good health. Surely we do not want to continue and perpetuate this inequality of health care. [Interjections.]
Chair, the Nkandla community covers an area of about 100 km2, and the services are provided by the provincial health department. The community is serviced by a district hospital with a nursing college for enrolled nurses, and it has 11 clinics attached to it.
Indeed, like many other communities, there are also programmes that are aimed at improving the services beyond what is available. [Applause.]
Chair, we welcome the revitalisation of the hospitals. Is it true that even the Mjanyane Hospital in the Eastern Cape is going to be revitalised, in addition to the extra revitalisation that is being done?
Secondly, could you further enlighten us on the revitalisation of the nursing colleges?
Chair, yesterday in presenting the Adjustments Appropriation Bill, there was also a presentation on the revitalisation of the clinics and nursing colleges and hospitals throughout the country. I would certainly request that at an appropriate time, we be provided with an opportunity to present the details.
However, I would also like to advise members that these details are available from the provincial departments and also from our own department in terms of the revitalisation of hospitals and clinics, especially with the introduction of the National Health Insurance system and the strengthening of district services. Yes, indeed, we have also prioritised the revitalisation of the nursing colleges.
Chair and Deputy Minister, I have never been to Nkandla, and I was not part of the march to Nkandla, but I would like to know whether this clinic that is going to be built within the national key point is part of the security upgrades, because the President, when answering the question, said that only the security upgrades would be paid for by the state and all other upgrades have been paid for by the Zuma family. [Interjections.]
By extension, all of us are now part of the Zuma family, because our tax is also making a contribution there. My question is: Will this clinic be part of the inheritance of the Zuma family? The President will be there for 10 years, so after the President has gone, or if he dies, as all of us will, will his children inherit the clinic? [Interjections.] [Time expired.]
Chairperson, I would respectfully request members to appreciate that there are regulations that we all have to abide by, and I did allude to the fact that the specific clinic that the member has referred to, and on which the follow-up question is based, is part of the national key point.
The Department of Health has no primary jurisdiction over it. I have also outlined the services that are available for the community and the various improvement programmes that are there to service the community of Nkandla. [Applause.]
House Chairperson, arising from your question, I am actually familiar with that area in Nkandla. There are three traditional communities there. There are the Nxamalala, Ntuli and Shange communities. I know for a fact that there is no clinic in that particular area that services these three communities. Why can these communities not have access to the clinic that is currently being built?
Chair, the Nkandla community, like many communities in rural areas, does not have adequate health services. The initiatives that we have introduced, including the National Health Insurance system, have put in place programmes to deal with this matter and if the focus is on services to these communities, we can attest to the fact that all the clinics and health facilities in the country have been audited.
The issues of access and of quality have also been documented and the national department has already established the facility improvement and service improvement teams that are covering the whole country. These teams are working with district managers and provincial teams to improve infrastructure.
This includes building new clinics and facilities, and in areas where we cannot build immediately we will ensure that there are mobile services. The teams have also looked at the availability of doctors, nurses and health professionals, including the district specialist teams that Minister Motsoaledi has announced here. The team will also look at introducing integrated school health programmes as well as establishing municipal-ward- based health teams. We can assure you that we are working with the provincial health departments to ensure that we extend services to all communities throughout South Africa, including rural communities, rather than a particular rural community. [Applause.]
Number of toilets and houses delivered as a result of work done by consultants
441. Mrs G M Borman (ANC) asked the Minister of Human Settlements:
How many (a) toilets and (b) houses have been delivered as a result of work done by the 26 consultants hired at a cost of R91 million, as specified in his department's 2011-12 annual report?