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The DA will write to the Limpopo Legislature’s Chairperson of the Programming Committee, Jerry Ndou, requesting a joint meeting between the portfolio committees on Health and Social Development to take place as soon as possible, for a decision on the future of the Shiluvana Frail Care Centre run by Life Esidimeni.

This comes after the Department of Social Development indicated an allocation of R75 million for the centre in their Annual Performance Plan (APP) for the 2021/22 financial year despite that the contract with Life Esidimeni is set to lapse in September 2021.

In a letter submitted to the Portfolio committee of Social Development on the DA’s request, the then Minister of Health, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, in 2018 had discouraged the Provincial Government from any takeover of the facility.

After assessing all 160 patients at the centre, Motsoaledi stated that while the patients needed services of both the Department of Health and Social Development, it is the Department of Health they need the most.

If they do not resolve the responsibility of the centre, there could be issues around the care of the patients, provision of services and remuneration of staff. This may well be that critical staff such as psychiatrist and carers leave the establishment as soon as the contract lapse or even months before in anticipation for a lack of remuneration.

The letter also outlined that the Limpopo Department of Health had no capacity to take over the facility, nor did it have a mental health directorate, mental health policy and plan for the province.

It is now 3 years after the letter was written and the MEC for Health, Phophi Ramathuba, in her budget speech remained mum regarding the Shiluvana Frail Care Centre. It was clear during the meeting with the Department of Social Development that the health department has no plans and is non-committal in taking responsibility for the centre.

This joint meeting will help bring about clarity on the future of the centre after the contract expires in September and ensure that the province avoids losing lives like the Life Esidimeni centre in Gauteng. The meeting will also help ascertain if the Department of Health now has policies in place and the capacity to cater to mental health patients.

The DA believes the R75 million that the Department of Social Development has allocated to the centre should be  the responsibility of the Limpopo Department of Health. These funds could have been used to address its own issues such as the absorption of over 1 000 unemployed social work graduates and a growing need to ensure food security to the poor and vulnerable through food parcels.

It is clear that the issue of responsibility for Shiluvana Frail Care Centre and its patients’ needs to be addressed before the contract expires and patients are neglected. The DA will continue to monitor this matter until it is resolved.

Issued by The DA