Concern is mounting over the deterioration of the decommissioned Thusong District Hospital near Lichtenburg in the North West.
Concerned residents, under the banner of the Reclaim Thusong Committee, say the closed hospital has been stripped of resources.
The committee’s Baby Makgeledise laments the state of the province, “In the North West there is no order, in other words, everyone does as they please; hospitals are being closed due to lies about dolomite…there is nothing like what they claim. When the hospital was first built, there were engineers who inspected the area before building, so, do they mean to say those engineers lied?”
The hospital catered for residents of Itsoseng and many other settlements in the farming area. It was decommissioned after it was found to have been built on dolomitic soil, which resulted in major structural defects.
In the interim, provincial authorities say plans are underway to demolish the hospital.
The provincial Public Works Department’s spokesperson, Lerato Gambu, has explained that the portion of land in question belongs to the national Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development.
Gambu says, “The Department of Public Works and roads as the custodian has already written an official correspondence to the respective department seeking approval to demolish the structure as the structure remains unused and subject to vandalism. “Initially, we had went to demolish and we were stopped by the community demanding consultations on the process. We are therefore proceeding with consultations, and we will soon demolish the area.”
Meanwhile, police say since the hospital is not guarded, several people were arrested for possession of stolen goods, but later released due to a lack of information regarding the ownership.
