4 NEWS TUESDAY JUNE 3 2014 The Star
LERATO MBANGENI AND JOYCE LEE [email protected]@inl.co.za
MASERAME Mogoregi couldbarely bring herself to speak.
She sat listlessly as the hotafternoon sun beat down onher back.
Her 1-year-old son had diedjust three days previously.
Onalenna Mogoregi, bornand raised in Boitumelongtownship in Bloemhof, NorthWest, began to vomit and haddiarrhoea last Monday.
His mother took him to theclinic later that day.
“When I got there, they toldme that the medicine was fin-ished. So I took him home andkept giving him mageu (maize-based drink) and Powerade.”
North West health officialsacknowledged the medicineshortage and said it had nowbeen resolved.
On Wednesday, the day offi-cials said the problem had beenresolved, Mogoregi took Ona-lenna to the chemist.
The medicine did notimprove his condition.
The next day, she took himback to the clinic, where he wasput on a drip.
“They saw that he was
weak, so they took him toBloemhof Hospital,” said the24-year-old.
At 6am on Friday, the doc-tors rushed the boy to Klerks-dorp Hospital.
“He died on the way,” saidMogoregi. “I had been givinghim the boiled water and themixture as people were saying
the water is bad. But (the gov-ernment) told us too late,”Mogoregi said.
Another child died on theresuscitation table of a hospitalat the weekend, raising thedeath toll to three.
Minister of Water and Sani-tation Nomvula Mokonyaneand North West Premier SupraMahumapelo came to pay theirrespects to the family on Sun-day, while visiting the area toaddress the unrest caused bythe water problems.
Municipal officials haveidentified two possible sourcesof the water contamination inBloemhof.
According to Oatile Lete-bele, the director of corporateservices at the Lekwa TeemaneLocal Municipality, the firstcause may be from residentsdumping waste into the FreeState side of the Vaal River.
“People who are using sep-tic tanks pump (the sewage)into the water sewage lines,and a septic tank is built thereto capture the sewage.
“But there are times whenthere is a delay and the resi-dents may have pumped it intothe Vaal River instead.”
He said a contractor wasforced to flee riots last month,leaving manholes at a construc-
tion site unsealed.He said the source of the
contamination was E.coli, butassured that the water hadbeen backwashed and purified.
On Friday, the lab resultstested negative for E.coli.
A report from the National
Institute of Communicable Dis-eases said there was nocertainty that the water con-tained E.coli.
Some Boitumelong town-ship residents told The Staryesterday that they still did nothave running water.
VUYO [email protected]
THE DEMOCRATIC NursingOrganisation of South Africa(Denosa) has called on ItirelengClinic in Dobsonville, Soweto,to be shut down, urgingpatients to go to other clinicsinstead.
Patients have lamented thelack of medication, and DAMPL Jack Bloom has labelled ita death trap.
A chain of power outages,faulty and non-functionalmachinery and, most recently,the death of a newborn baby –allegedly due to a faulty oxygenmachine – are some of manyproblems plaguing the clinic.
Busisiwe Skosana took hersons – aged 11, 9 and 5 – to theclinic early yesterday morning
for treatment, but was insteadsent home after being told theclinic didn’t have treatment fortheir ailments.
“My one son has a problemwith his ears, the other has aproblem with his gums andanother was booked off fromschool and told to come to theclinic for his cough, but wecouldn’t get treatment for anyof them,” she said.
According to Denosa, a babyborn around 2pm on Fridaydied an hour and 25 minuteslater at the clinic’s maternalobstetric unit due to “the harshcondition it was exposed to andthe malfunctioning tools oftrade at the clinic”.
Denosa and Bloom appealedto new Gauteng MEC of HealthQedani Mahlangu to act to rec-tify issues plaguing the clinic.
Department spokesmanSimon Zwane said the De-partment of InfrastructureDevelopment was in the
process of upgrading the cir-cuit board to ensure an unin-terrupted supply of electricityto the clinic.
TANIA BROUGHTON
THE Black Lawyers Associa-tion (BLA) joined Advocates forTransformation in warningthose “attacking the integrity”of National ProsecutingAuthority boss Mxolisi Nxa-sana to back off.
The association’s president,Busani Mabunda, likened crit-icism of Nxasana, linked to hisnot disclosing that he was triedfor and acquitted of murder 30years ago, to critics of Presi-dent Jacob Zuma, saying Zumashould not be in office becausehe was acquitted of rape.
“We unreservedly supporthim and this frivolous cam-paign is without substance andnot legally sustainable,” Ma-bunda said.
“The BLA does not under-stand how on earth a personcan be appointed to lead suchan important institution whenthere has not been a properbackground check… the ques-tion of his fitness to head theNPA cannot now be genuinelyraised.”
Nxasana – a Durban lawyerwho was appointed to the postby Zuma in October – was at hisdesk in Pretoria yesterday, stillwaiting to hear what, if any,steps would be taken againsthim in the light of allegationsthat he had failed his securityclearance because of pastbrushes with the law.
Newly appointed JusticeMinister Michael Masutha saidin a statement at the weekendhe was “familiarising himself
with the facts” and would thendetermine the process to befollowed.
With Nxasana claiming heis a victim of a smear cam-paign and refusing to resign,the minister’s choices are lim-ited because only a commissionof inquiry can determinewhether he is a fit and properperson to hold office.
Nxasana believes he mightbe placed on “special leave”, amove he will challenge because
he wants to testify at an in-quiry to expose those he sayshave been undermining him,peddling lies and boasting thatthey will bring him down.
Nxasana says he wrote toJeff Radebe the day after thethen justice minister askedhim to resign, just beforeRadebe’s redeployment as aminister in the Presidency.
Late last week, The Star’ssister paper, The Mercury, ex-posed details of the widening
rift between Nxasana andRadebe, who apparently backsone of Nxasana’s deputies forthe job.
Nxasana claims the secu-rity clearance is a red herring,being used to get rid of him.
He says he did disclose thecase of murder to several peo-ple, including a director in theState Security Agency, but hebelieved he did not have a dutyin law to disclose it on the vet-ting form because he was
acquitted, and the form asksonly for pending cases and pre-vious convictions.
In his letter to Radebe, Nxa-sana claims the same applies tothe arrest for inconsideratedriving: “I disclosed the com-plaint where I was fined by theLaw Society, and it is there inmy vetting documents.”
Asked for an update yester-day, Masutha’s spokesmanLawrence Ngoveni referred tothe weekend statement.
Lawyers, advocates voice support for head of NPANxasana wants to testify at an inquiry ‘to expose those who want to get rid of him’
NPA BOSS: Black lawyers aredefending Mxolisi Nxasana.
Striking Gautrain guards slam firm over payVUYO [email protected]
SECURITY guards working atGautrain stations in Joburghave downed tools over out-standing payments and lowwages.
More than 100 guards fromthe Rosebank, Sandton andPark stations did not report forwork yesterday morning,claiming they had not beenpaid for overtime and weekendwork since October.
They also claimed their nor-mal pay was not in accordancewith the Labour Department’ssectoral determination.
“People are not being paidaccording to the hours theyhave worked,” said LuckyMabasa, a representative forthe group. The guards are
employed by Gubevu SecurityGroup, a subcontractor toBombela Concession Company,which operates the Gautrain.
“Our contract states thatafter 208 hours worked, we getpaid a basic salary. Above thatwe should get paid overtime,but we do not get paid overtime.People work 27 days and onlyget paid for 17 days,” he said.
The Star has seen guards’payslips, which range from anet pay of R2 700 to R2 800.
They also complained aboutnot getting bonuses andexpressed unhappiness at theR150-a-day penalty they had topay if absent from work.
The Star contacted GubevuSecurity Group and a manager– who wanted to remain anony-mous – said the companywould need to contact its
lawyers before commenting.The Gautrain’s Errol
Braithwaite had neither
responded to SMSes norreturned calls at the time ofpublication last night.
AGGRIEVED: Gautrain security guards went on strike yesterday overwages. PICTURE: DUMISANI DUBE
E. coli, once in the human digestive system, begins producing toxins that cause serious illnesses.
Symptoms caused byE.coli
• Stomach muscle spasms• Diarrhoea (sometimes
bloody diarrhoea)• Fever
• Vomiting
Complications:Hemolytic uraemic syndrome
Death rate: 3-5%
E.coli (EHEC) is a bacterium that can cause severe foodborne disease. Primary sources of EHEC outbreaks are raw or undercooked ground meat products, raw milk and faecal contamination of vegetables. In most cases, the illness is self-limiting,but it may lead to a life-threatening disease including haemolytic uraemic syndrome,especially in young children and the elderly. EHEC is heat-sensitive. In preparing food at home, be sure to follow basic hygiene practices such as cooking thoroughly.
HEADY HEADY HEADY
Graphic: Sithembile MtoloWHO (World Health Organisation)
Plea for ‘death trap’ Soweto clinic to be closed
NO HELP: Itireleng Clinic in Dobsonville couldn’t give a mother-of-three medication for her children. PICTURE: MATTHEWS BALOYI
MEC inspectsfilthy school againALLY [email protected]
THE NEW Gauteng MEC foreducation visited WestburyPrimary School yesterday toensure running water and elec-tricity would be restored bythe end of the week.
Parents have complainedthat the school has been with-out functioning toilets for threemonths.
Faeces covered the floor ofthe toilets, they said, and thesmell made children vomit.
Panyaza Lesufi brieflywalked on the grounds of theschool. It is the second time hehas visited the premises sincehe took office last month.
“I’m reallyworried aboutprogress. I’mmonitoring this.I want to use thisschool as a casestudy. Sanitationis dignity, wateris life.”
One block oftoilets is func-tioning, but another is still outof order, said Phumla Sekhon-yane, the department’s spokes-woman.
The school still has noelectricity.
Department officials wouldnot allow reporters to view anyof the school’s toilets duringschool hours.
The school organises itsown finances and is responsi-ble for paying electricity andwater bills, Sekhonyane said.
The department settled theamount owing when it becameaware of the school’s lack ofpower last month.
Yet when the power wasrestored, the surge causedmore problems, she said.
Contractors were hired tofix the electricity and thesewerage.
Lesufi promised to put pres-sure on administrators so they
would not allow the facilities todeteriorate again.
Parents expressed frustra-tion at the lack of communica-tion from school officials. Theysaid they had heard nothing ofthe work being done to restorethe plumbing.
Many are concerned abouttheir children’s safety.
“Our kids are keeping (in)their pee until they get home,”said Kahdija Butt, whosedaughter is in Grade R. “Theywet themselves.”
The parents came togetherto clean the toilets in February,but many still feel conditionshave not improved.
Leilah Davids said her 7-year-old daughter got an
infection andfelt a burningsensation whenshe urinated.
Because noone else in herhome showedany signs of aninfection, shebelieved herdaughter con-
tracted it from the school’sunsanitary toilets.
“I’m so worried even to sendher to school in the morning,”Davids said.
Earlier, Lesufi visited Jor-dao College, where the princi-pal had ordered teachers toinspect girls for sexual activityafter cleaners found a bloodiedcondom in the bathroom.
Though the school believesits actions were appropriate,Lesufi said administratorswould issue an apology to theparents of girls in grades 10 to12. The SA Human Rights Com-mission would investigate theincident.
A team of counsellorswould be assigned to the schoolto help affected pupils.
“I’m a dad with a littledaughter. It reaches home. Ittouches you. They just have toapologise,” Lesufi said.
BALDWIN [email protected]
THE MUNICIPAL managerof Lekwa-Teemane was sus-pended yesterday amid awater contamination crisis.
North West PremierSupra Mahumapelo saidAndrew Makuapane wassuspended pending a foren-sic investigation into the cri-sis, which claimed the livesof three infants in the arealast week.
A preliminary reportfrom the investigation wasto be tabled before a specialmeeting of the provincialexecutive council today.
“The suspension ofAndrew Makuapane followsa meeting that involved Premier Mahumapelo, Minister of Water and Sani-tation Nomvula Mokonyaneand the exco (executive com-mittee) intervention taskteam established by the pre-mier to look into challengesfacing the municipality andvisits to families who lostthree infants.”
Mahumapelo said a jointteam – which includes hiscabinet task team and Waterand Sanitation officials –had been established to lookinto the ailing infrastruc-ture, a funding model for themunicipality, governanceand administrative chal-lenges facing the municipal-ity, and sewage spillage intothe water pipes, which hasresulted in the contamina-tion of water.
Meanwhile, the ANCjoined many South Africansin extending its sympathiesto the families affected.
“The ANC has noted andwelcomed the pronounce-ments made by the ministerof water and sanitation inrelation to the situation inBloemhof,” ANC spokesmanZizi Kodwa said.
“This commitment is inline with the undertakingwe have made, as the ANC,to significantly improve theprovision of water andsanitation.
“A major and urgent task that faces the newlyformed department will be to ensure that westrengthen local govern-ment’s capacity to provideevery household with qual-ity, clean and safe drinkingwater while at the sametime accelerating deliveryon our resolution to eradi-cate the bucket system inSouth Africa.”
Numsa likely to ignore ceasefireAMY MUSGRAVEGroup Labour Editor
THE NATIONAL Union ofMetalworkers of SA (Numsa) looksset to defy an order by Cosatu notto pursue action that would feedinto divisions in the federation.
Although it could not beconfirmed last night, The Star was informed by an insider thatNumsa’s national executivecommittee had decided to goagainst a Cosatu resolution to holdfire for a month.
All Numsa spokesman CastroNgobese would say was that theunion’s national office-bearers wereconsolidating decisions on the wayforward.
Numsa’s national executivecommittee met for two days todecide whether it should toe the line.
The pow-wow, which insidersdescribed as tense, came after aresolution by Cosatu’s centralexecutive committee that its 19affiliates, including Numsa, may notpursue action which would further“militate hostilities” in SouthAfrica’s largest trade unionfederation.
This ceasefire is meant to last fora month while the ANC attempts tobroker a peace deal in Cosatu.
Affiliates had until yesterday toget buy-in from their members onthe Cosatu resolution.
Cosatu general secretaryZwelinzima Vavi said last weekthat if Numsa, or any of the otheraffiliates, did not co-operate,the federation would hold anextraordinary meeting where theunion would be sanctioned.
Ngobese said Numsa wouldmake its decisions known today.
I’m so worriedto send herto school
Boss outas teamprobeswatercrisis
HEARTBROKEN: A tearful Maserame Mogoregi speaks to The Star at her home in the Madiba section of Boitumelong township in Bloemhofabout the tragic death of her little boy.
TOOK ILL: Baby OnalennaMogoregi died after drinkingthe water in the area. Residentssay they are afraid to drink iteven when it is boiled.
Filthy-water death devastates momWHAT IS E.COLI
