There was a strong Durban Metro Police contingent at Glen Earle Clinic in Newlands East when the Democratic Alliance (DA) KZN leadership wanted to do an oversight inspection but were locked out of the premises by the management of the clinic on Tuesday afternoon.
DA Provincial Leader, Francois Rodgers, said over 20 members of Durban Metro Police blocked them from conducting the oversight inspection. “As part of the Unite, Rebuild and Protect tour we visited areas in North Durban on Tuesday with the Constituency Head, Dean Macpherson, and DA councillors.
After receiving numerous reports and complaints from community members about the shoddy services rendered by this clinic, we decided to conduct an oversight inspection. As a member of the Provincial Legislature and Dean Macpherson as a member of Parliament, we are allowed to conduct these visits. After having spoken to the clinic management to let us in, the Metro Police were instead deployed to block us from entering,” said Rodgers.
He added that a total of 12 Durban Metro Police vehicles with 22 officers arrived to prevent them from doing the oversight visit. “I understand that this instruction to block us came from Head of Metro Police, Steve Middleton, and ANC Councillor, Dianne Hoorzuk, in violation of Section 55 of the Constitution and the Parliamentary prescripts to oversight and accountability. The ANC is clearly frightened of the DA, so much so they have decided to use all the resources available to them to try and intermediate us from holding the municipality to account. It is a disgrace that while communities in eThekwini are under siege from gangsters and criminals, Steve Middleton can allocate police officers to block us from doing the people’s business,” said Rodgers.
Rodgers said the DA will be reporting this incident to the Speaker of the National Assembly and the Provincial Legislature and demanded that the municipality and Metro Police are held accountable for violating the Constitution. When asked why a strong contingent of police was sent to the clinic, Durban Metro Police head, Steve Middleton, referred the Springfield Weekly Gazette to the city’s corporate communications department.
EThekwini Municipality spokesperson, Msawakhe Mayisela, said: “The city is aware that the DA embarked on what it calls an oversight exercise, which could be interpreted as a desperate attempt to score cheap political points. Members of various portfolio committees of our legislature usually, when they conduct oversight visits, communicate beforehand. The city always cooperates and attends to any issues that may be of great concern raised by those conducting the visit. It is therefore disturbing to see the DA grasping at straws during this electioneering period to ruin the image of the municipality.”
He added that the city subscribes to an open-door policy and welcomes anyone willing to conduct an oversight visit, however, it will always appreciate courtesy to be informed so that when the need arises, it provides the necessary support.
“A clinic is a health facility and as a result it provides essential services, and the City has a responsibility of guarding against anything that could distract health personnel who require to be attentive each time they are attending to our patients. Failure which could result in a situation whereby lives of our residents in these clinics could be put in danger by individuals that come unannounced,” said Mayisela. He concluded by saying that the deployment of Metro Police was not aimed at intimidating the honourable members of the DA but solely to maintain law and order in a health facility where the vulnerable are attended to.
