Nyanga Community Health Centre is operating as usual after being partially affected by an electricity outage caused by vandalism in the area. The clinic experienced electricity problems from Friday, 13 February, which affected service delivery at the facility.
Nyanga CHC is operating as usual
Western Cape Department of Health and Wellness spokesperson, Samantha Lee-Jacobs, confirmed that the Nyanga Community Day Clinic was partially affected by the outage due to vandalism of community electricity infrastructure.
“The City has since repaired the faults. Electricity supply to the Nyanga Community Day Clinic has been fully restored, and we can confirm that services continued during the power outage. Staff remained on duty and continued to provide care. There was backup power supply to the fridges to ensure that medication temperatures were maintained,” said Lee-Jacobs.
She added that despite the partial outage, the facility did not experience any major service disruptions, and no patients were diverted to other health facilities.
Services affected during Nyanga clinic electricity outage
However, a security officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because she was not authorised to speak to the media, said the electricity problem began on Friday, 13 February, and worsened on Monday, 16 February.
“The clinic started experiencing electricity problems on Friday. It was on and off until Sunday, 15 February. On Monday, 16 February, the electricity went off completely until today (Wednesday, 18 February),” she said.
The officer added that many people who arrived for appointments were turned away, while priority was given to those collecting chronic medication.
Resident Bukelwa Mange from Lusaka said she was turned away at the entrance due to the power outage.
“I wanted to make an appointment. I have a sharp pain in my back and hoped to see the doctor tomorrow (Thursday, 19 February),” said Mange.
Community reaction to Nyanga clinic electricity outage
Ward 37 councillor Sandile Martin criticised those responsible for vandalising the electricity infrastructure, saying their actions put lives at risk. He urged community members to take ownership of their streets and help protect public infrastructure.
