The Premier of the Free State, Sisi Ntombela received a state-of-the-art clinic and firefighting emergency vehicles to the value of R15, 2 million from Sasol Mining on behalf of the Ngwathe Local Municipality and the Free State Department of Health. Sasol Mining built the clinic in Parys as part of fulfilling its Social and Labour Plan obligations in terms of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, 2002, as regulated by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, Free State regional office.
The facility is the first municipal clinic in South Africa to solely operate on solar power and has two 2500 litre each water catchment system to ensure uninterrupted service. The facility houses eight consulting rooms with x-ray capabilities, a dental care room, counselling room, a pharmacy and a kitchen for the clinic staff.
“The wellbeing of the communities in which we operate is very important to Sasol. We are therefore delighted to hand over the Parys clinic today as part of our, and our SLP partners’ initiatives to ensure that our communities’ health remains a priority. At the same time, we are also handing 4 emergency vehicles to the Ngwathe Fire Department to boost their response time during fire emergency in the area, especially during this cold weather we have been experiencing,” said Rightwell Laxa, Senior Vice President at Sasol’s Sasolburg and Ekandustria Operations.
Over the years Sasol has invested in a number of initiatives in the Ngwathe Local Municipality, including the building of the Multi-Purpose Centre in Vredefort, the upgrading of the Khanya Community Health Centre, the provision of B3 printers, providing blankets to the less fortunate during winter months and hand sanitisers at the height of the devastating COVID-19 pandemic.
Premier Sisi Ntombela thanked Sasol for its investments and said the completion of the clinic came at exactly the right time, strengthening a fruitful relationship. “This is a major boost in our commitment to deliver quality health services to our people. The clinic will relieve a burden of overcrowding in the current local clinic that was seeing an average of 20 000 patients per quarter,” she said.
Kalipa Kewuti, Regional Manager for the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy said, “The Department’s mandate to transform the mining sector by ensuring that holders of mining rights such as Sasol Mining, plough back and contribute towards the socio-economic development of the areas in which they are operating has been fulfilled today. Sasol Mining has honoured its SLP commitments and the Department is here to witness the handing over of its initiative.
