UCT health services blow
Cape Town - UCT's decision to suspend its voluntary health services in Khayelitsha following a second armed attack on university students and staff in two months has left the community facing a "massive concern".
On Tuesday, three gunmen attacked six UCT students in Site B, robbing them of their cellphones and bags.
Last month, two gunmen attacked a project manager working for UCT. She was robbed of her bag while driving in Site B.
Community leaders said on Wednesday that UCT's decision to suspend its voluntary services in the area will have a negative impact on the community.
Khayelitsha Development Forum (KDF) chairperson Ndithini Tyhido said: "UCT's volunteers provide a vital health service to the community. We condemn the robberies, but would have hoped to engage with UCT to come up with another solution. It is disappointing that they have chosen to suspend their services."
UCT provides Khayelitsha with a number of health programmes run by its faculty of health sciences and the Students Health and Welfare Centres Organisation (Shawco). Medical and health and rehabilitation students working for UCT's Schools Improvement Initiative (SII) also provide services in many schools in the area.
Shawco also provides mobile clinics, staffed by about 15 UCT students as well as volunteer doctors, which visit other communities and informal settlements.
Khayelitsha Community Policing Forum spokesperson Ndikho Weni said a lack of police officers was a serious concern in the area.
"We have people being robbed at gunpoint daily and the incidents do not seem to be decreasing. The problem we have is that we do not have enough police officers for such a massive area.
"We also have a situation which causes fatigue and a lack of motivation among our police officers."
UCT spokesperson Gerda Kruger said the university is "appalled" that students and staff who serve the community had been attacked.
"We are relieved that no one was injured and we are extending various forms of assistance to the affected UCT members. But it is shocking that the criminal behaviour of a few individuals should interfere with the good work that our students and staff members are trying to do."
She said the UCT students affected by the robbery had been in Khayelitsha at the Site B Community Health Clinic as part of their clinical training at public health facilities.
"As the van slowed down, it was approached by three armed gunmen, who robbed students of their cellphones and bags.
In the first incident in June, two gunmen attacked a UCT SII project manager as she was driving in Site B and robbed her of her bag.
Interim dean for health sciences Professor Gregory Hussey said the faculty is extremely concerned about the safety of its staff and students.
"This attack and other similar incidents where health workers have been attacked in the course of duty here and elsewhere in the country highlight the vulnerability of our health workers with respect to criminality.
"The much-needed essential health services provided by them in our communities are under threat from criminals.
"We call on everyone in the community to assist the authorities in alerting them to criminal activity, and supporting initiatives to combat crime, particularly where this impacts on essential health services."
Kruger said UCT intends to discuss its long-term response to the incidents at the highest level.
Schools Development Unit and SII director Jonathan Clark said the department will ensure that strategies are put in place to ensure the safety of all those from UCT who work in the SII partner schools in Khayelitsha.
Police spokesperson Noloyiso Rwexana confirmed that an armed robbery case is under investigation and said no one had been arrested.
Cape Times