LaMvelase Clinic Now Permanent COVID-19 Vaccination Site
…opens Mondays to Fridays, 8:30am to 4pm. Manzini citizens urged to vaccinate
With some parts of the globe already experiencing the Covid-19 fourth wave and the Kingdom of Eswatini having begun to experience a spike in daily infection figures, the call for citizens to vaccinate against the virus has become even more relevant. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has remained adamant that the best way to escape the harmful effects of the Covid-19 virus is through countries achieving herd immunity. Herd immunity is a situation whereby at least 70 percent of a country’s population has taken the Covid-19 vaccine. This helps curtail the spread of the virus. In response to the global call for citizen vaccination, the Municipal Council of Manzini, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, has set up an additional vaccination station within the LaMvelase Clinic. The vaccination site opens on Mondays to Fridays (excluding public holidays), between 8:30am and 4pm.
All along there were two permanent vaccination stations in the city; these being the Sobhuza Clinic, which offers all the vaccines; namely Astra Zeneca, Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer) and the Raleigh Fitkin Memorial (RFM) Hospital which only offers the Astra Zeneca. Booster shots are also available in these facilities. The Municipal Council of Manzini, together with the Ministry of Health, encourages as many citizens as possible to vaccinate against the virus. Vaccination is free of charge. According to Vusi Shabangu from the Ministry of Health’s Expanded Programme in Immunisation (EPI), statistics shows that the Manzini North and Manzini South tinkhundla have one of the largest populations in the country hence the expectation is that the rate of Covid-19 vaccination should be higher. “However, what we are experiencing is reluctance to vaccinate. We really appreciate those that have already vaccinated but it would do Eswatini a lot of good if as many people as possible can vaccinate. By adding the permanent vaccination stations we are trying to ensure that citizens do not have to travel long distances and endure long queues to get the vaccine”, said Shabangu.
Citizens are also urged to continue practising the Covid-19 preventative measures, whether or not they are vaccinated. These include proper wearing of face masks whenever in public spaces, regular washing of hands using soap and running water, use of 70 percent alcohol content hand sanitizer as an alternative to hand wash, physical distancing and avoiding crowds. Moreover, whenever a person exhibits flu-like symptoms, they are encouraged to immediately visit the doctor. In the event there is a need to take a Covid-19 test the RFM Hospital, Zakhele Community Hall, St Theresa’s Clinic, Wellness Centre and Sobhuza Clinic are some of the available public facilities in the city for such purposes.
…REHABILITATION WORKS ONGOING ON TIKHUBA ROAD, SOUTHERN DISTRIBUTOR
Increased civil engineering works have in the past week been experienced on Tikhuba road, near the Manzini Club. This resulted in the road being temporarily inaccessible; resulting in motorists being compelled to access their destinations through alternative roads. The Municipal Council of Manzini pleads with citizens to bear with it as, from now onwards, there will be more activity on that road. The traffic flow disturbances are as a result of the ongoing road rehabilitation works on that road. Tikhuba is one of the roads that form part of the ongoing multi-million road rehabilitation project in the City of Manzini alongside Mimosa road in Coates Valley, Southern Distributor road in Extension 7 and construction of the Bosco Bridge. The Bosco Bridge will connect Ngwane Park Springle Farm with the southern part of the city near Bosco Skills Centre. Tikhuba road begins at the Manzini traffic circle near the Manzini Club and stretches as far as Coates Valley on the Jacaranda Avenue/Mimosa traffic intersection.
The contractor, AG. Thomas has begun reconstructing storm water drains along Tikhuba road whilst utility service providers are relocating their services for purposes of smooth flow of the project. Rehabilitation works are also ongoing on Southern Distributor road. Again residents who live along the road are urged to continue cooperating with the contractor and observe traffic flow signage. Significant works has also taken place with the Bosco Bridge in as far as construction of the base of the bridge is concerned. Mimosa road rehabilitation also remains part of the project package. The contractor will scale down activity on site between the 17th December 2021 and 10th January 2022 as it proceeds on festive break. However, the completion date for the entire project (roads rehabilitation and Bosco Bridge construction) still stands at March 2023.
…MUNICIPALITY HOSTS PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES DAY
Inclusion is one of the values of the Municipal Council of Manzini and the Municipality always strives to live up to that organizational character. Last week Thursday the Municipality, together with the Manzini business sector, hosted International Persons with Disabilities Day. One of the objectives of commemorating this day, which is commemorated annually, is to afford persons with disabilities an opportunity to express their daily challenges in the city with the view to finding lasting solutions. The Municipality usually invites various sectors of the economy to attend this event and get first-hand the service sentiments from persons with disabilities. This year the city’s retail sector was invited and they attended in their numbers. The various associations under the Federation of Disabled persons in Swaziland attended, namely; the Physical disabilities Association, Deaf Association, Albinism Association, Epilepsy Association and Visually Impaired association. The key messages from persons with disabilities to the business sector were attitude and perception change towards persons with disabilities with the view to removing stigma and discrimination, provision of economic and employment opportunities to persons with disabilities as well as adoption of inclusive communication methods within the business sector and all other stakeholders.