READER LETTER | Cele follows protocol

The problem regarding Lesufi’s officers, the newly appointed 6,000 crime wardens, an innovative effort to help the police deal effectively with excessively high crime rates, reminds me of an innovation years back, during  Qedani Mahlangu’s tenure as a Gauteng MEC for health.

There was a big outcry over overcrowding in hospitals. In her response to this problem she announced a breakthrough whereby some new machine or equipment would be able to determine which hospitals had space to accommodate new patients for admission, which meant that the problem of overcrowding would be a thing of the past. 

But that solution overlooked very important factors such as visits and visiting hours for families and check up visits for patients after discharge, which would involve unaffordable travelling costs. That is why patients are normally admitted to their local hospitals, which are within easy reach for the community. That innovation never worked.

That is the importance of following protocol, which is what minister of police, Bheki Cele is emphasising; sticking to established and approved ways of doing things, because there are always reasons for doing things in a particular way. Hopefully, an amicable solution will be found, to the relief of those who felt relieved to find some form of employment after years of desperation. – Cometh Dube-Makholwa, Midrand