Department of Social Development
and Community Services
The department consist of 28 staff members with
Manager,Divisional Manager Municipal Health
Services(MHS),Air Quality Officer,Secretary to the
Manager,six Heads(MHS) and eighteen Environmental
Health Practitioners
Core business
Municipal Health Services(MHS)(the management of all physical,chemical and
biological factors,which impact on persons’development,health and survival)
MHS-its aim is to protect,preserve and enhance the public health and safety and
the environment through the delivery of effective environmental health
inspections,consultation and education,law enforcement,monitoring and
oversight services to the hospitals internal and external clients.These services
include the following
Water quality monitoring
Water sampling
Implementing health,hygiene and
education campaigns that relate to
water supply and sanitation
Food control
Food safety and hygiene monitoring
Food inspection at production,storage,distribution and consumption
Promote safe handling,storage and preparation of meat and meat product and
foodstuff
Food sampling
Ensures that food outlets that comply with minimum health requirement as per
health regulations get or acquire certificate of acceptability
Waste management
Even though District municipalities function is limited to disposal and
monitoring of waste disposal at landfill site in terms of the waste act we should
also
Ensure safe and proper generation,collection,storage,handling and disposal of
waste by local municipalities and community at large
Prevention and monitoring of illegal dumping
Monitoring and give support to local municipality
Surveilance of premises
Environmental health impact assessment
including housing projects and indoor air quality
Scrutinisation of building plans with regard to
minimum health requirements
Environmental pollution control
Prevention of pollution of natural
resources(land,river,air pollution etc)through
health education
Identification of polluting agents and their
sources
Surveilance,control and prevention
of communicable diseases
Prevention of occurrence of disease
outbreaks through continuos health
and hygiene education
Disposal of the deads
Continuous monitoring through inspections of funeral
undertakers,motuaries and parlor
Ensures that funeral undertakers,motuaries and parlors
which comply to the minimum health requirements get or
acquire certificates of competence
Chemical safety
Ensures that spilage of chemicals especially
during transportation is avoided
Ensure proper packaging ,storage and
handling of chemicals
Air quality management
Identification,monitoring and control of air pollution sources,through
inspections of listed activities and issuing of atmospheric emissions license to
the premises with listed activities
Ensuring that public are not exposed to detrimental air pollutants by monitoring
premises with listed activities and ensure that such premises adhere to
conditions stipulated by atmospheric emissions license
Minimization of impact of Air Quality pollutants by public awareness campaigns
Challenges
Limited kilometer s and budget for Environmental Health Practitioners and Air
Quality Officer to execute their duties
Staff shortage due to limited budget and very slow recruitment process
Other staff members don’t qualify for fixed car allowance even though their
positions are car allowance bearing positions and council vehicles not provided
for them which make it difficult or impossible to execute their duties
Communication equipments limited to most staff members within the district
Don’t have own offices
Achievements
Air Quality unit established
Air Quality management plan in place
Devolvement of Municipal Health Services/function
Integrated waste management plan developed and on process of annual review
Environmental management plan developed and currently on process of annual
review
Municipal health strategic plan developed
Projects or Plans for 2010/11
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MHS information software
Development of landfill site
Air quality emission inventory
Review integrated waste management and
environmental management plans
Training of green scorpions
Arbor education and promotion
Working for water education and promotion
Municipal health strategic plan
Reports,awareness and events
• Celebrated world environment day through community building
capacity and tree planting through greening municipality at
Lephalale local municipality,thabo mbeki settlement on the 5th of
June 2010
• Celebrated arbor day through community building capacity at Ham
no.1 at Mogalakwena local municipality on the 29th of September
2010,and at Thabazimbi local municipality on the 15 September
2010
• Clean up campaign at Mogalakwena municipality on the 29th of July
2010
• Chicken pox outbreak at Thabazimbi,which was well managed and
curbed in five days
• Twenty five MHS volunteers assisted in monitoring ,inspections and
evaluation of vendors at Lephalale public viewing area during FIFA
world cup