Let’s join hands and help Tsepang Stimulation Centre in Katlehong
by Cllr. Xolile Chamane — DA PR Councillor in Ekurhuleni
Date: 24 October 2022
Release: Immediate
Type: Media statement
On Wednesday, October 18, 2022 the Democratic Alliance in Ekurhuleni undertook an oversight visit to the Tsepang Stimulation centre in Katlehong.
The centre was launched in 1986 and to date provides day-care facilities for 60 mentally challenged children aged between four and sixteen years of age, many of whom have also been diagnosed with autism and also have physical impairments.
The purpose of the visit was to discuss the key challenges that the facility has been faced with recently. Upon arrival, I was met by the Centre Manager, Lillian Mahooa, who informed me that while the centre is funded by the Gauteng Mental Health Society, it does also heavily rely on donations, which have sadly dried up since the advent of COVID-19.
In addition, the centre is also currently battling with the management of increasing electricity bills, food shortages, the remuneration of employees, peeling classroom wall paint and other minor refurbishments.
Mahooa’s vision for the centre is to expand its residential facility in order to accommodate more children into the centre, whose parents are unable to care for in their domestic homes, to start a vegetable garden and to have a solar electrification system installed in order to decrease the electrical bill and evade the negative impacts of load-shedding on their programs and flow of operations at the centre.
Further, there is apparent rehabilitation work which needs to be done to the main structure to ensure the continued safety of the children.
As the PR Councillor, I have written to the MMC for Health and Social Development, Cllr Charlotte Zitha requesting an audience in order to dissect my findings and seek insights and possible interventions from a local government perspective.
Every year, during the so-called “state of the province address” by the Premier, the Gauteng Provincial Government continues to outline its intentions for children and young adults with disabilities but fails to turn those plans into actionable outcomes.
There needs to be intentional effort and commitment from Government to improve the lives of children living with disabilities and not merely render lip service to advance a political manifesto.
Provincial government needs to make a conscious commitment to better the lives of kids with disabilities. The welfare of these children ought to be central in Government priorities.
The DA in Ekurhuleni would like to issue a call to members of the public, philanthropists and local businesses who are able to support the centre in any way, to get in touch with us, so we can continue to improve the quality of lives for these children, by so doing shaping a better society and re-drafting the script of how we engage with disability as a people.
Cllr. Xolile Chamane
DA PR Councillor in Ekurhuleni
0814942560
