Department of Social Development and Community Services

1
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

2
Core business

• Municipal Health Services(MHS)(the management of
  all physical,chemical and biological
  factors,which impact on personsdevelopment,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

3
Water quality monitoring

• Water sampling
• Implementing health,hygiene and education
  campaigns that relate to water supply and
  sanitation

4
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

5
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,stora
  ge,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

6
Surveilance of premises

• Environmental health impact assessment including
  housing projects and indoor air quality
• Scrutinisation of building plans with regard to
  minimum health requirements

7
Environmental pollution control

• Prevention of pollution of natural
  resources(land,river,air pollution etc)through
  health education
• Identification of polluting agents and their
  sources

8
Surveilance,control and prevention of
communicable diseases

• Prevention of occurrence of disease outbreaks
  through continuos health and hygiene education

9
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

10
Chemical safety

• Ensures that spilage of chemicals especially
  during transportation is avoided
• Ensure proper packaging ,storage and handling of
  chemicals

11
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

12
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 dont 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
• Dont have own offices

13
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

14
Projects or Plans for 2010/11

• 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

15
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