Services at Mitaboni Dispensary in Kathiani sub-county are expected to resume soon after residents agreed to resolve a dispute that forced the dispensary to close for several months.
The dispensary has remained closed since late last year after a management dispute erupted between the community and the PCEA church that has been running the dispensary since its inception in 1990.
However, the dispute look set to end after the community reached an agreement with the PCEA church to reopen the dispensary for the sake of the community with the county government of Machakos moving with speed to renovate it and deliver new equipment and drugs.
A meeting has now been arranged on October 6 with its main agenda being to elect an interim committee that will reopen and run the hospital for sometime before permanent structures are put in place to give room for the county government to own it as a public health institution.
A spot check by this writer revealed that the area residents have suffered due to closure of the dispensary as they are forced to walk long distances to seek health services in other areas such as Yatta, Masinga and the nearby ward Ekalakala.
The closure of the dispensary has also affected service delivery to the members of public with several scheduled medical camps being cancelled at the last minute owing to the conflict.
Residents are now calling on the Machakos County government to intervene to avoid future disputes so that service delivery will not be affected again, and the dispensary is able to provide for the essential services.