Dear Editor
The DA is disturbed by reports that staff work in fear in Maqanyeni Clinic in Ngqeleni, in the Eastern Cape.
Last Friday, a security guard was sadly shot and killed as well as a female staff member assaulted during a robbery, after four suspects gained entry into the facility. Five computers were also stolen. The suspects remain at large, and we call on SAPS to ensure speedy justice.
The DA expresses its deep condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Dakhile Ngobe, whose life was tragically taken.
At the end of last year, the DA revealed through a Parliamentary question that more than 100 attacks have occurred at public health facilities since 2022, including incidents of assault, robbery, rape, and murder. We call for the Minister of Health, Dr Joe Phaahla, to urgently focus on ensuring safety at our healthcare facilities, in order for staff to do their important work and for patients to get the care they need.
While President Cyril Ramaphosa “looks for his pen” to sign the disastrous National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill, it is clear that our healthcare system needs to get the basics right first. This includes leveraging the strengths of the private healthcare sector to bolster public healthcare; working with private health providers to lower premiums and out of pocket costs; ensuring cheaper, more accessible prescription medicines, as well as building the necessary infrastructure and hiring more personnel.
Our healthcare system will only succeed once we remove politicians from its provision, and we ensure that healthcare is administered independently. With Parliamentary watchdogs, we can also ensure that all our facilities are up to standard in their required level of care.
On May 29th, voters must choose a healthcare system that benefits their lives and ensures quality care, away from violence. Only the DA can provide that. The ANC can go promote their false fantasies elsewhere.
Regards
Michele Clarke MP
DA Shadow Minister of Health
Giddeeup
Fun South African Fact: South Africa is home to a variety of landscapes and biomes, including deserts, wetlands, bushveld, grasslands, mountains and subtropical forests.
Poptart Ak47
A lady was picking through the frozen turkeys at Pick \’n Pay, but couldn\’t find one big enough for Christmas dinner.
She asked a packer, \”Do these turkeys get any bigger?\”
He replied, \”No madam, they\’re dead.\”