Limpopo health MEC Dr Phophi Ramathuba is not backing down from her call for SADC countries to pay medical expenses for their citizens who receive medical treatment in South Africa.
The health MEC was filmed confronting a foreign national who was scheduled for surgery at a hospital in the province.
In the video, she is heard telling the patient her country must take responsibility for her health issues and not South Africa, adding that Emmerson Mnangangwa, the Zimbabwean President does not contribute to Limpopo’s health budget.
“You are supposed to be with Mnagangwa. You are killing my health system. When you guys are sick you just say, ‘Let’s cross the Limpopo river, there’s a MEC there who’s running a charity department’.
“In Limpopo, we have 5.7 million people, 91% do not have medical aid, they are dependent on the state… 9% have medical aids. Instead of using the budget for what its meant for… you are nit even registered anywhere, you are illegal… This is unfair,” she said.
Ramathuba was criticised by some for how she handled the matter, while others praised her for “finally telling the truth”.
In an interview with the SABC on Wednesday, Ramathuba said she stands by everything she said in the video, further explaining that she did not “attack” the foreign patient. “We did not attack the patient,” she said.
Ramathuba said she appreciated the attention the video has received because “the already overburdened healthcare system is now coming to its knees”.
“South Africa has a constitution and section 27 is very clear that we shall never deny anyone emergency healthcare services and as a province, including myself, we stick by that. On a daily basis we admit foreign nationals, illegal or legal, they’re there receiving healthcare services and we’ve never raised or complained about that,” explained Ramathuba.
Source: The Citizen, Daily Maverick, Business Live, image from Twitter