Nearly a year after the FF Plus for the first time urgently requested the government to intervene in the terrible state of health services in the North West, the province’s Department of Health was placed under the administration of the national government.
The Minister of Communication, Ms Nomvula Mokonyane, made the announcement at Parliament earlier today.
This follows shortly after the recent raid on the offices of Premier Supra Muhamopelo, which was conducted amid allegations of corruption regarding a contract of nearly R200 million that Mediosa Health, an alleged Gupta-linked company, was awarded for mobile clinic units by the province’s Department of Health.
The FF Plus pointed out the problems with the province’s health services as far back as May last year and the party’s point-by-point explication painted a shocking picture of total decline in every area.
The situation was already so serious at that time that service delivery basically came to a standstill and that carried a life-threatening risk for all the sick people in North West.
Earlier this month, the FF Plus once again warned that the situation is headed for disaster if the government does not intervene at once. And then no medicine was delivered to various clinics and hospitals in North West due to the strike by the Nehawu medical depot personnel.
The government has now finally decided to intervene – even if it is a year too late. The FF Plus, however, is utterly convinced that the situation was fatal for many sick patients on chronic medication.
It is clear that the present situation in the North West province is critical and the government must immediately step in to prevent any further tragedies.
What transpired here is not only a blemish on the name of the province, but also serves as proof that the ANC government is utterly incompetent to rule because a province’s health services were left to go to ruin before emergency plans were made at the eleventh hour.
;
