Pretoria – Minister of Health, Dr Joe Phaahla will this morning, conduct a site visit to Kalafong Provincial Tertiary Hospital in Atteridgeville, west of Pretoria, to assess the impact of sporadic protests on access to health services.
For weeks, Operation Dudula members have been camped at the Pretoria hospital, vetting people walking into the facility, and blocking foreign nationals from entering.
On Tuesday, the EFF in Gauteng said it is mobilising its members to “defend” the Kalafong Provincial Tertiary Hospital. Physical confrontations were reported from the hospital’s main entrance during the day.
EFF’s acting Gauteng provincial chairperson Itani Edwin Mukwevho questioned why police have not arrested or dispersed Dudula members, despite an interdict obtained by the health authorities against the people blocking the hospital entrance, and vetting patients.
Department of Health’s national spokesperson, Foster Mohale has cautioned community members against actions which may endanger lives of patients and health-care workers.
“The department cautions against any individual or organisations whose actions pose threats on the lives of health workers and patients, and working closely with the law enforcement agencies will act accordingly,” Mohale said.
“The department reiterates a call by government to condemn actions of those preventing people from accessing health facilities based on nationality, colour of their skin and the language they speak.”
Phaahla is expected at the hospital at 10am.
On Wednesday, Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele said the ongoing vetting of patients seeking to enter Kalafong Provincial Tertiary Hospital is “highly regrettable” as it undermines everything South Africa stands for.
“This country is a member of the progressive global nations and an affiliate to the progressive principles of the human tribe. Everything that has occurred there is against the constitutional imperatives of this country,” Gungubele spoke to broadcaster Newzroom Afrika.
Members of Operation Dudula have reportedly continued to confront people walking into the hospital, stopping patients who are dark-skinned.
According to reports, members of the group mainly stopped women based on their “appearance and skin tone”, and also demanded to see proof of identification. The patients were also asked questions to ascertain their origin.
White people and light-skinned black people were reportedly permitted to freely enter the hospital, while dark-skinned people faced a barrage of questions to prove if they are South African.
Gungubele said such actions are a manifestation of an inferiority complex.
“There are a lot of such stories, but the point I want to make is that, if you were to check whether people belong to this country on the basis of being dark or not, it is an unfortunate perpetuation of inferiority complex which demonstrates how we are struggling to redeem, to liberate ourselves from the legacy of apartheid,” he said.
“It is something that we got to deal with. How then do you use people’s colour to do that?”
The Kalafong Provincial Tertiary Hospital said its staff members have also been targeted by members of Operation Dudula, as they are also required to produce IDs proving that they are South African before entering the hospital.
Speaking to Radio 702, Kalafong Hospital CEO Sello Matjila said foreign patients have been turned away.
“Our staff have no free movement. I mean even during the day, I imagine that if someone wants to go buy food just across the hospital they cannot do that anymore because this group is just lurking outside the hospital,’’ Matjila said.
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