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The Democratic Alliance calls on the Minister of Health, Dr. Aaron Motsoaledi, to ensure proper health services in North West takes place amidst the chaos here.

We welcome the North West Executive Cabinet’s decision to place the provincial Health Department under administration, as the Health Department does not have the capacity to execute its constitutional functions of delivering critical health care services. But in the meanwhile, our communities are suffering. Urgent intervention is needed here to prevent unnecessary deaths and suffering.

The DA has confirmed a shortage of essential medicines such as ARVs, chronic medication, and immunization vaccines. In the entire North West, only the Bojanala District is currently not that greatly affected by this shortage.

Non-striking workers in Tshepong Hospital in Matlosana and workers in Mafikeng are not allowed to go to work, and it seems that this situation has also escalated to the Potchefstroom hospitals. Meanwhile, some clinics are locked as they cannot serve their communities.

Yesterday, 3 May 2018, we met with a father whose daughter tried to commit suicide. The father rushed to the scene but they couldn’t get an ambulance and they were told that the emergency staff members of ambulances were scared to work as they feared for their safety due to the strikes and protest at the hospitals.

The collapse in the delivery of health services in hospitals and clinics is a direct result of a complete lack of governance by the ANC North West Provincial Government (NWPG).

After placing the Health Department under the administration of the Provincial Treasury it became clear that this was not done to improve the performance of the department but this was a ploy to subject it to state capture. Shortly after placing the department under administration two major contracts worth at least half a billion; Buthelezi Ambulances and Gupta-linked Mediosa, were approved without following proper tender procedures.

The beneficiaries of the contracts are known associates of the embattled Premier Supra Mahumapelo and the contracts have now become subjects of criminal investigations by the Hawks.

The lack of accountability and transparency in the management of affairs within the department is also the cause of the collapse of the department. The suspended Head of the Department of Health, Dr. Thabo Lekalakala, made an advance payment of R30 million to the Gupta linked Mediosa company without being accountable to the executive authority of the North West Health Department.

The DA applauds Dr. George Mothibi and his team at Mahikeng Provincial Hospital who went beyond the call of duty to help women who were in labor to deliver the babies.

The DA wishes to convey its condolences to the families and friends of the people who at the height of the crises that collapsed the delivery of health services lost their lives in hospitals and clinics across the province.

We urge the people of North West to work with administrators from the national government to restore the normal provision of health services in the province, especially to poor and vulnerable people.

The people of North West need Total Change that only a DA government can bring, not the ANC who are crippled by factional battles and failing to resolve this ongoing crisis.

Issued by DA