The South African Communist Party (SACP) in Gauteng Province calls for a Provincial Alliance Health Summit, comprising of the African National Congress (ANC), the SACP, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) and South African National Civic Organisation (SANCO). This summit which should also include the broader and popular revolutionary forces, including those in the Health sector should be held in January 2018.

The SACP believes that the current tragedy and loss of innocent lives in Life Esidimeni requires that the revolutionary Alliance as the only epicentre of the National Democratic Revolution (NDR) and custodian of the interests of the historically oppressed people, the working class and the poor can and should provide strategic leadership on the Health question.

We strongly believe that the Summit or Indaba will provide the Alliance with the rare and absolutely necessary opportunity to attend to the political economy of Health in our province. It will also give us an opportunity to deal with the structural and institutional problems at the provincial department of Health and most importantly, the challenge of providing mental health services to mentally ill patients.

We believe that a broader, strategic and comprehensive approach to the Health question should be found to avoid the repeat of the current tragedy affecting mentally ill patients. It is absolutely necessary to ensure that the Alliance empowers families and communities to play a key and strategic role to care for mentally ill patients.

The SACP commends government for establishing the Arbitration process to ensure that affected families find eternal and long lasting closure on the Life Esidimeni tragedy. We firmly and strongly believe that as part of ensuring that the families find closure, the law must take its full course against those who violated the laws of our country.

We commend the good work done by former Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke and we are looking forward to the conclusion and completion of the work to ensure that affected families are supported to eternal and long lasting closure. We believe that government must continue to provide counselling services far beyond the Arbitration process.

We also commend and appreciate the fact the Alliance structures have respected and continue to show maximum respect to the Arbitration process and have given it the dignity it deserves. We note that reactionary forces and rightwing elements are hard at work to manipulate the Life Esidimeni tragedy for narrow and conservative political interests.

We firmly believe that the Alliance of the ANC, SACP, Cosatu and SANCO carries the hopes and aspirations of the overwhelming majority of our people and remains the only source of hope to find a better and lasting solution to the challenges facing Health services in our county and province.
 

Issued by the SACP Gauteng province