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The Democratic Alliance (DA) will not retract or apologise for the statement we issued last week on the Department of Health’s (DoH) suggestion that National Treasury had caused delays in vaccine procurement.

We note the statement issued today by the DoH in this regard. We can only conclude that the attempt by the DoH to shift blame has been met with an angry response from Treasury, and they are now trying to back-peddle.

We do not care about the petty intrigues of Cabinet squabbles. What we do care about is government’s unforgivable failure to secure a supply of vaccines for South Africa, and the lives this will cost. This delay, dithering and blame-shifting would not happen under a DA government.  The DoH should spend less time fighting with the Treasury and the DA, and spend more time delivering the vaccine! 

For the record, the DoH’s statement conveniently ignores the quotes from the Financial Mail (which the Department incorrectly identifies as the Financial Times) story which make their position clear: 

“A big challenge for SA’s efforts to secure the vaccine, in Pillay’s (Anban Pillay, Deputy Director General, DoH) view, has been risk aversion in the Treasury.”

It is deeply dishonest of the DoH to leave this paragraph out of their statement. 

Indeed, this was the only possible interpretation of Pillay’s statement. Rapport, this weekend, came to the same conclusion: “Pillay die blaam…voor die tesourie se deur gelê” (Pillay lays the blame at Treasury’s door). 

South Africa urgently needs the vaccine. That is where the DoH’s focus should be. They should not expect the DA to back down in fighting for vaccines for all South Africans.

Issued by The DA