DOMINIC MAPHAKA
“The realities on the ground mirror that South Africa is failing to fulfil its responsibility of protecting and providing its citizens as a state, and this development is attributed to the deterioration of the state of governance.” - Dominic Maphaka.
South Africa’s public health facilities have not been spared from the views I expressed above. The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) dedicated 2018 as the “the Year of Public Healthcare”. The party engaged in nationwide protests against what it viewed as the deteriorating state of the public health sector in South Africa.
In this context, the EFF mass protest targeted public hospitals and clinics across the country, using big facilities such as Chris Hani Baragwanath to justify their movement. At the heart of the EFF nationwide movement to regenerate the state of public health facilities, the poor people were cited as the main beneficiaries of the sector and consequently being largely affected by its poor state.
From the provincial to national EFF leadership, poor health services ranging from ill-treatment and disclosure of the patients’ medical confidential information, were condemned. This includes the recurring problem of the shortage of staff, long queues, and lack of medication.
In a video that went viral on various social media platforms, Limpopo Health MEC, Dr Phophi Ramathuba, could be heard being scathing of managerial staff at Rethabile Clinic in Polokwane. The controversial and outspoken MEC expressed disdain towards the senior health practitioners for staying in their offices while the queue of patients waiting to be serviced was long.
In view of that development, the EFF has expressed disapproval towards the MEC’s conduct through its provincial Limpopo leadership.
In a statement, the EFF expressed that they view the problems faced by Rethabile Clinic as a direct result of the shortage of nurses in the province, a development they describe as self-inflicted pain. The MEC is described as being a bully, abusive, and dehumanising towards the senior staff members at the facility.
It is observable from the above statement that the EFF has largely criticised (focused on the negativities) the MEC as opposed to critiquing her.
The latter could have involved the evaluation and the identification of things that could contribute positively to the state of public health facilities as opposed to negative things they have drawn from the MEC’s approach. Critique refers to a careful examination of events to identify weaknesses, strengths, logic, meaning, and significance.
The EFF’s criticism of the MEC’s remarks is contradictory to the organisation’s pro-poor stance coupled with its radical posture to improve the state of governance, particularly in the public health sector.
With this, the EFF statement is raising reservations and questions about its self-proclaimed representation of the poor people who are at the receiving end of the bad service in public health facilities.
Considering common remarks made by the EFF leaders that they have experienced poverty and can thus relate to the poor masses, the organisation should know better that the sick poor masses spend the whole day in public health facilities. It should know that its statement could worsen the situation faced by poor masses at South African public health facilities.
Beyond being contradictory, the EFF statement could set a wrong precedent for other public sectors facing challenges such as under-staffing. It is common knowledge that the South African education sector is understaffed, and this development necessitates that principals must engage in teaching activities.
Imagine if the principals could confine themselves to doing office work only. What would happen to the country? As a Marxist-Leninist and or Socialist organisation, the EFF has been very vocal about the need for the redistribution of resources to benefit the poor and property-less masses.
Arguably, an organisation that made this call would equally support the use of limited resources to service the poor as opposed to encouraging practices that disadvantage them. The latter should be understood in the context that a direct service from the health managerial staff members would save the poor people from spending the whole day at the public health facilities.
In view of the above, leaders like Dr Phophi Ramathuba should be critiqued to improve the state of public health facilities in South Africa, Limpopo Province in particular. Fallible as she may be, the MEC strives to improve the provision of public health services that are placing poor Limpopo residents in a disadvantaged position.
Given that the EFF has made it mandatory for its councillors and other local government representatives to buy vans to do organisational activities and those of the community it represents, the organisation should learn from such experience that limited resources should not be used to disadvantage communities from getting services.
Addressing shortcomings from the government should not come at the expense of poor people who are constitutionally entitled to efficient decent services.
Dominic Maphaka is a Junior Researcher at the Institute for Pan-African Thought and Conversation, University of Johannesburg.
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