Limpopo Health MEC Dr Phophi Ramathuba Photo: Twitter
International Journalist Hopewell Chin’ono says the “Zimbabwean Government is the one that breached ethics by failing to honor the oath of office it took that requires it to provide healthcare to all citizens!”
Chin’ono was speaking to the SABC about the video of Limpopo Health MEC Dr Phophi Ramathub “explaining” to a foreign national patient why she should pay for the medical procedure she had just received at a public hospital.
Chin’ono was uncompromising in his analysis, saying the “people that have destroyed Zimbabwe’s healthcare system are the Zanu PF.”
“What I can say is that what we saw in that video is a direct consequence of the misgovernance in Zimbabwe.
“I have said time and time again, I was sent to prison in 2020 for exposing corruption which involved the looting of public funds meant for public health.”
ALSO READ: ‘I stand by my words’: Limpopo Health MEC says SADC countries must pay for their citizens
Chin’ono says the “people that have destroyed Zimbabwe’s healthcare system are the Zanu PF.”
Meanwhile, the Health Department says has conceded the public healthcare system is struggling in some areas due to unpredictably high number of undocumented migrants from neighbouring countries seeking healthcare service in the country other than the asylum-seekers and refugees.
The department says it has been inundated with media queries to weigh in on the current debate prompted by the comments made by the Limpopo health MEC in a video clip recorded in a Bela Bela hospital.
Ramathuba received massive backlash following the video, which has since gone viral.
Health Department spokesperson Foster Mohale says the issue of healthcare of foreign nationals is one of the subjects that are discussed during bilateral and multilateral meetings at SADC level in order to find a long-lasting solution.
“Limpopo Province is one of the affected provinces, and despite these challenges, the healthcare workers must ensure that they maintain high moral obligation and standards in their work in line with the Hippocratic Oath, together with the National Health Act and the Refugee Act of South Africa.”
“This does not mean that all services are free, because only primary healthcare services are provided free of charge, but higher levels of care are subject to a fee,” Mohale said.
Mohale says Health Minister Dr Joe Phaahla is currently out of the country, and acting Minister Angie Motshekga has instructed the department to gather all necessary information which will enable her to provide Phaahla with a full report on his return.
Ramathuba meanwhile is not backing down in her fight for SADC countries to pay medical expenses for their citizens who receive treatment in South Africa.
In an interview with the SABC on Wednesday, Ramathuba said she stood by everything she said in the video, further explaining she did not “attack” the patient.
ALSO READ: The right of access to healthcare not limited to SA citizens – public health lawyer
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