They claim
unlawful foreign nationals put a strain on the public budget that was not
allocated for them.
Their threats
were in defiance to a call by the Gauteng Department of Health to desist from
exhibiting the unruly behaviour by obstructing other patients from entering the
hospital and demanding that they produce IDs at the gate.
Kagiso Kekana,
leader of Concern Tshwane Residents, said the recent protests were held to
submit a memorandum of grievances to the Health MEC's office and the hospital's
CEO.
“This is not
going to be a once-off process but acontinuous process until we win this
battle,” he said.
He said the
group of residents believes undocumented immigrants shouldn't access healthcare
at the hospital, citing concerns over overcrowding and strain on the health
budget.
He claimed the
goal is to exclude them, stating that 90% of the hospital's patients are
allegedly undocumented foreigners, who occupy about 60% of the beds.
“When you go to
every ward, there are illegal immigrants and our healthcare system is
collapsing. Our doctors and nurses are being overworked because of the influx
of immigrants and they are forced to take leave unnecessarily,”Kekana said.
He said
undocumented foreign nationals must go home to fix problems in their respective
countries because healthcare should be for South Africans only.
David Masedi
from Operation Dudula's Atteridgeville branch said they support the goal of
removing foreign nationals from public institutions, saying this is just the
beginning of their efforts to reclaim resources for their community.
Gauteng Health
Department spokesperson Motaletale Modiba said: “The Gauteng Department of
Health expresses grave concern regarding the unruly behaviour exhibited by some
community members who over the past few days, have been obstructing patients
from accessing Kalafong Provincial Tertiary Hospital in Atteridgeville,
demanding that they produce their identity documentation at the gate.”
He said no one
has the right to block others from accessing healthcare services, calling such
actions illegal and deserving of strong condemnation.
“Police have
been called on site to assist in managing the situation and we urge law
enforcement agencies to ensure that the laws of the land are implemented and
those responsible for preventing patients from accessing healthcare services
are held accountable,” he said.
Modiba stressed
that access to healthcare is a constitutional right, and no one should be
allowed to deny this right to others. IOL
WATCH: A young pregnant illegal Zimbabwean foreigner who came to South Africa to give birth at Kalafong Hospital was chased out by members of The Progressive Forces of South Africa and other organisations.
— PSAFLIVE (@PSAFLIVE) April 25, 2025
The Zimbabwean foreigner had a back full of closed as she was getting… pic.twitter.com/L6yOmckRNk
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