1 February 2017
The South African Communist Party (SACP) Gauteng Province commends decisive leadership provided by the Provincial Government, led by Premier David Makhura, on a complex matter of the deaths of psychiatric patients in various Non-Governmental Organisations appointed by the Gauteng Department of Health.
We commend the ANC Provincial Government for successfully balancing the need of the affected families to know the truth on the one hand; and on the other, the need for natural justice to be afforded to those whom allegations of negligence were levelled against.
We believe that to this extent, the ANC Provincial Government navigated a complex terrain by setting up a credible, transparent, objective and reputable process consistent with our country`s legal framework.
We also commend the families of the victims who beyond any shadow of doubt trusted and placed full confidence in the process to run its full cause. We sincerely thank the families as we continue to extend our fraternal salute and solidarity with them.
We however strongly condemn the right-wing Democratic Alliance, especially the pathetic conduct of a racist and chauvinist Jack Bloom who prejudged the entire process and failed every test on the principle of natural justice.
We are more than ever convinced that the DA has no respect for the principle of the rule of law and natural justice. When it is convenient, the DA can sacrifice these principles for cheap politicking and political expediency. We are pleased that our people and the families respected the process, and only the DA thrived to cash-in on the deaths of the psychiatric patients. In particular, we condemn the DA`s sheer opportunism of trying to make a political fortune out of this matter for narrow selfish interest.
We further caution against the outcome of the report being hijacked and manipulated for narrow internal ANC and Alliance factional battles, especially in the light of the forthcoming ANC National Conference. We believe that if such reactionary tendencies were to emerge within the ranks of the ANC- led movement, it will be unfortunate and regrettable. In this regard, we caution against the emergence of "comrades of fortune" literally trying to cash-in on the outcomes of the report.
Whilst we have accepted and welcomed the resignation of MEC Qedani Mahlangu, we call for a prompt, swift and appropriate sanction against those directly implicated in the report. We are confident that such action will also help bring closure and great relief to the families of the victims. We are however shocked that the number of the deaths is much higher than the figure that was initially reported. We call on the ANC government to probe this matter further.
Whilst we will continue to study the report, we hope it sheds more light on the real root causes and the rationale behind the decisions. We hope that the report will provide not just the effects of the decisions, but instead get to the bottom of the issues that perpetuate such decisions. We also believe that the entire accumulation regime, corruption and any benefits that individuals may have accrued from the tender processes must be fully exposed.
It is for this reason that as the SACP we have been consistently calling for the speedy introduction of the National Health Insurance (NHI) to resolve the deep-seated crisis in our health system.
We will also continue to campaign for an open, transparent and responsive government that is fully accountable and answerable to the people, doing so within the confines of our constitutional democracy.
Issued by the SACP Gauteng Province
Contact:
Jacob Mamabolo - SACP Gauteng Provincial Secretary
Mobile: 082 884 1868