Limpopo MEC condemned for bullying a Zimbabwe patient on a hospital bed
LIMPOPO provincial health minister, Phophi Ramathuba
Limpopo MEC Phophi Ramathuba
…but Ramathuba remains unapologetic
LIMPOPO provincial health minister, Phophi Ramathuba does not regret throwing tantrums at a Zimbabwe patient on a hospital bed in Limpopo waiting for a surgery.
Ramathuba said there was nothing wrong about confronting and shaming the Zimbabwean woman who she condemned as an illegal immigrant on a mission to hijack medical facilities for South Africans.
A crowd of Ramathuba’s officials laughed mockingly as their boss tongue lashes at the sick and ailing woman.
In a video which went viral Tuesday, Ramathuba was heard confronting the patient, telling her that Zimbabwe must be responsible for her health and not South Africa.
The video has triggered debate among the two neighbouring countries and opposition parties in South Africa have demanded that Ramathuba be fired, saying she was unprofessional and xenophobic.
However, speaking to South Africa’s broadcaster SABC news Wednesday, Ramathuba defended herself, saying it was her duty to protect the people of Limpopo.
“It is the responsibility of the MEC in Limpopo to make sure that the people of Limpopo live a healthy and long life. When people of Limpopo are waiting to be operated and they are not getting joy, they come to no one other than myself and when there are challenges that I see affecting even our initiatives as a province, I will have to address those challenges.
“So yes, I will have to deal with anything that has to do with health issues in my province for the sake of these people in Limpopo,” Ramathuba said.
She reiterated that her provinces’ limited resources are for South Africans and foreigners should get assistance in their countries.
“These people whom we said must be beneficiaries of the rural care matters projects do not have any other option, their option is the public health services in the Limpopo department of health. These other ones who are foreign nationals (illegally) have got an option for their countries to save them.
“Now the last hope of the Limpopo people, which is this rural care matters project, when it is being hijacked, it is again defeating the very same hope that a child of a domestic worker would be operated and go back to school, probably graduate and come and help her mother.
“Now he might remain disabled for the rest of his life because as a government we would have failed the people of Limpopo to make sure they have got that access to quality healthcare,” she said.
Zimbabwe Exiles Forum (ZEF) has rubbished Ramathuba’s justification as ‘pathetic.’
“Ramathuba could have expressed her frustration with the Zimbabwe government through the Embassy not on a patient waiting to go the knife. As a government official, she must be aware of the platforms to raise such issues. Yelling at a sick woman who is humanely in need of support is satanic. Such behavior is expected from a Shaben queen and not a government official holding a ministerial position,” reads part of ZEF statement.
The EFF has called for the dismissal of Ramathuba who the red berets described as unfit to be trusted with the responsibility of nursing human lives.
“Her entire ill-informed and inhuman performance and address to sick patient awaiting surgery is inconsistent with all universal standards of patient confidentiality and dignity,” reads part of the EFF statement.
A human rights defender for Zimbabweans in South Africa Advocate Simba Chitando has vowed to register a complaint against Ramathula with the Health Professional Council of South Africa.
“This is a flagrant breach of the health professionals code of conduct. A doctor bullying a patient on a hospital bed, with ethnic insults, is unbecoming. A complaint against this medical practitioner will be lodged with the appropriate authorities,” said Chitando.
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