The ANC Youth League task team in Nelson Mandela Bay is calling for the removal of the province’s health MEC, Sindiswa Gomba. ANCYL regional task team Coordinator Bongani Mani says they are deeply concerned about her handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The province so far has 480 confirmed cases of the virus.
Mani says it is evident that the screening and testing in the metro has been an abysmal failure.
“Reports as well as evidence show that the MEC and the department in the province has not been at its best at the moment. Of course it is the historical matter in relation to the department of health, but at the moment we don’t afford to take chances because we might lose thousands and millions of people. She is the head of the department and the political principal of the department; therefore she must tell the country and be seen doing something about the pandemic. We can’t get stories.”
A District Health Plan for the period 2018/19- 2020/21 by the Eastern Cape Health Department highlights that access to health facilities remains a major challenge in the metro.
In the video below, the ANCYL elaborates on why it is calling for Gomba’s head:
Concerns on Eastern Cape’s battle with COVID-19
Concerns have been raised on how the Eastern Cape is dealing with the rapid rise of COVID-19 cases.
The 480 infections in the province have been linked to at least two funerals.
During a visit to the province recently, Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize lambasted health officials for their slow progress in tracing those who came into contact with mourners, who had attended one of the implicated funerals at KwaDwesi, in Port Elizabeth, three weeks ago.
In the video below, Mkhize expresses concern as COVID-19 cases continue to increase in the Eastern Cape:
The Nelson Mandela Bay is currently the epicentre of positive COVID-19 cases in the province. The metro has recorded over 250 COVID-19 infections.
While Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane has begun shaking up the provincial response to the pandemic, he has also acknowledged that the province still has a long way to go to improve its health system.
