The chairperson of the Zimbabwe Exiles Forum, Gabriel Shumba, says labelling Limpopo Health MEC Dr Phophi Ramathuba’s comments as xenophobic could have unintended consequences.
Ramathuba has been widely slammed for ‘xenophobic behaviour’ after the emergence of a video showing her telling a woman that migrants from Zimbabwe were a huge strain on the provincial healthcare system.
In the video, she is heard saying that South Africa is not running a charity organisation.
This has sparked a storm of controversy with some calling on Premier Stanley Mathabatha to fire her for the outburst.
The National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) said she was wrong to discuss this with a patient in that setting.
Shumba says they expect that there will be procedures and processes to interrogate the MEC’s actions.
“The difficulty we have representing Zimbabweans, we cannot at this juncture dub or label the comments as xenophobic. She was speaking in her own opinion [capacity] and you should appreciate the volatility of the situation, and the fact that we have now been hung up to dry in the context that Zimbabweans are operating in, at present. This is a volatile situation where our representatives label her actions and comments as xenophobic. She has violated all ethical conduct of doctors in any country on earth,” says Shumba.
In the video below, Zimbabwe responds to Ramathuba’s controversial comments:
No one-size-fits-all
Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors’ Association (ZHDA) says there is no one-size-fits-all for the remarks made by Ramathuba.
The association says it is difficult for Zimbabwean citizens to access healthcare services at public institutions in that country.
It says the infrastructure and medical supplies are not adequate.
The association’s President, Dr KP Muzenda has appealed to the Zimbabwean government to intervene in this dire situation.
“At this moment, it is quite difficult for an ordinary citizen to access health care service in public institutions in Zimbabwe. If I get sick today, I can tell you that I cannot afford to get that medical attention. Unless the government intervenes in this health crisis that we are having. As you self introspect you realise that we have a broken health system,” says Dr Muzenda.
Below is the full interview with Dr KP Muzenda:
