DA Slams Eastern Cape Health Department for Paying R67 Million to 45 Hospital Staff “For Doing Nothing”

• The DA is outraged that the staff of a closed Eastern Cape hospital are still getting their salaries
• The Orsmond Tuberculosis Hospital in Kariega had been closed for almost two years ago
• The DA has slammed the Eastern Cape Health Department for forking out R67 million to employees for doing no work

KARIEGA - The Democratic Alliance (DA) has taken aim at the Eastern Cape Health Department for paying R67 million to 45 staff members who haven't worked in two years.

The Orsmond Tuberculosis Hospital in Kareiga closed almost two years ago. Despite not servicing patients, workers continued receiving their salaries, TimesLIVE reported.

After the hospital closed, the 45 employees refused to be allocated to other medical facilities in the district.

The DA is up in arms about the revelation, claiming that staff members are being paid for doing nothing.

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Democratic Alliance criticised Eastern Cape Health Department for failing to place workers

Jane Cowley, a member of the Eastern Cape Members of the Provincial Legislature (MPL), described the revelation as a flagrant disregard for the taxpayers' purse, News24 reported.

Cowley said:

"Hospitals and clinics across the province are dealing with dire staff shortages, which has crippled service delivery to patients in critical need of healthcare.

Cowley criticised the provincial health department for forking out millions for absolutely no work instead of filling vacant posts.

South Africans outraged by DA's revelation

Below are some reactions.

@Nelisiwe94 slammed:

"The most corrupt Province in SA…. I rest my case."

@Imali500 criticised:

"Lekka paid leave like the blue brigade and many others in government."

@LWR08 asked:

"What had we done to deserve this treatment from ANC mara?"

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@GN33863052 said:

"And they want South Africa to trust them with NHI. Oh, please!"

@yolish_ added:

"I am very speechless."

@PhilhPhil remarked:

"What an absolute disgrace! Anywhere else in the world that has a modicum of self-respect, and the management involved would have to resign or be fired. Unbelievable."

Family of KZN woman abandoned by paramedics turn to SAHRC for justice with Da’s help after loved one dies

Earlier, Briefly News reported that the family of the woman abandoned by paramedics in KwaZulu-Natal are out for justice, and they have turned to the South African Human Right Commission (SAHRC) to achieve it.

Thembeka Sikhosana's ordeal captured South African's hearts after it was revealed that two paramedics refused to transport her to a hospital, abandoning a sickly Sikhosana on the side of the road, IOL reported.

Sikhosana, who was born with a hole in her heart, had to be driven to a nearby clinic by a neighbour, after which she was transferred to Prince Mshiyeni Memorial Hospital in Umlazi.

Source: Briefly News