Over 1 000 Jobless Doctors Spark Protest March to Health Department Over Unemployment Crisis, SA in Disbelief

• Hundreds of qualified doctors have had enough of the unemployment crisis in South Africa's
• In their droves, the healthcare professionals marched to the head offices of the Health Department to hand over a memorandum of demand
• Trade union Samatu said it's concerning that so many doctors are jobless when SA's health care system is in shambles

PRETORIA - The streets of Pretoria were flooded with frustrated doctors protesting the unemployment crisis in South Africa on Thursday, January 26.

The protest was sparked by claims that over 1 000 qualified doctors sit jobless with no hopes of ever being employed. Fed up with the joblessness experienced by healthcare workers, doctors associated with different trade unions marched from Heartfelt Arena to the Health Department, City Press reported.

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The purpose of the protest march was to hand a memorandum of demands to Health Minister Dr Joe Phaahla. Hitting the streets was the SA Medical Association Trade Union (Samatu) accompanied by the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), the Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (Denosa) and the Young Nurses Indaba Trade Union (Yintu).

Dr Cedric Sihlangu, the general secretary of Samatu said that considering the state of South Africa's healthcare system, it was a tragedy that over 1 000 qualified doctors were unemployed, Newzroom Afrika reported.

Sihlangu decried:

"Clinics and hospitals are understaffed!"

Samatu gives Dr Joe Phaahla until one month to respond to the doctor's list of demands

Health Minister Phaahla accepted and signed the memorandum outside the department's national offices on Thursday. Phaala now has until February 27 to respond to the union's demands.

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The trade unions want all qualified and registered medical professionals without employment to be appointed to public healthcare institutions within two weeks.

Other demands include:

• Doctors should be offered permanent and non-shift work contracts for employment
• All vacant registrar posts should be funded and filled within three months

South Africans are stunned that so many qualified doctors are unemployed

Citizens shared their disbelief that SA's unemployment crisis extended to qualified doctors.

Below are some reactions:

@GeneralDonjulio exclaimed:

"Even doctors! It's bad here mos."

@kkphefadu asked:

"A whole Doctorate? Heban kanti what is the safest career in South Africa because I thought doctors are safe?"

@StephenSibaya suggested:

"Let's learn to create jobs for ourselves, these guys have scarce skills. I am sure working together they can do something amazing."

@mzansi001 added:

"They must change careers to plumbing, they will earn more than the current doctors."

@RichardTsotets8 questioned:

"How possible is this? Mara Mzansi people."

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Duduzile Zuma threw her weight behind Phoenix residents as they protest against 40 hours of no electricity

In another story, Briefly News reported that Phoenix residents unleashed their fury after not having electricity due to a blackout that went on for several days and they seem to have the support of Duduzile Zuma.

On Sunday, January 15, residents' frustrations boiled over onto the streets of the Phoenix suburb and residents blocked off the main entrance with burning tyres.

The former president Jacob Zuma's daughter took to social media to acknowledge the plight of Phoenix residents.

Source: Briefly News