Zwelinzima Vavi joins march to Bhisho Health Ministry

01 Feb 2016 | Admin Author

Hundreds of members of health sector NGO's have marched to the Eastern Cape Health Ministry in Bhisho.

That's to deliver a memorandum calling on MEC Sicelo Gqobana to fix what they say is a collapsing health service.

The marchers first gathered at the Bhisho Stadium before making their way to the Health Ministry.

Meanwhile, Mark Heywood of the health sector NGO, Section 27, says they will continue to fight until there are changes in the Eastern Cape health system.

This week Section 27 and the Treatment Action Campaign released a damning report on the state of health care in the province, a report slated by the Bhisho Health Department as not being objective.

Heywood said the health sector NGO's will continue to fight Bhisho until they can come back and bring good news to the people.

He also said the report which they released this week has received wide-praise, even from senior ANC members.

Suspended Cosatu leader, Zwelinzima Vavi, says the only way to get public officials to be held accountable for the poor state of health care in the Eastern Cape is to force them to use public institutions.

Vavi was the suprise package at a march in Bhisho on Friday by hundreds of members of health sector NGO's.

They've prepared a memorandum of grievances about the state of health care in the province and called on MEC Sicelo Gqobana to fix what they said was a collapsing health service.

Vavi said public officials only go to public hospitals as visitors, adding that they, and their families, don't have to endure the humiliation of going through the public health system.