ActionSA dismisses the KZN Health Portfolio Committee’s threats to investigate ActionSA’s KZN Provincial Chairperson, Zwakele Mncwango, as not only laughable but also an insult to residents who continue to suffer due to chronic medicine shortages.
Last month KZN Provincial Chairperson, Zwakele Mncwango, and ActionSA MP, Dr. Kgosi Letlape, travelled to Benedictine Hospital as part of a series of oversight visits to investigate ongoing reports of medicine shortages.
Upon arrival, the acting CEO went out of her way to deny access to the facility, directly infringing on MP Letlape’s parliamentary and constitutional rights. This later became common practice at several healthcare facilities in other districts, where ActionSA was also denied entry. These visits came after various requests to meet with the MEC for health and other stakeholders to ventilate ActionSA’s concerns were repeatedly denied or pushed aside.
At a Portfolio Committee meeting on Tuesday, Chairperson Dr Imran Keeka of the DA lamented ActionSA’s actions as “unacceptable” and vowed that the committee would thoroughly investigate the matter. An oversight committee in the legislature is expected to hold the government to account, not defend the indefensible. It is deeply concerning that the DA in KZN is adopting the same tactics as the ANC that preceded it.
ActionSA will not apologise for the stellar work our Provincial Chairperson is doing. The KZN Government of “Provincial Unity” (GPU) is well aware of the challenges faced by residents in accessing crucial and often lifesaving medication. The fact that the health committee views ActionSA’s oversight visits as more deserving of a public response blatantly exposes their misplaced priorities.
Even more glaringly, it appears that the GPU has begun adopting the Stalingrad tactics for which the ANC was once fiercely criticised in the legislature before 2024. Blue lights, along with MEC and Premier positions, seem to have made them immune to valid criticism from the very opposition they were once part of.
Rather than step back, ActionSA encourages the Provincial Chairperson to double down on his efforts to hold the GPU accountable for its failure to ensure access to quality healthcare.
Lastly, if the CEO of Benedictine Hospital feels she was harassed, and if the GPU feels compelled to come to her aid, then they are welcome to go ahead and make a filing in court.
ActionSA will defend its Provincial Chairperson in any court necessary, where we will take the opportunity to highlight the ongoing failures of the KZN government on a public platform.
ActionSA Stands by KZN Chairperson’s Commendable Work, Despite GPU Threats
ActionSA dismisses the KZN Health Portfolio Committee’s threats to investigate ActionSA’s KZN Provincial Chairperson, Zwakele Mncwango, as not only laughable but also an insult to residents who continue to suffer due to chronic medicine shortages.
Last month KZN Provincial Chairperson, Zwakele Mncwango, and ActionSA MP, Dr. Kgosi Letlape, travelled to Benedictine Hospital as part of a series of oversight visits to investigate ongoing reports of medicine shortages.
Upon arrival, the acting CEO went out of her way to deny access to the facility, directly infringing on MP Letlape’s parliamentary and constitutional rights. This later became common practice at several healthcare facilities in other districts, where ActionSA was also denied entry. These visits came after various requests to meet with the MEC for health and other stakeholders to ventilate ActionSA’s concerns were repeatedly denied or pushed aside.
At a Portfolio Committee meeting on Tuesday, Chairperson Dr Imran Keeka of the DA lamented ActionSA’s actions as “unacceptable” and vowed that the committee would thoroughly investigate the matter. An oversight committee in the legislature is expected to hold the government to account, not defend the indefensible. It is deeply concerning that the DA in KZN is adopting the same tactics as the ANC that preceded it.
ActionSA will not apologise for the stellar work our Provincial Chairperson is doing. The KZN Government of “Provincial Unity” (GPU) is well aware of the challenges faced by residents in accessing crucial and often lifesaving medication. The fact that the health committee views ActionSA’s oversight visits as more deserving of a public response blatantly exposes their misplaced priorities.
Even more glaringly, it appears that the GPU has begun adopting the Stalingrad tactics for which the ANC was once fiercely criticised in the legislature before 2024. Blue lights, along with MEC and Premier positions, seem to have made them immune to valid criticism from the very opposition they were once part of.
Rather than step back, ActionSA encourages the Provincial Chairperson to double down on his efforts to hold the GPU accountable for its failure to ensure access to quality healthcare.
Lastly, if the CEO of Benedictine Hospital feels she was harassed, and if the GPU feels compelled to come to her aid, then they are welcome to go ahead and make a filing in court.
ActionSA will defend its Provincial Chairperson in any court necessary, where we will take the opportunity to highlight the ongoing failures of the KZN government on a public platform.