The Cecilia Makiwane was one of the hospitals described in her report as being among the worst. This was dismissed as hogwash by the representative of the Department of Health.
Recently, parents lost their dear ones when a power outage hit the hospital, rendering the machinery used to keep these babies alive nonfunctional. The standby generator, a simple but critical pieces of equipment, failed to function. Those babies are no more today, and their parents are left with great pain. This could have been avoided if only the Minister and the MEC concerned had for once listened to the DA.
People do not need ubejane but ARVs to prolong their lives, though we know they will ultimately die as there is not yet a cure for HIV/Aids. We do not need arguments as to whether or not there is a cure for HIV/Aids, but how to roll out the ARVs to prolong the lives of the infected. Children are orphaned early in life, when this could have happened later in their lives when they are able to fend for themselves because people keep on promoting ubejane.
Our facilities are decaying and yet the funds have been made available through the hospital revitalisation programme. Some provinces failed to implement this programme due to a lack of capacity, or to seek partnerships with the private sector where skills and capacity are a serious challenge. The DA will not support this Budget Vote. I thank you.