A nurses trade union has expressed willingness to work with Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, the new Minister of Health.
This is despite, according to the Health and Allied Workers Indaba Trade Union (HAITU), Motsoaledi’s statement in May 2016 that nurses behaved like “devils in white”.
A TimesLIVE article at the time commended the qualified medical doctor for warning health professionals to straighten up their attitudes and refrain from behaving like devils in white.
Motsoaledi was addressing hundreds of nurses who had gathered in Seshego near Polokwane in Limpopo to take part in International Nurses Day celebrations.
Lerato Mthunzi, the general secretary of HAITU, said: “HAITU does not have amnesia or ignorance of the past mistakes of Motsoaledi.
Devils in white
“The minister once referred to nurses as ‘devils in white’ on Nurses Day commemoration in Limpopo, which was not taken lightly by the fraternity.”
Mthunzi claimed that Motsoaledi’s statement was reckless, even though the minister later apologised for his utterances.
“Those careless utterances are similar to what Nelson Mandela said — that ‘you can take anyone from the street to nurse patients’ at a nurses strike during his tenure as president,” she added.
Mthunzi said the union remembers Motsoaledi for being a person who engages labour unions in health, not just those affiliated with the Congress of South African Trade Unions.
“Dr Motsoaledi is no stranger to the health portfolio, and when he was minister, conditions in public hospitals and clinics were far better than they are now because he was hands-on when it came to solving the problems in the department.”
Architect of the NHI Bill
She further said that Motsoaledi was the architect of the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill and that the union looks forward to the rollout of NHI in all facilities as soon as possible.
She said: “We want an end to the two-tier health system, which ensures that all the best hospitals and clinics are used by a handful of people who can afford medical aid.
“He has set the example for other MPs by using public healthcare facilities and not relying on private hospitals for his own personal treatment.”
Meanwhile, the South African Medical Association (Sama) expressed its concern about the expansion of the cabinet after it had called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to trim it.
“Sama thus recommends that austerity measures be put in place to trim the salary budget of the cabinet ministers and the president,” said Dr Mvuyisi Mzukwa, the Sama chairperson.
“This includes cases where there are dual deputies and the incumbents share one salary between them to overcome the cost of the bloated cabinet.”
