Durban - The KwaZulu-Natal branch of the National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu) has urged Premier Sihle Zikalala to retract his statement and apologise to health-care workers.
During a press conference on Monday held by the Provincial Command Council, Zikalala allegedly claimed health-care workers and some "faceless people" have been using the Covid-19 crisis “to pursue their own narrow and selfish agendas”.
“Nehawu calls on the premier to unmask these people he claims are using the demands of workers to further their ulterior motives. Visits to health-care facilities are very important and we believe that the premier has not been visiting these institutions with a view to monitor their progress in dealing with the virus,” said the union's national spokesperson Khaya Xaba.
“This would have assisted the premier with facts rather than to make baseless accusations,” he added.
Xaba pointed out that due to the lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) provided by the state, workers in the private and public health-care sectors have been highly susceptible to infection.
“It is not an imaginary problem as the premier would like to believe,” he added.
According to Xaba, ever since the outbreak of Covid-19 in South Africa, Nehawu has asked Zikalala to meet them on several occasions, but the premier has “never made an effort”.
“We are therefore not surprised that he is not up to date nor is he in possession of facts about the shortages of PPEs.
“Nehawu has even sourced sponsorships and donated PPEs to various institutions across the province as part of protecting its members and workers from contracting the virus.”
To date, South Africa has a confirmed Covid-19 case count of 287 796 and a national recovery rate of just under 50% (138 241).
KwaZulu-Natal accounts for 9.5% (27 387) of the total number of infections in South Africa.
“Regrettably, we report a further 93 Covid-19-related deaths – six from KwaZulu- Natal, 11 from Mpumalanga, 16 from Free State, 37 from Western Cape and 23 from Eastern Cape,” said Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize on Monday.
“This brings the total number of Covid-19-related deaths to 4 172,” said the minister.
African News Agency (ANA)
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