The Gauteng IFP leadership has urged the MEC of Health department in Gauteng to intervene in the go-slow crisis in all Gauteng Forensic Pathology Services mortuaries that have left many bereaved families frustrated.
The party's Caucus Leader, Bonginkosi Dhlamini said that the party was disappointed by the delays in releasing of the dead bodies in Gauteng’s state mortuaries and that this was a clear example of lack of ubuntu.
“It cannot be overemphasised that part of the grieving process for families of a deceased person involves autopsies and disposition of the body after death. Therefore any attempt to disrupt those processes is candidly insensitive and inessential,” said Dhlamini.
Forensic Pathology Services workers downed tools, saying that conducting postmortems fell outside the scope of their duties and that they deserved to be compensated for it.
According to Dhlamini, this was a complete neglect of the needs of the people of Gauteng and that it was hard to understand how the department allowed this issue to stall for weeks on end without showing any aim to engage the unions or concerned parties in order to reach a consensus.
“This is only a sign of the lack of political will and respect for the dignity of those who have passed on,” he said.
Making a comparison to the Life Esidimeni saga Dhlamini said: “A mistake repeated more than once is a decision.”
“If there is one lesson learned from the Esidimeni saga is that it is better to act swiftly than hesitate until the time of action is no more. The IFP will be forwarding a letter to the MEC calling for the delays in releasing the dead bodies to end since the she has herself admitted that the demands of the workers are reasonable [thus] there is no need for this strike to continue and as a result, causing more pain to the bereaved families who are simply seeking to bury their loved ones in respect and honour,” said Dhlamini.
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