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SAMWU EC disturbed by “Provincialisation” of Primary Health Care |
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SAMWU EC disturbed by “Provincialisation” of Primary Health Care
SAMWU PRESS STATEMENT
22 July 2010.
SAMWU in the Eastern Cape is perturbed by the decision of the Provincial Health Department to continue with the “Provincialisation” of Primary Health Care, to be administered by the Provincial Health Department, as opposed to the District and Local Municipalities, which is the current arrangement.
As the largest Local Government Union It is our considered view that such basic services should be provided by Municipalities, as Municipalities are the center of gravity for the provision of quality service delivery. Furthermore, we believe that the local state has the capacity to provide for primary health care and that Municipalities are better placed and equipped to respond to the needs of our communities as opposed to Provincial Government.
The ability of the Provincial Government to render the provision of Primary Health Care remains uncertain in the light of capacity constraints of the Province, in both financial and human resource components. The recent revelation on the state of health care (which is on the brink of collapse) in the Province, supports our position.
It has been our experience that when such services are taken away from the competency of the Municipalities (such as the ambulance services), the service deteriorates rapidly. Such a process (“Provincialisation” of basic services) results in the undermining of stakeholders such as communities and labour; significantly decreasing morale and resulting in litigation.
Our experience in the transfer of services to the Provincial administration in other Provinces, such as the Free State, Limpopo and the Western Cape has proved beyond reasonable doubt, that this process creates more problems in many respects, forcing organized labour to resort to inter alia legal action, to address concerns of stakeholders.
The majority of the service delivery protests by communities are as a result of services that are of the competence of Provincial Government, not Local Government, such as; housing; roads; education; and various other services which the Province has dismally failed to deliver on those mandates.
Based on the above, as the South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU), we propose the following:
- That Provincial Government and deceitful SALGA must with immediate effect place on hold the “Provincialisation” of primary health.
- Instead of transferring workers to the Provincial Department, the department must make a provision for the equalization of benefits, for provincial and municipal staff (rural allowance and equalization of salaries).
- An improvement must be made on the funding model for municipalities.
- And lastly Establish strong community based structures to monitor service delivery and challenges.
For further comment, contact SAMWU’s Eastern Cape Provincial Secretary Siphiwo Ndunyana on 0784040482
Issued by;
Tahir Sema.
South African Municipal Workers' Union of COSATU.
National Media and Publicity Officer.
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