The Democratic Alliance (DA) is appalled by the Premier’s dismissive and tone-deaf response to a critical question on the state of healthcare in the Eastern Cape.
When asked whether he would personally entrust his life to the same failing public health system that the people of this province are forced to endure, the Premier replied that all citizens have a “constitutional right to choose where to receive medical assistance”.
Download response.
This is a blatant display of privilege. The vast majority of people in the Eastern Cape do not have the financial means to “choose” anything. They cannot opt for private care when there is not even enough money to get a taxi to a clinic, no doctor on duty when they arrive, and no medication when they are finally seen.
To make matters worse, the Premier went on to claim that if someone is still alive after waiting 10 years for surgery, the procedure clearly wasn’t lifesaving. This callous logic ignores the very real suffering endured by thousands of people who live in pain, who cannot walk, work, or care for their families because the healthcare system has abandoned them.
What he overlooks is that when procedures such as knee and hip replacements are delayed, the resulting physical deterioration compounds, stripping them of their mobility, independence and dignity. By the time the patient reaches the front of the queue, the damage caused by the delays is often so severe that they are no longer candidates for the procedure.
Waiting a decade for essential surgery is not a sign of resilience. It is a symptom of collapse. And no amount of spin can excuse it.
The Premier may enjoy access to private specialists, short queues, and state-paid medical aid and transport, but the people of this province wait in overcrowded, under-resourced hospitals, hoping that their names will eventually be called.
His refusal to place the Department of Health under administration, despite its complete financial and operational collapse, is indefensible. His claim that “the Department remains functional” flies in the face of the reality in which patients sleep on hospital floors, life-saving treatments are routinely unavailable, and over R4.8 billion in unpaid debts threaten the entire health system.
If this is what he considers functional, one must question whether his definition includes access to care, basic dignity, or accountability at all.
Citing internal “workstreams” and collaborative meetings between departments as evidence of progress is little more than bureaucratic smoke and mirrors. These backroom strategies may look impressive on paper, but they have done nothing to stop the suffering on the ground.
The people of the Eastern Cape cannot be expected to wait for policy pilots and paper reshuffles while their health deteriorates. While Premier Mabuyane shields political allies and failed administrators, the people who elected him pay the price in pain, poverty, and preventable death.
The DA will not stand by while human lives are treated as administrative inconveniences.
We reiterate our call for urgent intervention under Section 100 of the Constitution. If this is not a crisis, then what is?
The people of the Eastern Cape deserve care, not contempt. We will keep fighting until they get it.