By: Natasha Archary
Tensions are high at Kalafong Hospital in Atteridgeville, Pretoria as Dudula and EFF members clash.
This after Operation Dudula intensified its efforts to stop foreign nationals from receiving medical attention.
Members of Dudula burnt EFF flags as they made their stance against illegal immigrants known.
Dudula has made it clear that foreign nationals should not be treated at South African public hospitals because they are crippling the public health system.
Operation Dudula members burning the EFF flag during their picketing and confrontation at Kalafong hospital in Atteridgeville, Pretoria. V:AMU@SowetanLIVE#DudulaEFF pic.twitter.com/CTb1YwxhKH
— António Muchave (@Muchave1Muchave) September 1, 2022
According to police one person has been arrested in the clash between Dudula and EFF members.
Sources say Dudula members used the skin tone and accents to determine foreign nationals from South African patients who were queuing outside the hospital for treatment.
Health Minister Joe Phaahla briefed the media at Kalafong Hospital on Thursday when he visited the facility to assess the situation.
The Department of Health has cautioned any individual or organisation that is posing a threat to the lives of patients and healthcare workers.
Dudula have been protesting outside the Kalafong Hospital for the past two weeks and Hospital CEO said the group’s presence has caused intense disturbances and anxiety amongst staff and patients at the hospital.
“These protests are really unwarranted because the Constitution of the country is very when it comes to basic health care for citizens of South Africa and anyone who is in the country.
The fact is that it’s not just our neighbours who can’t get access to healthcare in their home countries that come here for treatment. We have people from all over the world who are referred to our public hospitals and we cannot turn away people even when our facilities are so severely strained.”
Health Minister Joe Phaahla says foreign nationals also have a right to receive medical treatment
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