DENOSA in the Eastern Cape has noted the appointment of the new MEC of Health, Nomakhosazana Meth, by the Premier, Oscar Mabuyane. We are disappointed that the Premier has chosen somebody who lacks experience in the health sector.

 DENOSA expressed a view that the new MEC should have knowledge of the department. We are in the middle of the pandemic, and the last thing you do not wish to do is to orientate a new leader who must still find their feet in this crucial portfolio.

 The department of health is complex so it needs somebody who is familiar with the inherited challenges. We are not questioning the leadership skills of MEC Meth, but the timing of events needs somebody who will know where to press buttons. It normally takes a couple of months before the MEC is settled in the department but unfortunately, we do not have the luxury of time during this period of Covid-19.

 We respect the decision of the Premier, but it was our wish that a health professional should have been considered. We note the response of the Premier that it is not necessary to have the MEC of Health having a health background because the incumbent works with the team of medical and health personnel. Our view as DENOSA, however, is that the issues are received and understood differently by those who know the sector compared to those who find themselves deployed in the sector.

 DENOSA is committed to working with the new MEC for maximum service delivery to the people of the Eastern Cape. We wish Honourable Meth all the best in her new portfolio.

 We hope that she will listen to our cries of chronic shortage of staff, appalling working conditions, lack of working equipment and dilapidated infrastructure. On the same breath, we are urging the Premier to speed up the process of appointing the permanent Head of Department.

 We hope that the Treasury will increase the budget of Health Department in order to address our chronic challenges. If the issue of the budget is not addressed, any good leader is set to fail. 

 END

 Issued by the Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (DENOSA) in Eastern Cape. 

For more information, contact: 

Khaya Sodidi, Provincial Secretary

Mobile: 082 775 7734/072 573 3315

Land Line: 041 484 7323/4