Press statement on behalf of Khayelitsha residents: From 6am tomorrow morning, Khayelitsha residents will be protesting outside the new Khayelitsha Hospital. Tonight, we will be mobilising to that effect. We have had enough! Kwanele! 

The Community of Mandela Park (Ward 94 & 97) gathered this afternoon to find out the truth behind the devastating rumors regarding employment at the new Khayelitsha Hospital. Residents have accused Khayelitsha Development Forum (KDF) leadership and Ward Councillors of failing to give proper direction in terms of employment opportunities for the area. These politicians seem to only interested in grabbing available opportunities for themselves.

Why do we have to protest in order to be heard? Said one community member during the public meeting: "aren't we supposed to get information directly from our leaders?" 

It has become clear that the KDF and the local Ward Development Forums never held any public meetings concerning employment at the new hospital. Employers merely advertised job openings on extremely short notice after most of the positions had already been filled. As a result, the whole process was exclusionary and fraudulent. 

Mandela Park residents are saying that the process was improper since they only heard about the employment opportunities in the newspaper on last minute. We should have been properly informed through local structures so that our cv's did not merely end up in dustbins.

An insider who is already working at the hospital since last year told other residents at today's meeting about official opening of the hospital and that an overwhelming number of employees were not from Khayelitsha but from other areas outside the township. Estimates are that only 2%-10% of employees are actually from Khayelitsha. Other groups are significantly overrepresented.

Residents said they want to go directly to the hospital management and hear for themselves why this is the case. We are unemployed and we have had enough of being lied to by politicians. We now want hospital officials and MEC for health to come and tell us what is going on. 

The following are our demands:

• We demand to know! Residents of Khayelitsha do not know anything about the Hospital. We have not been consulted. We know nothing about employment or anything else regarding the building and management of the place.
• We demand consultation! We will prevent anyone from coming to work on-site until the officials come down and addressed us.
• We demand the redo of the recruitment process allowing for a proper democratic process to unfold under the proper supervision of elected Khayelitsha community members.
• We demand that at least 60% of employees be sourced from the area close to the hospital (including essential services) and the remainder source from around Khayelitsha.
• We demand clarity as to why job vacancies seem to already have been filled before 229 jobs advertised in Cape Argus on the 08th November 2011 and the 329 jobs advertised on City Vision and Vukani.
• We demand that the MEC for health address our grievances with immediate effect.

See you outside Khayelitsha tomorrow morning. Kwanele! Enough is Genoeg!

For more information contact: 

Statement issued by Mr. Xolani Krweqe, Mandela Park Backyarders (via ABM), January 8 2012

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