DA calls on President Ramaphosa to release HPCSA SIU report
13 October 2023
The DA calls on President Cyril Ramaphosa to release the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) report regarding the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) as a matter of urgency.
According to News24, the SIU confirmed that it had concluded its investigation into "unlawful and improper conduct by the employees or officials of the HPCSA or any other person regarding the registration of health practitioners" and “maladministration” at the HPCSA and submitted the report to the President on 14 March 2023.
The DA agrees with the South African Medical Association (SAMA) that burying the report is severely detrimental to the medical health profession and the health sector. It cannot be that the body responsible for registering and accrediting medical professionals are protected by the President, especially at the cost of health care in the country.
The DA will write to the President to request a copy of the report, which he has had for 7 months.
According to Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya, the report is still being processed by the President.
The DA has had numerous complaints from unplaced interns and community service doctors, doctors who qualified in foreign countries struggling with accreditation and registration, and concerns that complaints and investigations are being mismanaged. We can only assume that the SIU report would confirm the failure of the HPCSA in this regard, as well as lift the veil on the detriment this maladministration and mismanagement has on the health system.
The President’s unwillingness to lift the curtain on the chaos at the HPCSA shows that little has changed since the Zuma-era of ANC governance – the protection of cadres, comrades and government failures will always take precedence over the well-being and protection of the South African public. A chilling omen of what the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill will bring.
Issued by Michele Clarke, DA Shadow Minister of Health, 13 October 2023
