Determined residents of Atteridgeville in Tshwane blocked illegal foreigners from entering Kalafong Hospital this week.
Residents and different organisation checked the patients ID at the entrance.
Some patients were turned away by the group because they accused theme of being illegal foreigners.
President of Concerned Tshwane Residents (CTR) Kagiso Kekana told Tshwane Talks that they went to Kalafong Hospital to submit a memorandum to the Gauteng MEC for Health as well as to the CEO of Kalafong Hospital.
“We are picketing outside Kalafong Hospital and this action is not a one-day process but an ongoing one until we win this battle, and our objective is to prevent undocumented, illegal immigrants from entering the Kalafong Hospital because they are overcrowding the hospital and making unwanted demands on our health budget,” said Kekana.
“Our aim is to kick them out of the hospital because 90% of the patients coming to Kalafong Hospital on a daily basis are illegal foreigners and 60% of the beds in the hospital are occupied by illegal foreigners,” he said, adding that when one goes to the wards of the hospital, especially the maternity ward, one finds that the number of illegal foreigners is much greater than that of local residents.
He said as a result of the large number of illegal foreigners coming to the hospital, local residents can’t access quality health treatment because the health system is collapsing as doctors and nurses are being overworked and compelled to take frequent leave, resulting in hospitals being short-staffed,” he said.
Kekana complained that the attitude displayed by illegal foreigners at the hospital is uncalled for and that they as residents don’t need illegal foreigners anymore and demand that they must go back to their countries because public health care is only for South Africans.
He insisted that illegal foreigners must go back to their respective countries and solve the problems facing them there.
“Our aim is to cleanse our community and hospitals of these foreigners and they can use private hospitals because once they come into our public hospitals they automatically become a crime scene by virtue of being here illegally, so we are taking charge as local residents and we are saying the Government of National Unity (GNU) must come to our assistance and apply the relevant laws regarding illegal foreigners,” he fumed.
He said that TCR would be engaging with the Department of Home Affairs as well as the Minister of Health and all law-enforcement agencies, and that their starting point is the health sector and from there they will move to schools and all other sectors thar have been invaded by illegal foreigners.
Kekana hastened to point out that he is not xenophobic; that he loves his African brothers; but that they must come to South Africa legally so that it can be known as to who they really are, because in most cases illegal foreigners bring with them diseases to this country and are putting the lives of local residents at risk.
“Enough is enough, we need our beds back at all hospitals and illegal foreigners must vacate our beds, we are saying hands off our medication and only South Africans must benefit from the public health sector,” he said.
He pointed out that illegal foreigners don’t pay taxes and if one happens to be behind them in the queue for medicine, the illegal foreigners take up all the medicine resulting in a situation whereby a South African resident would be told that there is no longer medicine available as it has just been given to illegal foreigners who were ahead of them in the queue.
“It is not our problem that illegal foreigners get sick while they are in this country and we are appealing to the government to establish refugee camps for these illegal foreigners and alternatively they must go to the public sector,” said Kekana.
David Masedi of Operation Dudula told Tshwane Talks that from now hence, no foreigner will be allowed to enter Kalafong Hospital and pointed out that the campaign to block foreigners from entering public hospitals has spread throughout all hospitals in Tshwane and that their action will continue until there is not even a single illegal foreigner in public hospitals.
“We are going to deploy our members at every public clinic and health facility, because our hospital beds are for South Africans and illegal foreigners must go right back to their respective countries,” he fumed.
Elias Makgwadi of Pheli Joint Civics said members of his organisation have been mandated by residents of Atteridgeville to attend to the unpleasant situation at Kalafong Hospital whereby illegal foreigners have occupied all wards at the hospital while local parents, brothers and sisters don’t have a place to sleep, and that illegal foreigners can’t be allowed access to South African public health facilities.
“Section 9 of the Immigration Act of 2002 states that anyone who comes into the country without proper documents or through a port of entry that is not official should be regarded as a criminal, therefore, we as members of Atteridgeville civic organisations won’t allow a criminal to freely access our public health facilities,” said Makgwadi.