KZN Health MEC commits to tackling unemployment with new posts for medical professionals

In a move to address the pressing issue of unemployment among medical doctors and healthcare professionals in KwaZulu-Natal, Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane has announced that 20 posts will be advertised within the next week.

This initiative is part of an interim intervention strategy aimed at alleviating the challenges faced by healthcare practitioners within the province.

The announcement came following in-depth discussions between the Department of Health and the Office of the Premier, focusing on finding actionable solutions in a challenging economic environment. Premier Thami Ntuli, speaking alongside MEC Simelane, highlighted the urgency of the situation, emphasising the government’s commitment to safeguarding the employment of healthcare professionals in the region.

Intriguingly, MEC Simelane clarified that the much-discussed 800 posts referenced by the Minister of Finance earlier in the year pertain to a national allocation, with KwaZulu-Natal poised to benefit from this broader plan.

"We want to make it clear that those 800 posts form part of a national process, which is being handled at the level of the Minister of Health, the Minister of Finance, and Parliament," she explained.

"Once National has finalised that process and informed us how many posts we will receive, we will immediately advertise them."

Simelane acknowledged the complexity of the current situation, noting that the challenges they face were anticipated but not ignored.

"When we realised that our provincial budget would not be enough to absorb all the doctors finishing their community service this year, we escalated the matter to the Premier," she stated.

Following this, she and Premier Ntuli took the issue directly to the President, leading to productive discussions with the Cabinet aimed at securing additional funding from the National Treasury.

However, the MEC underscored that this financial challenge is not a new phenomenon; rather, it ties back to significant budgetary constraints.

"In the past five years, our Department has lost R14 billion to baseline budget cuts. That has greatly affected our ability to expand our staff complement," she said.

Despite these restrictions, the Department remains focused on engaging with Treasury and other stakeholders to unlock much-needed resources for the healthcare sector.

As the situation continues to unfold, MEC Simelane urged calm among affected doctors and healthcare professionals.

She assured them that the Department is in ongoing discussions regarding their concerns and will continue to keep them informed about developments.

IOL