News24 reports that the Western Cape health department says it will have to freeze more than 2,000 posts if it does not get additional funding following the public sector wage agreement.

Health MEC Nomafrench Mbombo said she would be working closely with her national counterparts to enact the needed change in the healthcare system. "Only together can this situation be addressed, as it affects every single one of us. Should National Treasury not allocate additional funding to compensate for the increased public wage sector agreement, the department would have to freeze 2,362 posts in order to afford the higher salaries," she said. The situation that the department finds itself in follows upon the agreement struck in the Public Service Coordinating Bargaining Council to increase public sector wages in the wake of the public healthcare worker strikes earlier this year. According to the department, when accounting for the impact of conditional grant reduction on the department's budget, the financial pressure of the agreement increases to approximately R1.295 billion or 2,581 posts. Mbombo said that following Health Minister Joe Phaahla's budget speech on Tuesday their concerns regarding provincial budget allocations persisted. "While we understand the constrained fiscal environment the country is in, and appreciate the national government admitting that it has continuously underfunded the healthcare sector, financing needs urgent attention in order for the health sector to achieve Universal Health Coverage," she stated.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Marvin Charles at News24

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