Press Statement dated 5 July 2019
The National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union [NEHAWU] Limpopo successfully convened its Provincial Executive Committee meeting on the 02-03 July 2019 in Polokwane.
The meeting was held a few days after a highly successful National Policy Conference held at Birchwood hotel in Boksburg which focused on reviewing the union’s Strategic Policy Framework and making the union to adapt to new emerging conditions in South Africa and also particularly changing conditions in our workplaces. We are confident as the union that this area of work will assist the union to remain relevant to the trade union movement struggles in our country as well as the political dynamics in our country.
The PEC further took time and reflected on the politics in our country and in Limpopo in particular and congratulated the ANC for its victory in the past general elections. It however appreciated that the ANC has declined in support in this elections even though Limpopo scored the highest percentage compared to other provinces. The PEC further congratulated ANC chairperson Chupu Mathabatha on being elected as the premier of this province as well as the ANC President on being elected as the state president of South Africa.
The PEC further noted that in its first meeting the newly appointed executive in Limpopo Provincial Government made its first blunder and unilaterally took a decision to reconfigure government departments without consulting the workers formation organized in the sector and pronounced such publicly. This is surely a spit in the faces of the workers in this province particularly immediately after the general elections. The PEC was livid that the Premier Chupu Mathabatha’s executive is moving the road maintenance component from public works to a collapsed Road Agency Limpopo. This is an agency that is bankrupt and has failed to manage its own budget to the point that it has been unable to build roads for our people leading to many community service delivery protests throughout the province demanding proper roads.
The PEC further looked at the state of health care system in this province and is disappointed that the conditions of our health care system continues to decline due to a combination of inefficiencies from both the department of health and treasury in Limpopo.
- Since 2015 the department of health has been unable to appoint support staff particularly cleaners, ward attendants, grounds man as well as nurses. We are now sitting with hundreds of health professionals who have finished their community service and were expecting to be absorbed into the department but they are unemployed since February this year. The austerity measures imposed by treasury has played a role in hindering these appointments, in others the department of health has displayed an internal inability to fill these posts even when Treasury has given approval. The shortage of staff has now started to directly impact on the health care system in general with nurses being forced to also do cleaning because of this shortage.
- The department has also passed a budget that does not cover the payment of cash bonuses for this financial year. We have as NEHAWU always indicated that the budget must always ring-fence the total budget for performance incentives and avoid confrontation with workers every year. The PEC felt that this displayed lack of leadership in the department and workers are the ones suffering the brunt of this inefficiencies. For the past years the union NEHAWU has convened many meetings between treasury and the department of health to resolve this problem with no success.
The PEC further affirmed its decision that the Director General of government in Limpopo Mr. Nape Nchabeleng has failed the people and workers of Limpopo by incurring an irregular expenditure of R3,9 million as confirmed by the auditor general. The union position remains that he played a disruptive role in the implementation of the incentive policy framework and has proved incapable to resolve the standoff between government and workers on this matter.
The PEC therefore calls on the premier of Limpopo to Cde Chupu Mathabathe to immediately rescind the decision by his executive to move the roads maintenance component to RAL with immediate effect and consult with trade unions organized in the sector. The Premier must further decisively instruct the withdrawal of all Treasury notes that impose austerity measures with immediate effect. We further demand that Director General must be fired due to the irregular expenditures as confirmed by the Auditor General. The premier must also recall the MEC of health and bring in a new MEC who will act decisively on this matters and ensure that the department becomes efficient once more. The premier must immediately move the HOD of treasury Mr. Pratt out of that department with immediate effect as he has become a law unto himself.
NEHAWU has further adopted a programme of action to put pressure on government to implements all its demands. This 6th administration must not be allowed to just continue where the 5th administration ended and we allow further exploitation of workers in this province.
The PEC further congratulated the now former provincial chairperson of COSATU Cde Essop Mokgonyana for his deployment in the legislature and subsequent appointment as a chief whip of the ruling party. We further congratulate the now former provincial chairperson of SADTU Cde Ronnie Moroasethla for his deployment in the national legislature.
Issued by the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) Limpopo Secretariat Office