KZN Oncology Crisis: MEC Dhlomo is no saviour of the sick and suffering
24 July 2017
The Kwa-Zulu Natal Health MEC, Sibongiseni Dhlomo's announcement late last week that there is a company on site, repairing the broken Radiotherapy cancer machines at Addington Hospital in fact refers to Techmed – the same company he has rubbished at every possible opportunity since 2013 and even sought to blame for the machines being broken in the first place.
At a meeting on Wednesday last week between MEC Dhlomo, Techmed and Varian Medical Systems (VMS), MEC Dhlomo finally, after years of non-compliance, agreed to pay the outstanding R10 million due to Techmed, the company originally responsible for servicing oncology machines at the province’s government-run hospitals.
This move by the MEC is nothing more than a face-saving exercise and is too little, too late.
While the DA welcomes any initiative aimed at improving the lives of KwaZulu-Natal’s people, we will not tolerate the MEC’s attempts to portray himself as the saviour and champion of the sick and suffering. His suggestion, that there is an end in sight to the province’s oncology crisis following his face-saving meeting with Varian, is merely creating false hope for the many cancer sufferers in our province.