DA vindicated as Premier Mokgoro finally admits to being hospitalised in Gauteng hospital

27 August 2020

Note to Editors: Please find the attached soundbite in English and Afrikaans by the DA North West Provincial Leader, Joe McGluwa, MP.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) notes comments made by the North West Premier Job Mokgoro who admitted to being hospitalised in a Gauteng hospital after testing positive for Covid-19.

Yesterday, Premier Mokgoro appeared before the National Assembly's Cooperative Governance Portfolio Committee to discuss the North West government’s response to Covid-19, where he admitted that he sought medical treatment in Gauteng.

When the DA raised that the Premier was admitted and getting medical treatment in Gauteng the Premier’s office issued a response stating that he was receiving treatment in the North West. The office of the Premier blatantly lied to the public.

The DA is vindicated that Premier Mokgoro has finally admitted that what the DA had said about his hospitalisation was true.

Premier Mokgoro stated that he went to Gauteng to be closer to his family. While the Premier enjoyed the privilege of receiving medical treatment at a facility of his liking, thousands of families must endure a dysfunctional health infrastructure in the North West.

The people of North West must endure hospitals that are crammed, lacking in resources, under-staffed, without medication and sometimes lacking water supply.

The truth is while Premier Mokgoro has access to visiting specialist, and choosing between top private health facilities, regular people must suffer under the mess which was created by the ANC which has left hospitals in shambles and dysfunctional.

While the Premier was able to use his position to secure the best treatment and be closer to his family, some families could not be close to their families as the Covid-19 regulations did not allow them and hospitals were not allowing families to visit.

His hospitalization also came at a time when Gauteng was overwhelmed with high Covid-19 infections, struggling with a shortage of beds and oxygen machines.

The DA reiterates that Premier Mokgoro missed an opportunity to experience first-hand the type of health services that his government affords ordinary citizens.

Issued by Joe McGluwa, DA North West Provincial Leader, 27 August 2020