As the final negotiations in the 2021 budget process unfold, the government of the Eastern Cape and the department of health in particular are being asked to do more with less. It is now more urgent than ever to strengthen public primary health care, argue Ektaa Deochand and Russell Rensburg.
It is more than a year since Spotlight visited the Xhora Mouth area in the Eastern Cape to report on the locals’ challenges in accessing health care services. Now, a year later, not much has changed. Luvuyo Mehlwana reports.
Much has been reported on alleged corruption and governance failures in the Eastern Cape Health department that have devastating consequences for health services to those most in need. This is also true for inadequate Emergency Medical Services in the province. Nontsikelelo Mpulo and Thokozile Mtsolongo argue that solutions to the province’s EMS woes should start with improved spending of available budgets.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has vowed to act strongly against any corruption and profiteering from the COVID-19 crisis but the systems in place to guard against this may be falling short. Spotlight looked at preliminary spending figures and asked some experts about how public money can be safeguarded during this time.
Spotlight visited the kitchen of Pholosong Hospital in Tsakane, Brakpan to meet some of the essential workers whose job it is to make sure patients are well-fed and to find out how they are preparing for COVID-19.
Finance Minister Tito Mboweni this week announced an economic stimulus package to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Responding to the pandemic should come with wider economic reforms, argues Dominic Brown.
Alicestine October buried herself in mountains of budget documents and spoke to the experts to figure out what Finance Minister Tito Mboweni’s new budget means for health. Here is what she found.
The Western Cape Department of Health will get a new Head of Department, Dr Keith Cloete by April, but it seems there will be no radical changes to the strategic direction and work of this department.
The Auditor-General (AG) this week once again in his audit report on national and provincial departments painted a bleak picture of wastage and brazen negligence in the public sector. Mismanaged funds in health departments are of particular concern.
