Honourable Speaker, Hon Premier, hon members of the legislature; officials and guests, I greet you all Madam Speaker, candy floss is made up of large holes held together by a few thin strands of fragile sugar. While it may look appealing, it has no substance, and it does not provide one with sustenance. Sadly, this year the Premier’s speech was candy floss. After digesting it, we remained hungry for the …


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It is time to chart a new course for the Department of Health in our province. The Premier now has a golden opportunity to appoint a person of calibre and competence to change the fortunes of the bruised and battered Department. Unfortunately, the new incumbent will be inheriting the mess left behind by their predecessor. A corrupt, bankrupt Department that is rotten to the core. The provincial response to the …


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DA wants urgent intervention following Volkswagen field hospital’s imminent closure By Jane Cowley, MPL Shadow MEC for Health Date: 17 February 2021 Release: Immediate The DA will write to the Eastern Cape Premier following the announcement that the Volkswagen sponsored Dr Elizabeth Mamisa Chabula-Nxiweni Field Hospital is facing closure and that hundreds of contract healthcare workers are losing their jobs. This is just the tip of the iceberg, with similar …


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As scandal upon scandal piles up against Health MEC Sindiswa Gomba, the honourable thing for her to do would be to step aside, allowing for the work of the Department of Health to continue without the accompanying drama. If MEC Gomba was as loyal to the ANC as what the party has been to her, putting her position ahead of the people the party claims to serve, she would have …


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The Eastern Cape ANC has made it abundantly clear that creating jobs and preserving the environmental integrity of the Eastern Cape is not a concern, after rejecting a DA motion to host a summit around job creation through the adoption of environmentally friendly alternatives. In rebuttal of the motion, ANC MPL and Chairperson of the Economic Development, Environmental Affairs and Tourism Portfolio Committee, Pumelele Ndamase, stated categorically that the ANC …


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There is still no date set for the rollout of vaccines in the Eastern Cape, even though the first batches are set to arrive in the country on Monday. No clarity was forthcoming from MEC of Health, Sindiswa Gomba, who could not confirm when the province will be receiving their first allocation of vaccines. This is most concerning, considering that our province, as of yesterday, had the highest number of …


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The latest decision to close all Eastern Cape beaches in response to the second wave of Covid-19 infections, announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa last night, will decimate the province’s fragile tourism industry that is already on the brink of collapse. Businesses who were hoping that the December holiday break would bring a much-needed cash injection after the disastrous first round of lockdown measures, are in despair. Cancellations have already begun …


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The Eastern Cape has overtaken Gauteng as the province with the highest number of deaths attributed to Covid-19, with 5060 people having tragically lost their lives to this disease. The death toll comes despite having almost half the number of Covid-19 recorded cases than what Gauteng does. Even more concerning is that, on Monday, 7 December, the Eastern Cape epidemiological report indicated that in the previous twenty-four hours, no Covid-19 …


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Senior management at Livingstone have described the staffing at Livingstone Hospital as a “leaking bucket” with nurses and administrative staff leaving in numbers. Reasons for the mass exodus are simple: Healthcare personnel at the hospital are physically, emotionally and mentally exhausted, and are fearful of losing their lives to the Covid-19 virus. The virus is seemingly more aggressive, with slightly higher mortality rates the second time around and hospital workers …


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