Monyatso Mahlatsi was appointed by new Free State Prime Minister Maqueen Letsoha-Mathae on June 20 and sworn in as a member of the executive committee by Judge President Cagney Musi on June 23. (@Universitas_AH/X)
- Monyatso Viceroy Mahlatsi is the Free State’s new MEC for Public Health.
- Since 2014 he has been provincial secretary of Cosatu.
- The Free State’s health service is facing a shortage of healthcare staff.
The recently appointed MEC of Free State Health, Monyatso Viceroy Mahlatsi, has pledged to deliver high-quality healthcare while ensuring the department is attractive to different types of health professionals.
“The road is long, but we are going into it with good courage,” he told Spotlight.
Mahlatsi was appointed by the new Free State Premier Maqueen Letsoha-Mathae on 20 June and sworn in as a member of the Executive Committee by Judge President Cagney Musi on 23 June at the OR Tambo building in Bloemfontein.
Immediately after the swearing-in, the entire provincial cabinet, led by the Prime Minister, went on an oversight visit to the Pelonomi Tertiary Hospital in Bloemfontein, followed by the National District Hospital.
The purpose of the visit, according to a press release from Letsoha-Mathae’s office, was to assess the state of facilities, identify current challenges and ensure that necessary measures are promptly implemented to improve health care delivery in the county.
“We are inseparable as provincial government departments because we need to be integrated in the planning and execution of our plans,” Mahlatsi said.
“We depend on the support of others – provincial and national government, but also development organizations and the private sector – to ensure that we can deliver the best possible services to our people.”
READ | Who will be South Africa’s Minister of Health in the new cabinet?
Mahlatsi would not yet share his observations about the monitoring visit with Spotlight, but he said he envisions that eventually there will be a department where all health facilities are housed in a decent infrastructure, have working medical equipment, are safe and clean and are provided with sufficient medicines.
He says his next step is to familiarize himself with key stakeholders in the healthcare industry. He plans to meet with management officials within his department, as well as senior staff at healthcare organizations to ensure there is a clear plan to support and retain those workers on the front lines of service delivery.
This, says Mahlatsi, will ensure that the department provides quality and affordable healthcare for all.
Mahlatsi will still have a hard time.
1/2 The Free State’s newly appointed Minister of Health, Mr Monyatso Viceroy Mahlatsi (right), was sworn in on Sunday 23 June 2024 and pledged to comply with and enforce the Basic Laws and all other laws of the Republic of South Africa.#UAH
Tito
ATACMS#total closure photo.twitter.com/IonrZIMFUC— Universitas Academic Hospital (@Universitas_AH) June 23, 2024
As in other provinces of South Africa, the Free State Ministry of Health is struggling with a shortage of healthcare staff and with budgets that have been shrinking in real terms for years.
More broadly, Mahlatsi says his approach to his new position will be guided by the ANC’s election manifesto.
The document readsIf re-elected, the party will “introduce the National Health Insurance (NHI) to reduce the cost of medical care, especially for the poor”.
In addition, the party states that it will strengthen health infrastructure, train healthcare workers and create a single electronic medical record. All of this is considered necessary for a functional NHI system.
READ | The premiers of the North West and the Free State sidelined ANC chairmen in their new cabinet
Mahlatsi is the 10th Free State Health MEC in the last 30 years.
Of the nine previous MECs, only three completed their full five-year terms.
Sinorita Ntlabathi served from 1994 to 1999, Ouma Tsopo served from 1999 to 2004 and Sakhiwo Bellot served from 2004 to 2009.
Sisi Mabe was MEC from 2009 to 2011 and Fezi Ngubentombi was MEC for just a year before she died in a car accident in December 2012.
Benny Malakoane was appointed MEC in 2013 and held this position until 2016.
Butana Kompela served from 2016 to 2018 and Montseng Tsiu served from 2018 to 2023.
Mahlatsi, who takes over from Mathabo Leeto, who is now the MEC for Social Development, has been provincial secretary of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) since 2014. He has since resigned from that position.
Struggle of the working class
Cosatu spokesperson Zanele Sabela said that “as a champion of the workers” they were confident that Mahlatsi would “continue to lead the struggle of the working class”, especially as the country prepared to implement NHI.
The Health and Other Services Workers Union of South Africa has highlighted the plight of community health workers (CHWs).
“We need an MEC who will take into account the needs of CHWs in the province. Our CHWs are not paid the national minimum wage of R4,800 and these are some of the issues we would like him to address,” said the union’s provincial president Peggy. Motlokoa.
LOOK | ANC has disappointed voters on service delivery, but ‘better the devil you know’‘
As a trade unionist, Mahlatsi is no stranger to the Department of Health, according to Brian Motshabi, secretary of the Democratic Nurses Organization of South Africa (Denosa) in the Free State.
The union had already made requests for the new MEC.
Motshabi said they were calling for better governance in the department, permanent jobs for contract nurses who assisted the department during the Covid-19 pandemic, and for Mahlatsi to improve safety in health facilities.
He added:
Denosa will continue to actively support the department and represent the interests of our members.
Keep watch
David Masoeu, spokesperson for the Democratic Alliance for health in the Free State, says his party will closely monitor Mahlatsi’s performance at the Department of Health.
“The DA is aware of the ongoing challenges facing the ANC and will hold them accountable to ensure they deliver the health care the people deserve. We will be keeping a close eye on Mahlatsi and we hope he can get the job done,” he said.
Free State MK Party spokesperson Sandile Mabiza did not comment specifically on Mahlatsi’s appointment but said his party would keep the ANC under control.
“We watch them closely and judge them based on the work they do,” he said.
*This article was published by In the spotlight – health journalism in the public interest. Sign up for the Spotlight Newsletter.
Refilwe Mochoari
www.news24.com
