PRETORIA – A South African provincial government official has defended herself after she was caught on video chastising a Zimbabwean woman for seeking treatment at a Limpopo hospital.

A video Limpopo health MEC Phophi Ramathuba where she can be heard telling a patient from Zimbabwe to go and seek medical care from Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangwangwa has been trending on social media.

Ramathuba told Sunday World on Wednesday that Limpopo hospitals are experiencing an influx of foreigners, mostly from Zimbabwe, who are being treated at the expense of the provincial government and its rural poor people.

“Our constitution is clear that we must never deny anybody health benefits. Rural Health Matters’ initiatives have been established to assist poor people in Limpopo,” Ramathuba said.

“When illegal immigrants hear that the MEC is coming to a particular district in Limpopo, undocumented foreign nationals come and get operated.

“Even the same day when the clip was taken, an illegal immigrant who got an accident in Harare said he came to Limpopo because he heard that a Limpopo [health] MEC operates [on] people for free.

“I’m saying that they must respect our country’s laws and pay for our services. I’m not being xenophobic but telling the truth.

“It can’t be correct that undocumented foreign nationals benefit.

“This is unfair because if you go to their country, such conduct doesn’t happen,” said Ramathuba.

She said Limpopo has a surgical backlog and added that the situation is affecting ordinary citizens who cannot afford medical aids.

“I can confirm that statistics show that out of 4 700 surgical operations, most illegal immigrants were operated in Limpopo hospitals instead of our citizens.

“I will do anything in my power to protect the people of Limpopo, [and for them] to benefit from the health sector.”

South African political parties and some sections of the population have called for Ramathuba’s removal following her utterances during a visit to a provincial hospital.

The  Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) said the MEC displayed arrogance and must be removed from her position.

“The hateful comments which were in full view of individuals who laughed at the merciless shaming of a patient reveal a shocking hatred for a fellow human being by someone tasked with protecting and saving human life,” said EFF spokesperson Sinawo Thambo.

“Ramathuba is a reckless populist who is joining the pretentious and opportunistic campaign by the ANC to shift the responsibility of a collapsing healthcare sector and degeneration in all spheres of South Africa on so-called foreign nationals.”

DA spokesperson in Limpopo Risham Maharaj said they written to the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) about the “unacceptable conduct”.

Maharaj said this incident is just another reason why she must be fired in order to save the province’s health system.

The DA will also file a complaint with the Limpopo Legislature Ethics Committee and the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA).

“We will also ask parliamentary questions on the cost of treating people without medical aid to establish the extent of the issue and then address it through the appropriate legislature channels.”

But Ramathuba has refuted the accusations and said she is not xenophobic.

Ramathuba, a provincial deputy chairperson of the SACP and a member of the provincial executive committee of the ANC, was captured saying: “How do you find yourself in Bela-Bela and Mpumalanga when you are supposed to be with Mnangwangwa there? You know he does not give me [the] money to operate [on] you guys? And I am operating [on] you with my limited budget.

“I hear that you guys say you are going to cross Limpopo River [and that] there is an MEC there who is running a charity department, it is not. You are killing my health system.”

She is also said to have mentioned that the community members are infuriated because they miss out on medical treatment meant for them. – Sunday World