The current strike by medical practitioners is leaving a bitter taste. I am a firm believer in the principle that professional people have to earn their stripes, so to speak. I initially thought these counter-revolutionary prima donnas should be drawn and quartered but it seems this issue goes deeper than the underpayment of interns.
As in all conflicts and differences of opinion, there are two sides to this story and both deserved to be judged objectively. Unfortunately we live in a time where lies and deceit is the norm and we do not quite know who or what to believe. I recall a recent survey suggesting the majority of South Africans do not really have serious moral dilemmas with dishonesty. Given this and the government's well-documented propensity to lie and deceive, I'm inclined to believe the doctors.
I am convinced that the assertion, by striking doctors, that the government's version of the salary offer is a twisted version of the truth. The mere fact that famous spokesperson Castro Hadebe, related the governments version, of the story raises eyebrows, not that I'm accusing Mr Hadebe of lying, it is just that he also told us, not so long ago, with a straight face, that there was no cholera outbreak in the country. However, if Trevor Manual can deny the existence of a raging recession, how can we blame Mr Hadebe for being less than honest?
Be that as it may. It seems the intern doctors are the only ones satisfied with the increase. Other doctors however are far from happy. It seems the government are more concerned and attentive to unionised workers and rogue taxi drivers, sowing anarchy and chaos, than in doctors, who are the backbone of our health system, a fact that will be vigorously denied by the minister and government bureaucrats. They will tell you the pride derived from the hospital renaming project outweighs traditional medical imperialist health standards.
Unsurprising approach
The approach of the government is not surprising considering the renaming of hospitals and the formulation of strategies to reform private health care takes precedence over the treatment of HIV/Aids sufferers, an approach which resulted in the deaths of 400 000 people. The government's attitude towards state health care is also clearly illustrated in the way they treat the sharply dropping life expectancy of South Africans.
The fact that the average South African's life expectancy has dropped by 10 years since 1994 did not raise an eyebrow in governmental circles or in the Department of Health indicating a total disregard for the wellbeing of the average South African. The government focus is on visible issues rather than the invisible.
Maybe we expect too much in a country where leaders openly promote witchdoctors and traditional healers who dispense concoctions containing anything from vegetables to animal poo and human body parts for ailments ranging from the sniffles to cancer and serious mental disturbances.
How can we expect respect for medical practitioners when Tokyo Sexwale lends credibility to witchdoctors and charlatans in the Eastern Cape? How can we be serious about health care when people like Manto Tshabalala-Msimang are given hero status by the ANC government? How does the continual support and promotion and protection of cadres like Peggy Nkonyeni and Sibongile Manana, both former health MEC's and zealous supporters of witchdoctors, traditional healers and their "Healing concoctions"?
The distorted focus of the bureaucrats in the department of health, with the full support of the ANC government, current and past, resulted in a spectacular collapse in service, bloated salaries for bureaucrats, and raging corruption. The importance of medical professionals was relegated to the pending file and their plight ignored.
Because of their status as professionals, who are not generally unionised, it was assumed they would desist from industrial action. The uproar from some quarters about the Hippocratic Oath being ignored rings hollow when we consider the number of fellow citizens killed on a daily basis by government policy, traditional beliefs and administrative bungling of the Department of Health.
I am totally against strikes and the disproportionate power given to workers and unions. I can however not blame medical professionals for their actions in a society where we walk with the Union gun held constantly at hour heads and where their demands supersede the wishes of everyone else. When it is acceptable for Emergency workers to strike with impunity, how can we blame the doctors for doing the same?
Sad reality
Miners and factory workers are allowed to destroy the engine of our economy whilst causing "acceptable" mayhem and destruction of property but heaven forbid doctors protesting. The attitude of government are epitomised by the statement of the Department of Health in the Eastern Cape who proudly declared, "We have identified the instigators, wrote them letters and will take further action if deemed necessary". In the mean time Gwede Mantashe, and others in government, solemnly declare their support for the democratic right of the worker to strike. Why is this? The Cosatu vote is important; the doctor's vote is insignificant.
Whilst this is going on, good doctors leave South Africa in droves. The sad reality of the exodus is that it robs us from our better doctors. The more recently qualified doctors, because of the deliberate "dumbing down" applied at Universities, in the interest of affirmative action, will find it more difficult to find jobs in modern countries.
When I heard about doctors, walking out at Groote Schuur Hospital it saddened me. Here we have, what was, a bastion of achievement and excellence in the world of medical science, an institution that gave us one of the biggest medical achievements in human memory, reduced to a disgusting third world shambles, all in the name of transformation.
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Disclaimer: All articles and letters published on MyNews24 have been independently written by members of News24's community. The views of users published on News24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of News24. News24 editors also reserve the right to edit or delete any and all comments received.