DIVERT ALL FUNDS TO ADDRESS HEALTH CRISIS - MPS

LOBAMBA – Members of Parliament (MPs) have urged government to bring a loan Bill that will address the entire health crisis.
The legislators further called for the health crisis to be declared a disaster and that all funds should be diverted to deal with the crisis in the health system. The MPs noted that despite the E3 billion budget given to the Ministry of Health, there are still financial gaps that have to be filled by the budget, dating back to 10 years ago.  Lobamba Lomdzala MP Marwick Khumalo said there have been a number of loans that government has negotiated and approved by Parliament.  He stated that there was a point in time where government brought a loan Bill that was meant to address the health crisis because it dated back years ago.

System

The MP said the entire health system needs a revamp and a loan could address the challenges. The call for a loan Bill to address the health crisis was also supported by LaMgabhi MP Sicelo Jele. Mhlangatane MP Madala Mhlanga noted that the minister said he took some medical supplies that were out of stock at Mbabane Government Hospital from lithocholic to continue with dialysis at the referral hospital. He said the rob Peter to pay Paul system will not work in the health sector, hence the need for lasting solutions.Zombodze Emuva MP Ntando Mkhonta urged the ministry to also root out the corruption that engulfs the sector.  He said with the issues that have surfaced regarding the supply of medical drugs and supplies, the loan could be depleted by the corruption within the ministry.  He said before Parliament could pass the loan Bill, corruption in the ministry needed to be dealt with.

Meanwhile, there was tension and emotions in Parliament yesterday as the Minister of Health, Mduduzi Matsebula, gave an update on the renal dialysis, theatre services and CT scan challenges. The MPs have urged government to take up a loan that will address all the health issues and the minister to get rid of heads of department and senior officials who are sabotaging the health system. During the sitting, after the minister’s update, the MPs underlined some points of his update, among them being that he had a busy night sorting out the situation after he learnt through enquiries that were made by the media, the Times of Eswatini, in particular, about the halted dialysis and theatre services.

The minister also stated that the country has one CT scan and it was bought in 2010 and had faults for over 10 years. During the debate, the MPs appreciated the minister’s update, but punched holes in a number of things that they felt were not going well and that could have been avoided before the situation got to extremes in the health facilities. The MPs, including Cabinet ministers, were not impressed with the manner in which the Ministry of Health, heads of department and senior officials were responding to the health crisis and their approach to operations within the ministry. The MPs said heads must roll in the ministry and the minister should clean his administration and ensure that he let go of senior officials who are sabotaging him. Firstly, the MPs decried the timing that the minister got to know about the crisis in the health facilities.

Reactive

Kubuta MP Masiphula Mamba said he felt the Ministry of Health is more reactive than being proactive. He said he noted that the minister was trying to address the crisis, but his nkwe is misguided and accused the officials for poor planning. He urged that health should be a priority in the country and the ministry officials should understand the cruciality of the ministry they are driving. Mamba said he was disappointed that the minister stated that the ministry had not anticipated the challenges. “The ministry seems to be reactive and keeps on sending updates, but the truth is that there is no medication in public health facilities. What is even more shocking is that the CT scan machine that is said to have broken was bought in 2010. That speaks to poor planning within the ministry,”  he said.

He said if there was proper planning within the ministry the CT scan could have been budgeted for, and serviced accordingly. Mamba said if there was proper planning in the ministry, the minister could not have been woken up at night by calls informing him about the crisis. He questioned if the planners were unable to see that the reagents and other supplies were running out. Matsanjeni South MP Sabelo Ndlangamandla said serious attention needs to be given to the Ministry of Health, as people will die like flies if the situation is not addressed by government.

He noted that the minister inherited most of the challenges. He added that the Ministry of Health has turned into a ministry of statements, but there is no change on the ground.
He questioned if the ministry has a grand plan that is used to address the challenges faced by the health system. Mtfongwaneni MP Nathi Hlophe said he felt that some officials were sabotaging the minister. This statement was also echoed by Mbabane East MP Welcome Dlamini. “How did we run out of such crucial health supplies and broken CT scan, among other shortages? I feel like there are ulterior motives here. The minister should clean up the administration. There is a clear sabotage here, unfortunately, it is at the expense of emaSwati,” he said.  He said Parliament cannot sit down and watch emaSwati’s lives being gambled with.

Crucial

The Minister of Tinkhundla Administration and Development, Sikhumbuzo Dlamini, said it is crucial for government to stand up and sort out the issues facing the ministry.
“The minister should go back to his ministry and clean up. It is a bad omen for the minister to find out through the media about the crisis, while there are officials he works with every day. Why did the officials fail to update the minister on time?” he wondered. The minister said the challenges should have not gotten so bad. He said the MPs should remember that not so long ago, there were people who were out rooting for the system of governance to fall. He said some of those people were within government ministries and they could do anything to sabotage government.

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