By Thapelo Molefe
Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Health has raised alarm over the disruption of health services by Operation Dudula and similar groups, warning that their actions threaten constitutional rights and risk denying legitimate patients access to treatment.
Speaking during a social services cluster media briefing on Thursday, committee chairperson Sibongiseni Dhlomo said that while citizens’ concerns about pressure on clinics and hospitals must be acknowledged, “blocking patients at the gates of hospitals is not the solution”.
He noted that the Constitution guaranteed access to emergency medical care for all, regardless of nationality, and cautioned that undocumented South Africans such as those who lost identity documents in shack fires were also at risk of being unfairly targeted.
“The absence of a document should not allow anyone to be blocked from accessing healthcare,” Dhlomo said, urging Operation Dudula activists to abandon vigilante tactics.
He confirmed that discussions with the Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi and civil society groups were underway to address grievances about strained resources and long queues at facilities.
Dhlomo also said legislative reforms may be necessary to tighten existing laws, including the Citizenship Act of 1993, the Refugees Act of 1998 and the Immigration Act, to balance humanitarian obligations with South Africa’s limited resources.
He emphasised that only pregnant women and children under six currently qualify for free primary healthcare, while most South Africans must either pay at state hospitals or wait for the phased rollout of the National Health Insurance (NHI).
Chairperson of the Select Committee on Education, Sciences and Creative Industries, Makhi Feni, added that while the government would continue engaging with concerned civil society groups, law enforcement must intervene if health facilities were obstructed.
“Those disrupting hospitals cannot be allowed to disadvantage even legitimate citizens. If dialogue fails, decisive action will be taken,” he said.
The warning comes after incidents in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal where Dudula-linked activists confronted foreign nationals at clinics.
On Thursday, the acting chairperson of the Southern Africa Refugee Organisations Forum, Eric Jean Butoki Madel, echoed the warnings from government, reportedly saying that if “you are not a native South African, you are automatically illegal, especially if you are a Black African.”
Dhlomo urged communities to work with Home Affairs, which has begun placing offices in hospitals to register births and issue certificates, to reduce tensions around documentation.
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