SAMATU threatens nationwide healthcare shutdown, demands action on unemployed doctors

By Akani Nkuna

Dr. Langanani Mbodi, President of the South African Medical Association Trade Union (SAMATU), has threatened to shut down the country’s healthcare system if the government fails to address unemployed doctors’ demands.

Mbodi made these remarks to Inside Politics during the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) march, held in support of SAMATU.

The march took place on Friday, starting at the Union Buildings and ending at the National Treasury offices in Pretoria. It included protesters from the Dentist Professionals Association (DPA), COSATU, and the ANC Youth League (ANCYL).

“We are giving government a maximum of three weeks to listen to our pleas, if not we are going to mobilise and come back out in big numbers. Because even those that are employed, like me, we feel the pain. We feel the pinch,” said Mbodi.

“If I have to attend to so many patients alone [then] every