1. Hon.Speaker, the MF supports the Health Report with recommendations. Hon.members, the Health facilities visits are important for oversight but unlike the Speaker’s initiatives which looks at key areas, Portfolio Committees require structured visits in terms of key standard operating procedures and Norms and Standards especially when responding to the COVID-19 crisis at the same time.
2. Furthermore, the visits did not cover the Lodges and Hotels which the DOH has contracted for 6 months, at a cost which could have helped our institutions for compelling needs, if we planned better and contracted for 3 months. So, did we get value for money, whilst beds were also given for free by the Private sector e.g.: at Ascot Park Hospital and were not utilised at all, while patients had no beds in some of our institutions e.g.: Ngwelozane Hospital. Some institutions were burned e.g.: in Eshowe e.g.: Catherine Booth Hospital, where residents did not want a COVID-19 hospital.
3. Hon.Speaker, notwithstanding the dedication of our Chairperson, Hon.Majola, we should have ideally embarked on hospital visits to the same hospitals we visited before and at a later date when Public Works was complete with essential COVID-19 related renovations and I call on the programming committee to consider this.
4. Hon.Speaker, the Minority Front looks forward to a comprehensive Speaker’s Health oversight visit, that focuses on SOP’s and Norms and Standards which requires strengthening, if we are to make meaningful changes to the way in which our Health institutions adapt to COVID-19 challenges and beyond with flexibility, timeliness, cost-containment and minimal loss of lives, especially as we are expecting a second wave of COVID-19, yet we have been pushed to drop to Level 2. From an economic point of view therefore we have to adapt to the “new normal “of balancing livelihoods and lives, simultaneously.
5. Thank you.

Hon.S. Thakur- Rajbansi