President Cyril Ramaphosa said the MEC for Health in Limpopo has raised an important issue, of how service provision is affected by migration.
PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa has defended the Limpopo MEC for Health, Dr Phophi Ramathuba, saying the issue she raised while addressing a Zimbabwean patient seeking medical attention, is on top of the minds of many nationals.
Ramathuba sparked debate after she was recorded in a video berating a Zimbabwean patient at Bela Bela hospital in Limpopo.
Responding to questions raised in the South African Parliament on the conduct of the MEC, Ramaphosa appeared to move away from his country’s usual quiet diplomacy, saying issues raised by Ramathuba should be discussed at the level of heads of African governments.
The president said it was an important issue. “And indeed it is part and parcel of having to deal with the whole issue of framework around migration not only on the continent but elsewhere.”
He added that as people move around the world, one of the issues they are asked is are you able to make provision for any service that may have to be offered to you, in any shape or form.
“So that is part of the whole process to deal with migration.
“She raised it in the presence of a patient, be that as it may, it has been raised and has evolved and has invoked debate not only in South Africa but in Zimbabwe as well as the rest of the continent.”
The president said it was a matter that was going to enjoy quite a lot of attention even if when he and other African leaders meet at a high level of state to discuss precisely what movement of people should really entail, in the form of health services, in the form of criminality and rule of law.
“We have a constitutional architecture that looks at the people of South Africa and how they should be tended for and how services should be provided for.”
According to the South African High Commission, these are the basic principles and policies on immigration.
– The present immigration policy places emphasis on the broadening of the economic base of South Africa by concentrating especially on the obtaining of those immigrants who are in a position to render a meaningful contribution in this regard.
– The South African immigration policy is embodied in the Immigration Act which prescribes certain requirements which are to be met by an applicant who wishes to immigrate permanently to South Africa.
The requirements are:
– The applicant must be of good character.
– He/she must be a desirable inhabitant.
– He/she must not be likely to be harmful to the welfare of the Republic of South Africa.
– Most importantly – he/she must not follow an occupation in which there is already a sufficient number of persons available to meet the requirements of the country.
These requirements are aimed at individual selection and all applications for permanent residence are considered on merit by an autonomous statutory body, the Immigrants Selection Board.
