The 16 Cuban doctors who have been deployed in the Free State are costing taxpayers R17 million per year, while there are many South African doctors available to fill those positions.
In response to a question by the FF Plus in the Free State Legislature, the Free State MEC for Health, Margaret Tsiu, confirmed that the salaries of the 16 Cuban doctors working in the Free State amount to more than R1,3 million per month.
These doctors have been practising in Free State government hospitals since May 2020. Their gross salaries range between R93 000 and R117 000 per month.
Eight of the Cuban doctors are mere general practitioners, while better qualified local doctors are without jobs.
The Cuban doctors also receive benefits, like non-pensionable cash allowances, fixed over-time payments and in some cases even accommodation allowances.
So, instead of allowing local doctors the opportunity to make a contribution to the improvement of health care in the province, the ANC has opted to strengthen its ties with Cuba.
The ANC has, thus, turned its back on local doctors who have received training in the country for many years, who have completed their required internships and community service in our hospitals and who know and understand the unique circumstances in the province.
The country cannot afford the ANC’s obsession with so-called Cuban expertise and it is to the detriment of all the people of the Free State.
It puts needless pressure on the empty fiscus and is a slap in the face of unemployed South Africans who can do the jobs that the Cubans are being paid exorbitant amounts for doing.
Read the original article in Afrikaans by Armand Cloete on FF Plus
