Jane Cowley

Dear MyPE It is time to chart a new course for the Department of Health in our province. The Premier now has a golden opportunity to appoint a person of calibre and competence to change the fortunes of the bruised and battered Department. Unfortunately, the new incumbent will be inheriting the mess left behind by their predecessor. A corrupt, bankrupt Department that is rotten to the core. The provincial response to the Covid-19 pandemic has revealed in shocking, and often tragic, detail … [Read more...] about Premier must appoint Health MEC of competence and calibre

Dear MyPE The DA will write to the Eastern Cape Premier following the announcement that the Volkswagen sponsored Dr Elizabeth Mamisa Chabula-Nxiweni Field Hospital is facing closure and that hundreds of contract healthcare workers are losing their jobs. This is just the tip of the iceberg, with similar scenarios playing out across the province and we request urgent intervention. At the same time as Premier Oscar Mabuyane was claiming victory in securing 625 nurses tenure, after it was … [Read more...] about Urgent intervention needed following Volkswagen field hospital’s imminent closure

Dear MyPE As scandal upon scandal piles up against Health MEC Sindiswa Gomba, the honourable thing for her to do would be to step aside, allowing for the work of the Department of Health to continue without the accompanying drama. If MEC Gomba was as loyal to the ANC as what the party has been to her, putting her position ahead of the people the party claims to serve, she would have already informed Premier Oscar Mabuyane of her intention to step aside in face of the corruption charges … [Read more...] about Health MEC Must Resign

Dear MyPE On Monday evening, the President of South Africa proudly announced that the first batch of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, acquired from India to aid us in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, had arrived in the country. While this is certainly good news, particularly for our health care workers who continue to work under extreme pressure and will be first to receive the vaccine, unfortunately, it remains far too little, far too late. Last year in June, while … [Read more...] about Vaccines: too little, too late

Dear MyPE There is still no date set for the rollout of vaccines in the Eastern Cape, even though the first batches are set to arrive in the country on Monday. No clarity was forthcoming from MEC of Health, Sindiswa Gomba, who could not confirm when the province will be receiving their first allocation of vaccines. This is most concerning, considering that our province, as of yesterday, had the highest number of deaths as a result of Covid-19 at 10 379 and an alarming rate of excess … [Read more...] about No dates yet for Covid-19 vaccine in Eastern Cape

Dear MyPE I will again write to the Minister of Health, Dr Zweli Mkhize, to request feedback and a full report after more woefully inadequate Eastern Cape Covid-19 statistics were released earlier this week by the Department of Health. The minister announced on Wednesday, 6 January 2021, that the Eastern Cape, with 452 deaths, has the highest Covid-19 mortality rate in the country, but that the province only has the third lowest number of active Coronavirus cases. These statistics are … [Read more...] about Minister Mkhize must account for flawed Eastern Cape Covid-19 statistics

Dear MyPE The latest decision to close all Eastern Cape beaches in response to the second wave of Covid-19 infections, announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa last night, will decimate the province’s fragile tourism industry that is already on the brink of collapse. Businesses who were hoping that the December holiday break would bring a much-needed cash injection after the disastrous first round of lockdown measures, are in despair. Cancellations have already begun streaming in, as … [Read more...] about Beach ban will decimate fragile EC Tourism industry

Dear MyPE Senior management at Livingstone have described the staffing at Livingstone Hospital as a “leaking bucket” with nurses and administrative staff leaving in numbers. Reasons for the mass exodus are simple: Healthcare personnel at the hospital are physically, emotionally and mentally exhausted, and are fearful of losing their lives to the Covid-19 virus. The virus is seemingly more aggressive, with slightly higher mortality rates the second time around and hospital workers are … [Read more...] about Resignations plague Livingstone Hospital

Dear MyPE As the world commemorates HIV AIDS Awareness Day, it is perhaps fitting to look at the overwhelming impact that the Covid-19 pandemic has had on the lives of those living with HIV AIDS, and the programmes meant to make a difference in the fight against this silent killer. Sadly the Covid-19 pandemic, which has devastated communities and upset economies across the globe, has impacted very severely on our province, our health department and our people. As a result, programmes … [Read more...] about EC HIV AIDs programmes devastated by Covid-19 pandemic

Dear MyPE A nature reserve run by the Mhlontlo Local Municipality, which has no board and is unable to provide any financials, has been provided R19 million in Tourism Relief funding, while thousands of tourism SMMEs across the province, in dire need, have not received a cent. This was revealed in a Department of Economic Development, Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEDEAT) report tabled in the Eastern Cape Legislature last week. Even more concerning, is that this was done despite … [Read more...] about Municipal reserve scores big while tourism businesses suffer

Dear MyPE Despite the Covid-19 pandemic currently ripping through the communities of Kouga Local Municipality, the newly built Covid-19 facility at the Humansdorp Hospital remains closed. Serious questions need to be asked about how this facility could possibly have cost R3,506 million of taxpayers money when the unit is not even brick and mortar, but pre-fabricated panels. In a capable state, this substandard construction would not pass muster as a standard ward, let alone a Covid-19 … [Read more...] about Humansdorp Field Hospital still not operational

Dear MyPE The second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic appears to be in full swing in the Eastern Cape, with the Department of Health already severely stretched as hospital admissions increase. The failure to communicate effectively on the continued dangers of this virus is resulting in a high degree of non-compliance. In the DA-administered Western Cape there is a live Covid-19 dashboard, accessible to the public with up to date statistics to keep the public informed. There have been … [Read more...] about Health Department must communicate as second wave appears to hit Eastern Cape

Dear MyPE The children of Nomsa Petshe are still reeling from the shock after hearing for the first time on Friday that their beloved mother, who was admitted to Cecilia Makiwane Hospital on 5 August 2020, had passed away on the same day. For two months and eighteen days, they heard not one word from the hospital regarding the condition of their mother, despite leaving not one, but two cell phone contact numbers on her patient file upon her admission to the hospital. Both the son and … [Read more...] about Hospital fails to inform family of mother’s death for more than two months

Dear MyPE The number of excess deaths in the Eastern Cape continues to rise, with the latest available data released by the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) indicating 10 489 excess deaths. Most of these are in the rural parts of the province. This is the second highest number in the country. Only Gauteng has a higher number of reported excess deaths, at 11 909. My greatest fear is that these statistics indicate that the pandemic is more prevalent in our province than what … [Read more...] about Excess deaths continue to rise in Eastern Cape

Dear MyPE The villages of Addo and Kirkwood in the Sundays River Valley have been flooded with untreated sewage, which is leaking out of a poorly maintained and badly managed sewerage system and infiltrating the clean water systems which are intended for domestic use. At the entrance to Valencia, untreated sewage bubbles out of broken pipes and forms a river which eventually flows into the Sundays River. In Aquapark, untreated sewage flows into a canal, which in turn flows into a source … [Read more...] about Sickening sewage collapse in Addo