GOOD Statement by Mathakwe Peter Chokoe,
GOOD STUDENTS Limpopo Chairperson
28 March 2025
Government must ensure that the growing number of Limpopo NGO and Health workers (currently over 500) retrenched and unemployed in response to the cutoff of US-AID are not abandoned.
It is no secret that our country is suffering from the immediate cutoff of foreign aid. Health workers and NGO staff that provided critical services, like HIV retroviral distribution, have been left to find new work as clinics shut their doors. These organisations and staff have established community presence, trust, structure and data that are vital for addressing the health crisis in our most underprivileged areas.
In Limpopo, employees of Beyond Zero have had their 6-month extension and salary increase reneged on through South African National Aids Council sub-committee. This interference with the 6-month collective agreements made between principal recipients of the Global Fund and the Global Fund itself has led to meagre increases being stripped away alongside terminations, a toxic work environment and severe mental health ramifications.
Director of Communications for Limpopo Health, Neil Shikwambana, has promised to advertise employment opportunities in line with their recruitment plans; however, this is insufficient. Government must make an active commitment to ensure that these medical professionals and NGO workers are not abandoned.
GOOD calls on the Limpopo health department to prioritise this urgent issue. We must uplift this sector, not throw fuel on its funeral pyre. Priority number one is ensuring that no skilled professional or vital civil society member is left behind. For justice to occur in our lifetime our country must protect those who dedicate their lives to achieve it.
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