Samatu Welcomes Budget Allocated To Department Of Health

The South African Medical Association Trade Union Samatu has welcomed the budget allocated for the Department of Health .

The union believes that the new generation of qualified doctors will be afforded an opportunity to enhance their skills and ensure that healthcare is afforded to every citizen in the country .

This is after Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana, allocated more than R25 billion to the health budget this week.

Samatu had taken its grievances to the Finance Minister earlier this year as over 1 500 newly graduated healthcare professionals were unable to find employment.

We believe that this is the step in the right direction as Samatu has been very vocal on the unemployment of health care professionals and all the doctors who are sitting at home and who are in substantial need of these skills. We believe that this is very crucial even in beginning to turn the tide of this health care. We further believe that this is the necessary intervention considering the intention of government to implement National Health Insurance. Therefore, we are pleased with the finance budget," says Samatu General Secretary, Dr Cedric Sihlangu.