Cuban doctors leave Gauteng with R30m bill
Cuban doctors deployed to the country at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 cost the Gauteng provincial government a whopping R30 million.
This was revealed in a written response to the DA by Gauteng Health MEC Nomathemba Mokgethi in the Gauteng legislature.
The 14 doctors who are still working at primary healthcare facilities are being paid between R78 000 per month for a medical officer to R90 000 for a specialist.
The DA’s Jack Bloom says the government should’ve spent the money on local doctors.
ASLO READ: ‘I won’t step aside’ - under-fire Mantashe keeping hold of ANC position
“I doubt whether they add expertise that is not available locally. Some of them do not speak English well and they are not familiar with local health conditions.
“Government money should be spent on South Africans rather than wasted on Cuban doctors and expensive Cuban medical training which is being probed for suspected corruption.”
