Gauteng Health MEC: No One Has the Right to Deny Healthcare Acess to Foreign Nationals

‘You Can’t Block People From Clinics’: Gauteng Health MEC Calls Out Anti Immigrant Actions

A warning has been issued to anyone trying to turn foreign nationals away from public hospitals and clinics in Gauteng — it’s illegal, and law enforcement is watching.

Gauteng Health and Wellness MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko has slammed the actions of groups reportedly preventing immigrants, especially undocumented ones, from accessing state healthcare. In a strong statement, she emphasised that “no community member or structure has a right” to deny someone medical help, regardless of their nationality.

A Growing Trend, and a Legal Backlash

The MEC’s response comes after repeated incidents involving anti-immigrant groups like Operation Dudula disrupting services at health facilities. These groups claim that undocumented foreigners are putting strain on the already overburdened public health system — and some have even taken it upon themselves to patrol clinics.

But Nkomo-Ralehoko was unequivocal: “We can never support acts that undermine the laws of the land.”

She confirmed that such incidents are routinely reported to the police, and authorities have been urged to intervene when necessary. Her department, she added, needs more funding to serve all who walk through the doors of public facilities, regardless of where they come from.

Activist Backlash: ‘This is Not Sustainable’

While the MEC’s remarks were praised by human rights groups and healthcare workers, not everyone agrees.

Nozibusiso Khambule, who leads the March and March Movement — an organisation that openly opposes the presence of undocumented immigrants — called the department’s stance “unsurprising but deeply concerning.”

“South Africa’s public healthcare is funded by its citizens,” she said. “While emergency care is a constitutional right, we cannot afford to offer free, comprehensive healthcare to undocumented foreign nationals while citizens are turned away due to medicine and staff shortages.”

Khambule argues that non-emergency services should come at a cost for non-citizens who haven’t contributed to the tax base. “We are not against healthcare. We are against free healthcare for undocumented individuals who place further strain on a stretched system.”

A Deeper Dilemma for South Africa’s Healthcare Future

Amir Sheikh, chairperson of the African Diaspora Forum, acknowledged the concerns around funding and sustainability, but urged a more nuanced conversation.

He pointed out that migrants make up roughly 4% of South Africa’s total population — not the overwhelming flood some groups claim — but even that share contributes to rising demand in clinics and hospitals, especially in Gauteng.

“This can affect the quality of care and create tension over resources,” Sheikh said. “We need realistic planning, not scapegoating.”

Balancing Legality, Humanity and Reality

The debate over healthcare access for foreign nationals sits at the intersection of law, ethics, and economic stress. For government departments like health, the legal line is clear: denying medical access is unconstitutional.

But on the ground, where queues are long and medicines short, public frustration is real.

For now, the Gauteng Health Department is standing firm on its mandate: healthcare is a human right. Whether public sentiment agrees — or shifts — remains to be seen.

Source:Citizen Online

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