Celeste Ganga10 August 2007
The recently sacked Deputy Health Minister, Nozizwe Madlala- Routledge, held a press conference on Friday at Primedia Studios in Cape Town. This comes after she was dismissed from her position by President Thabo Mbeki on Wednesday.
She addressed the issues of her attending an AIDS conference in Madrid and her unannounced visit to Frere Hospital, where she describes the state of the hospital as “shocking”.
“I have been fired for paying an unannounced visit to Frere Hospital on the 13th of July, and for my shocking response to the situation I found in the maternity ward,” says Madlala-Routledge.
She explains that the visit was prompted by the much publicised story broken by the Daily Dispatch, after a two-month under-cover investigation into why babies die at Frere Hospital.
“The other reason for my dismissal is a much publicised report of a request by an anonymous whistle-blower, into the unauthorised trip I undertook to Madrid to address a conference hosted by the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI),” says Madlala-Routledge.
Madlala-Routledge doesn’t believe that the President had all the facts relating to the two incidents and the actions that she took.
“This press conference gives me the opportunity to explain to the public and to subject myself to media scrutiny,” added Madlala-Routledge.
The former deputy health minister says that she has received a lot of support from the public and her colleagues. She was welcomed by a small group of protestors who condemned the president's decision.
It still needs to be decided, who will become the new deputy minister of health.
picture: http://www.mg.co.za/
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