The Star E-dition

We’ll keep on being watchdog for the people – Survé

SIZWE DLAMINI sizwe.dlamini@inl.co.za

THE Gauteng provincial government has announced that it would take Independent Media, for the second time this year, to court for exposing the unacceptable conditions that patients were exposed to, at some of its hospitals.

In June, the Gauteng government threatened to take legal action against Independent Media.

In its statement, the government said it wanted to protect the integrity of all government officials as well as that of public institutions. The government, however, did not mention a single word about protecting patients.

Independent Media chairman Dr Iqbal Survé said that alone demonstrated that they did not care about the wellbeing of their patients. “Clearly their priority is their image, public relations. If they cared about patients, they would have been trying to do something about what we have exposed.”

The statement also does not indicate if the government will consider investigating the matter. “You really must be the most uncaring government in the world, when you are being told about the suffering of your citizens at your hospitals, and your first instinct is not to do something about that. Instead, they say they are taking us to court as a threat to stop us from speaking up when we discover and report wrongdoing by government institutions. Well, bring it on because that won’t work with Independent Media. We stand by our exposé,” said Survé.

Independent Media’s investigations unit has had sight of a report outlining gross medical negligence at Tembisa Provincial Tertiary Hospital that resulted in the death of a patient, which could have been avoided.

The report stated that all the different reports corroborated and strengthened the findings of the Health Ombud and investigator that the patient’s care was not only substandard but was also negligent. While both the Health Ombud and investigator reported several findings of a systems-related nature and deficiencies, these were not sufficient to explain the extent and degree of substandard and negligent care provided.

Survé said we have a responsibility, to tell the truth about what is happening in this country including at some state hospitals, for those issues to be rectified for the benefit of ordinary citizens. This is because our priority is the patient, not public institutions.

“If we as the media are threatened with court action when exposing the rot, how will ordinary citizens expose government wrongdoing if they see what is happening to us? That will stop whistle-blowers from coming forward because they will fear being taken to court by their own government, and the rot will continue unabated. In fact, we think that might be exactly what they want to happen.

“We also notice the hostility at which the government deals with Independent Media. Independent Media is the only media house that the government wants to take to court. When other media houses expose government rot, the government listens and their matter is sometimes referred to investigative bodies like the Special Investigating Unit or the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation. However, if that’s the price we must pay, so be it, because we will continue to be the watchdog for the people,” he said.

Survé said the role of the media was not to protect the powerful, but the most vulnerable and to expose those that are the most powerful. “That’s what Independent Media is all about. See you in court, government.”

METRO

en-za

2021-11-03T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-11-03T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://thestar.pressreader.com/article/281560884017293

African News Agency