TAC protesters marching to Khayelitsha District Hospital. Photo by Thandile Majivolo.
26 March 2014
This week we cover the TAC’s march on Khayelitsha Hospital and an alert put out by Lawyers for Human Rights on the unconstitutionality of draft immigration regulations.
The TAC will “march on Khayelitsha District Hospital in order to demonstrate its dissatisfaction with the hospital’s service delivery” on Thursday, 27 March 2014, at 10am till 1pm, to demand an improvement in the quality of treatment and care for the people of Khayelitsha.
According to the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), ‘the people of Khayelitsha have become increasingly dissatisfied with the treatment and care that patients receive at Khayelitsha Hospital’.
In August 2013, the TAC handed over a memorandum to the hospital about the poor experiences of community members at the hospital. The MEC inspected, but found no problems. But, the TAC maintains there have been numerous complaints and ‘the people of Khayelitsha are unhappy with the response of the hospital and the MEC’.
Started in 2011, draft immigration regulations were finally published for comment by Home Affairs Minister Naledi Pandor last month. But they have been slammed by immigration specialists, say Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR).
In a press release, LHR cites several lawyers.
Immigration lawyer Julian Pokroy says, “They should go back to the drawing board.”
Migration lawyer Craig Smith says, “Many of the draft regulations are clearly misguided and unconstitutional.”
Leon Isaacson, MD of migration services firm Global Migration SA, says, “It will be possible to apply for a spousal permit for a foreign spouse only if the couple can prove a relationship for five years … This is contrary to judgments handed down by the constitutional court.”
Meanwhile, the scheduled implementation date of the act, April 1, is looming, only three weeks after the deadline for public comment.
“If they force the regulations through there will be a host of [law suits]” says Pokroy.