SA minister warns dudula on enforcing immigration law

South Africa's health minister has warned that it is not up to ordinary citizens to enforce the country's immigration law.

Joe Phaahla was visiting a hospital in Pretoria where protesters from the controversial group Operation Dudula have been trying to stop foreign nationals from getting treatment.

Operation Dudula has been accused of xenophobia, but its members say foreign nationals are putting a strain on the country's health system.

Phaahla told journalists that a growing number of people from neighbouring countries – and as far away as India – were coming to South Africa for treatment.

And he said if that continued, South Africa would reach a stage where it could not cope.

But he stressed that the constitution was clear about the right of anyone who lived in the country to access healthcare.

Protesters have continued to demand, in defiance of a court order, that people prove their nationality before entering the hospital.

It's alleged people with darker skin tones have been targeted and forced to prove they can speak a local language.

Earlier yesterday, violence broke out between Operation Dudula members and counter-protesters outside the hospital.

Police fired rubber bullets to disperse the two groups.

The government does not record the number of foreign nationals using health facilities. But there is increasing concern in South Africa about the impact of undocumented immigrants on the country's health system.

On Tuesday, the EFF in Gauteng said it is mobilising its members to "defend" the Kalafong Provincial Tertiary Hospital. Physical confrontations were reported from the hospital's main entrance during the day.

EFF's acting Gauteng provincial chairperson Itani Edwin Mukwevho questioned why police have not arrested or dispersed Dudula members, despite an interdict obtained by the health authorities against the people blocking the hospital entrance, and vetting patients.

Department of Health's national spokesperson, Foster Mohale has cautioned community members against actions which may endanger lives of patients and health-care workers.

"The department cautions against any individual or organisations whose actions pose threats on the lives of health workers and patients, and working closely with the law enforcement agencies will act accordingly," Mohale said.

"The department reiterates a call by government to condemn actions of those preventing people from accessing health facilities based on nationality, colour of their skin and the language they speak."

On Wednesday, Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele said the ongoing vetting of patients seeking to enter Kalafong hospital was "highly regrettable" as it undermined everything South Africa stands for.

"This country is a member of the progressive global nations and an affiliate to the progressive principles of the human tribe. Everything that has occurred there is against the constitutional imperatives of this country,"  he said.