The tragic death of a 22 year-old Limpopo patient Stephen Diza on the operating table on Sunday night during a power blackout means that the electricity crisis in South Africa has assumed deadly proportions.

The tragedy also shows that the Minister of Health Dr Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, who on 22 January formally urged all hospital managers across the country to ensure that they had adequate generator capacity in place during load shedding, is not taking her own promise seriously. 

We in the IFP are becoming increasingly concerned about the impact of load shedding on our constituents. The growing number of complaints from the public reaching our offices countrywide testifies that blackouts are not only a huge inconvenience and a limitation on economic growth but also a threat to our lives. 

I have to sadly conclude that Mr Diza's death is proof that these fears are justified. And so is the lack of any sense of urgency in the ministerial response to the electricity crisis both on national and provincial level. 

As a way to exercise our oversight role as the Official Opposition in KwaZulu Natal, our public representatives intend to question the provincial MEC for Health about generator capacity in the province's emergency medical facilities. 

Specifically, we will want to know how much of a particular hospital's functions are covered in the event of an electrical blackout, how regularly the generators are serviced, whether they are maintained in accordance with safety regulations and whether they are operated by individuals with the necessary training. 

We have no doubt that our inquiry will reveal huge limitations to the hospitals' capacity to save lives during emergencies. This will be an opportunity for the Department of Health to act preventatively. We hope that our efforts will prompt the provincial government to more action than we have seen in KwaZulu Natal and elsewhere so far.

Dr Lionel Mtshali

Leader of the Official Opposition 

Contact: Dr Lionel Mtshali, 083 256 4902