Patriotic Alliance (PA) leader Gayton McKenzie said he would not hesitate to switch off a foreign national's oxygen supply to save a South African. McKenzie told eNCA that this was what was expected of him as a government official.
“If there's a South African and a Zimbabwean and the Zimbabwean or Mozambican is on oxygen and here's a South African citizen, born and bred in South Africa, I will turn that off as a leader. It is my duty,” he said.
McKenzie said he would not blame another government for doing the same.
Citing the US as an example, McKenzie said he did not criticise the US government for deploying aircraft to pick up US citizens during the Afghan war.
The PA's Ashley Sauls said McKenzie was unmoved by the backlash his comments had received.
McKenzie’s remarks come a week after Limpopo Health MEC Dr Phophi Ramathuba chastised a Zimbabwean woman seeking medical treatment at a local health-care facility.
In the clip posted on Twitter, Ramathuba said it was only in South Africa that foreigners came to the country expecting to receive medical treatment. The MEC told the patient she would not be discharged until she had paid her bill.
The PA confirmed its support for Ramathuba, saying that there were very few countries, if any, where a foreign national with no legal documentation could expect to receive the same level of health care as a citizen of that country.
“Those who have joined the bandwagon of outrage against the Limpopo MEC of Health appear to think South Africa must be the exception,” Sauls said.
IOL