Ga-Rankuwa community members delivered their CVs and a memorandum of demands to George Mukhari Academic Hospital and Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, pushing for local hiring.
Image: Oupa Mokoena / Independent Newspapers
Ga-Rankuwa residents, mostly young people, marched to Dr George Mukhari Academic Hospital on Monday, protesting against alleged nepotism and demanding employment within three days.
As part of their protest, they submitted their CVs in a sealed box, demanding that they be considered for future job openings.
They threatened that failure for the hospital management to accede to their demands would result in them bringing activities in the township to a standstill.
Community leader Bafana Mahlangu bemoaned the fact that alleged nepotism and corruption at the hospital hinder local youth from getting jobs, despite applying, leaving many unemployed.
He said the community targeted the hospital and Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, both based in the township, believing they offer job opportunities.
He stated that for nearly a decade, the community has raised concerns about locals being overlooked for jobs such as cleaning, security, gardening, driving, and maintenance, which are often filled by outsiders.
“Some of the locals have done internships at the institutions, but they don’t get hired,” he said.
He gave the institutions a three-day ultimatum to address their demands, warning that if ignored, the community would shut down Ga-Rankuwa next week.
Rise Mzansi activist Obakeng Mokwena, supporting the march, said frustrated residents near George Mukhari Hospital, many with qualifications, remain unemployed, sparking the long-overdue protest.
Residents of Ga-Rankuwa march to Dr George Mukhari Academic Hospital and Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University to hand over their CVs and a memorandum of demands, calling for locals to be hired at the institutions.
Image: Oupa Mokoena / Independent Newspapers
“We are demanding that at least 70% of the hospital workforce should be local residents. We also want to know how many locals are currently being employed here and why they tend to hire people from Limpopo,” he said.
Protester Boitumelo Makhubela said local youth have long faced job application rejections without even getting interview opportunities.
“Many tenants in the area work at George Mukhari, while local graduates remain unemployed. We demand that 70% of the hospital's workforce to be hired from the local community,” she said.
Manager for stakeholder relations at the hospital, Julius Maputla, who received the memorandum of demands, pleaded with the community to give the management at least seven to 14 days to respond to their issues.
“I don’t want to lie to you that the hospital will look into the issues because the human resource department has a policy that dictates that it advertise vacant positions to allow for public participation of anyone interested in applying for them,” he said.
Part of the memorandum demands an end to nepotism, criticising current community representatives at the hospital for prioritising personal interests over their roles.
“As the Ga-Rankuwa community, we are bringing new community members. This nullifies whoever was a community representative before May 5, 2025. Our chosen committee members will take over with immediate effect. Councillors are excluded from all activities of the communities,” it said.
rapula.moatshe@inl.co.za