SA Medical Association calls for end to Medunsa strike

The SA Medical Association (Sama) called for an end to the ongoing strike at Medunsa in Limpopo.

"Sama calls upon all stakeholders involved in the Medunsa impasse to work together towards an immediate long-lasting solution to the current strike," Sama president Phophi Ramathuba said in a statement.

"We call upon government to guide, management to manage, and the student community to commit towards a just and visionary course for their own future and the future of this rainbow nation."

The university was closed on Wednesday with management ordering students to vacate the premises. Students had been on strike for about two weeks demanding the removal of certain lecturers alleged to be failing students.

The students were also believed to be unhappy about the renaming of the campus to Sefako Makgatho.

Management said the decision to close the campus was informed by the stubborn behaviour of both the Students Representative Council (SRC) and the student community.

The university management would take full responsibility for SRC affairs.

Ramathuba said the country prided itself at being a miracle nation, where negotiations remained the best and only way to resolve conflicts.

She called on all stakeholders to put aside their differences and desist from milking the situation to settle personal scores and grudges.

"All involved have to understand that what was at stake here is beyond their individual and group interest, this is a matter of national importance. The shortage of health professionals is a national problem that adversely affects delivery of health services," she said.

The current situation was not a winner takes all contest but conceded that the university itself should be the ultimate winner with both management and students continuing their respectable duties.

"The management should provide visionary leadership, academics should research and teach, and students should study and contribute towards building a winning nation," said Ramathuba.