One of the 12 nurses who died when the petroleum tanker exploded near the Tambo Memorial Hospital in Boksburg on Christmas Eve, killing 37 people so far, was not supposed to be at work on that fateful morning.
This emerge at the healing service held yesterday at the Boksburg Civic Centre where the Nehawu Gauteng Provincial chairperson Sello Mafela told mourners, families and hospital staff that 41-year-old Kgothatso Magopane who was working at the neonatal ward, was working overtime money to take care of her family.
“People died heartbroken. This is about a worker who voluntarily said ‘can I come and work on 24th’ while she was not supposed to come. Passion aside, she thought the kids must eat.
January is coming, I must at least sell my labour and get overtime money,’’ said Mafelo while pointing out that the government has let down the workers by not agreeing to the 10% wage increase demanded by public service workers.
“We will not waste any public platform without reminding any government official that you still owe us, we need our money, we need that 10%.”
However MEC of Health Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko didn’t take kindly to Mafela’s words and said it was wrong of him to use the platform to attack the government.
“We have sessions with them as organized labor every month. Some of them (labour union leaders) are employees in my department. That’s why I was saying in our meeting they should raise those issues, they must not use the memorial service or the funeral to raise issues the department should address,” she told the media.
The MEC believes the company that the driver works for should be held accountable for the incident even if the report hasn’t been released yet.
“If you are a truck owner you know the height of your truck and load, once the height gets to a certain level there are certain routes you can’t use;
“You also have control over where your trucks go and where it takes the wrong route, you phone the driver and say don’t take the road, move to another one because that one is dangerous. That’s why I’m saying don’t blame the municipality because that bridge is not designed for trucks,” she said.
Patricia Rammonye who paid tribute to three colleagues who died in the explosion and who were said both will be missed for their dedication to their work.
“Thandeka (Mbatha), Thokozile (Xaba) and Evelyn (Majatladi) were dignified women who worked hard and showed commitment toward their work,” Rammanye said.
Nursing Services Manager Mavis Malekane said the health workers’s years of contribution to healthcare can never be replaced.
“We were already struggling in filling up the post for the speciality nurses and this loss worsened the situation. Their experience can never be replaced even if you were to hire other people today,” she said.
Thokozile Xaba’s brother, Sibusiso Xaba said his sister succumbed to her injuries on 1 January after being admitted on Christmas Eve after the explosion.
“She died at Milpark Hospital on 1st of January at about 8am. We received the news, her wounds were deep but not worse when you compare to others,” he said.
Xaba described the 54-year-old nurse, who had been employed at the Tambo Memorial Hospital for less than two-years, as a loving and helpful person.
“She was a very good person in fact she was a nurse by calling because even before she took on the nursing profession she used to help a lot of people.”
