AfriForum Youth takes next legal step against HPCSA

AfriForum Youth today sent a formal application in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) to the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) to determine how long the entity has been delaying the issuing of certificates for medical practitioners. In the lawyer’s letter, AfriForum Youth requests the statistics of how long the HPCSA has taken since 1 January 2018 to 1 June 2022 with the applications for these certificates. The organisation wants to determine how many young people’s careers have been hampered because of the Council’s overdue work so that further possible legal action can be planned.

AfriForum Youth already sent a lawyer’s letter to the council on 23 May 2022 on behalf of a graduate medical physician to demand that her outstanding certificate be issued with the necessary registration number, which she needs to start working as an independent practitioner. The student finally received her certificate on 2 June 2022 after AfriForum Youth put pressure on the HPCSA, while other students in the same situation added their vote to AfriForum Youth’s petition.

“Our young people’s careers should not be hampered by a national council. We hope to receive feedback soon so that AfriForum Youth can reflect on further possible steps to ensure that young people, who have successfully graduated, can start serving their fellow citizens in their respective medical professions without hindrance,” says René van der Vyver, Spokesperson for AfriForum Youth.