AfriForum Youth takes on the HPCSA over outstanding certificates

AfriForum Youth’s legal team on 23 May 2022 has sent an attorney’s letter to the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) to demand that Anneray Richards, a graduate medical physicist, be issued her outstanding certificate with the necessary registration number as an independent practitioner. This is the beginning of AfriForum Youth’s legal action to ensure that these outstanding certificates do not further put a stop to young people’s careers.

The certificates of the council give individuals the authority to practice in medical professions. The council’s overdue administration prevents young people from starting their career and therefore AfriForum Youth will fight it on behalf of those who are being disadvantaged. Young graduates who are immersed in this situation are encouraged to become part of the group that AfriForum Youth assists by filling in the necessary fields at http://afriforumjeug.co.za/skrik-wakker-hpcsa/.

The council has not appointed enough examiners to approve the portfolios of applications and there is now a large backlog that prevents several graduates from starting their career and earning an income. These portfolios, which include all projects, research and examinations of rotations during the internship, have in the past been dealt with by the council within 14 to 28 working days. However, this year is the first year that individuals have to follow an online application process and this has caused Richards, for example, to wait more than two months for her certificate.

“It is upsetting that a so-called ‘professional body’ acts so unprofessionally that it threatens the careers of the qualified people they represent. The youth unemployment rate in South Africa is an astonishing 64% and therefore AfriForum Youth will assist young people to get their certificates to start their careers,” says René van der Vyver, spokesperson for AfriForum Youth.