Source: South Africa: Hospital Refuses To Discharge 10-Month-Old Zimbabwean Boy

She felt certain that she was being discriminated against because she is Zimbabwean, and said that if she had been a local, they would have allowed her to go home immediately. Zoutnet’s Kaizer Nengovhela cites Yvonne Moyo as saying:
My life has been turned into a nightmare. I have not had a moment of peace since I was told to pay the money. I need urgent assistance and plead with a Good Samaritan to come to my rescue, so I can pay the hospital bill. My family depend on piece jobs and the money is too little to cover medical needs as well.
When Limpopo Mirror contacted the spokesperson for the Department of Health, Mr Thilivhali Muavha, for comment, he said if the local people don’t have money, “we make payment arrangements.” He added:
Foreigners, however, must pay the full amount after assistance. In Moyo’s case, she signed an agreement with the hospital to pay R1 000 cash and the balance in instalments.
Last year, Limpopo Health MEC Dr Phophi Ramathuba confronted a Zimbabwean patient at a Bela-Bela hospital telling her that South Africa does not have the budget to accommodate foreign nationals.
The matter triggered varying responses with medical practitioners saying “discrimination” against foreign patients was unethical and a violation of their code of conduct.
Some however defended the MEC saying the Zimbabwean government must offer health care services to its people or pay South Africa for such services.
Reports suggest that for about two decades now, thousands of Zimbabweans have been seeking medical attention in South Africa following the collapse of the Zimbabwean health sector.