The government has been accused of failing to utilise the health care budget to create employment opportunities for unemployed doctors.
According to the South African Medical Association Trade Union (Samatu), there are 1 260 unemployed doctors who have completed their community service, while there are approximately 1 100 unfilled posts for medical doctors nationwide.
Dr Talente Biyela, chair of Samatu Junior Doctors Group, said after Samatu protested issue last year, the public healthcare budget was increased by R20.8 billion to support staffing and essential services.
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Budget not approved
Biyela said the provincial departments of health have not yet utilised the budget for its intended purpose. Instead, the employed doctors were subjected to long working hours.
“Samatu expresses its profound frustration regarding the ongoing and unacceptable situation of unemployed doctors who have completed their community service,” Biyela said.
“This issue has persisted for years due to the glaring negligence of the department of health, which has over the years continuously chosen to ignore this crisis, despite the unwavering efforts of Samatu to engage with them in the hope of finding solutions.”
Biyela said a worrying factor was that some of these doctors have been without work for over two years, while they were ready to contribute positively to their communities.
Vacancies not filled
He said the failure to spend the allocated funds by the provincial departments of health signals gross misalignment with the health care needs of the same communities that they serve.
“The departments’ apparent inertia in filling vacancies for doctors is not only disheartening but emblematic of a broader system failure that jeopardises the sustainability and efficacy of our health care system.
“Unemployment among qualified medical professionals is not merely a statistic, it symbolises a national crisis that undermines the provision of quality health care.”
He, however, commended Mpumalanga for being the only province that had managed to fill all its vacant doctor posts.
“It is time for the government to acknowledge its failures and take responsibility for the wellbeing of its health care professionals and the people they serve,” Biyela said.
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Misallocation of state resources
South African Medical Association (Sama) vice-chair Dr Zanele Bikitsha shared the same sentiments as Biyela and said the situation represented both a misallocation of much-needed public health resources and a structural failure in workforce planning that weakens the entire health system.
“This disconnect between funding, post allocation and actual job creation contradicts the urgent needs of patients and communities across South Africa. We have publicly condemned the large number of unemployed junior doctors and called for urgent action.”
Bikisha said, despite the 2025 National Treasury allocation of R20.8 billion for staffing and essential services, much of this funding was not deployed, leaving doctors unemployed and critical posts vacant, which undermines health care delivery, worsens staff shortages and places extra strain on existing clinicians.
Government must match budget allocations
In a recent meeting with the minister of health, Sama highlighted the issue and the department committed to advertising post-community service doctor positions by the end of this month, Bikisha said.
She added that her organisation would monitor the implementation closely.
“What needs to happen now is clear: the government must match budget allocations with funded posts, ensure vacancies are filled without delay and move from short-term firefighting to strategic workforce planning that addresses both current gaps and future health system demands,” she added.
How R1.7 billion was spent
DA shadow minister of health Michéle Clarke, said last year the DA wrote to the health minister to get clarity on how his department spent the R1.778 billion that was meant to create more than 1 650 new health care positions.
“We highlighted that the department had actually reduced its headcount by 12.1% in recent years,” Clarke said.
Department of health spokesperson Foster Mohale did not respond to questions sent.
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