AfriForum Youth’s legal team 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, wrote René van der Vyver, spokesperson for AfriForum Youth, in PoliticsWeb.
The certificates gives individuals the authority to practice in medical professions. The council’s overdue administration prevents young people from starting their career and AfriForum Youth says it will fight on behalf of those being disadvantaged.
The council has not appointed enough examiners to approve the portfolios of applications and there is now a large backlog preventing several graduates from starting their career and earning an income, Van de Vyver wrote.
"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, 2022 is the first year that individuals have to follow an online application process, which 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 it represents. The youth unemployment rate in South Africa is an astonishing 64% so AfriForum Youth will continue to assist young people to get their certificates to start their careers."
Politicsweb article – AfriForum Youth takes on the HPCSA over outstanding certificates (Open access)
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