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Tunisian medicos join province

GREETINGS: Dr Hichem Benazzouz receives a gift from MEC for health William Lubisi. Pic. Riot Hlatshwayo. 07/05/08. © Sowetan.
GREETINGS: Dr Hichem Benazzouz receives a gift from MEC for health William Lubisi. Pic. Riot Hlatshwayo. 07/05/08. © Sowetan.

Riot Hlatshwayo

Riot Hlatshwayo

Eleven doctors from Tunisia were officially welcomed to Mpumalanga during a gala dinner on Wednesday night.

They form part of 40 doctors who the province is expecting to have soon but for whom the provincial department of health and social services is still verifying several issues before they could start practising.

Spokesman for the provincial health department Mpho Gabashane said yesterday that some of the issues being verified included work permits and qualifications.

Dr Hichem Benazzouz, who represented the Tunisian doctors, said they were prepared to help the province.

"We are happy to be in this part of the world because together we shall teach each other many things. This does not only refer to healthcare services," said Benazzouz

Mpumalanga MEC for health William Lubisi welcomed the doctors and handed them gifts of books about the province, its culture and heritage.

"We are gathered here to welcome our African brothers and sisters who left the comfort of their own homes and country to go to a foreign land, driven by nothing else but human solidarity," said Lubisi.

He said Mpumalanga had about 700 doctors serving a population of 3,5 million people, most of whom depended on public healthcare services.

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