By Christelle Terreblanche and Fred Kockott
President Thabo Mbeki fired Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge, the former deputy health minister, because she could not work as part of a team and abide by her constitutional obligations.
These are the main reasons given in his letter dismissing her, which was released yesterday.
The storm caused by his action has continued to elicit strong comments and rumbles in the already divided ANC alliance.
The letter, issued shortly before midnight on Thursday after Madlala-Routledge refused to resign, does not mention her unscheduled visit to Frere Hospital in East London. The Daily Dispatch had reported that babies were dying there needlessly and after her visit she spoke out about the country's hospital crisis, which was widely seen as one of the main reasons for her dismissal.
In a highly unusual move - a clear response to the outcry over her axing - Mbeki released the letter of dismissal, citing her supposed inability to work as part of a team and an unauthorised trip to an Aids conference in Spain. The government communications service said Mbeki was releasing the letter "in an effort to prevent further speculation and misrepresentations of facts". It read:
"Dear Deputy Minister,
"This letter serves to inform you that, acting in terms of the provisions of clause 93 of the constitution of the Republic of South Africa, I have decided to relieve you of your duties as deputy minister of health with effect from today.
"All of us who serve our people through the national government took an oath or made a solemn affirmation to respect and uphold the constitution. This same constitution calls upon us to, among other things, work collectively to develop and implement national policies.
"I have, during the period you served as deputy minister of defence, consistently drawn your attention to the concerns raised by your colleagues about your inability to work as part of a collective, as the constitution enjoins us to.
"For the same reason, I have also discussed this matter with you as deputy minister of health.
"You travelled to Madrid despite the fact that I had declined your request to undertake this trip. It is clear to me that you have no intention to abide by the constitutional prescriptions that bind all of us. For this reason I suggested to you that you should resign.
"It is clear that you do not accept my advice. This leaves me no choice but to relieve you of your duties.
"I thank you for your participation in government over the past years.
"Yours sincerely,
"Thabo Mbeki."
In an interview with The Sunday Independent on Friday, Madlala-Routledge urged Mbeki to go on surprise visits to hospitals to see the conditions that caused her to speak of a "national emergency".
She said: "I really think it is important for space to be created for the president to just go without all the frills and fanfare that go with it, because I think he needs to see for himself."
The former deputy minister, now an ordinary MP, said she had consulted many people before visiting Frere.
She said she had canvassed the opinions of Kgalema Motlanthe (the ANC's secretary-general), other ANC leaders and members of the alliance partners (Cosatu and the South African Communist Party) before she went to the hospital and again before she faxed a letter refusing to resign from Luthuli House to Mbeki this week.
She told of the systemic conditions she had subsequently witnessed in arranged visits - from Groote Schuur to Witbank to the Free State - that were inexplicable and "very shocking", but also resolvable.
"Several times I attempted to talk to people," said Madlala-Routledge. "So you don't get any joy.
"But then, when you act, what is interesting about it is that it draws attention to a particular problem, yet there is no acknowledgement of the effort.
"Instead you get shot!"
In Durban yesterday, Zwelinzima Vavi, the general secretary of Cosatu, said Madlala-Routledge was an efficient and hard-working minister among "many deadwoods, who remain untouchable in government as ministers… Some are dying on duty.
"This means, if you are working hard, are efficient and of an independent mind, and more so, implement resolutions of the ANC congress, as Madlala-Routledge was doing on HIV and Aids, you get the chop."
Zackie Achmat, the leader of the Treatment Action Campaign, who has come out in open support for Madlala-Routledge, yesterday again questioned the president's reasons for dismissing her.
"Because the president knows that everyone in the country knows that this health ministry is the worst in South Africa's history," he said.
"And so any - any - decent administration would have dismissed the health minister long ago."
But several government and ANC sources have said that the former deputy was indeed difficult to work with. One said that if someone disagreed with her or was seen to be critical of her, she would burst into tears, which she had done in meetings.
Also she would spend time on her phone during meetings. Official sources endorsed what Mbeki said in his letter about her not being a team player during her time in the department of defence.
At a media conference on Friday, Madlala-Routledge spoke about her fraught relationship with her boss and allegations of friction with others: "I was just doing my job. The constitution states very clearly what the authority and responsibility of members of the executive are," she said.
"I did follow protocols, one of the things that was said is that I like to act outside the structures."