Johannesburg - Embattled eThekwini Municipality health head Nomakhosi Gxagxisa has been suspended on allegations of bringing the council into disrepute.
One of the reasons was her failure to pay a R20 000 admission-of-guilt fine, issued in January, for practising as a medical practitioner while not registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA), according to the deputy city manager for health and social services, Musa Gumede.
Her registration was supposed to have been resolved by December 2011. “We are aware she is now registered, but there were processes… and she failed to adhere to them,” Gumede said. That caused an embarrassment to the council and she brought it into disrepute.
The city was also investigating Gxagxisa’s involvement in the employment of the deputy head of health - allegedly without following proper procedures - leading to one of the candidates being aggrieved.
“There was a settlement agreement reached by the health department with an aggrieved candidate for one of the senior management posts in the unit. We are investigating if the process entered into was legal,” Gumede added.
Gxagxisa was suspended with full pay and senior managers in her department would act in rotation in her position.
It is believed two positions for deputy head of health were advertised and two people, whose names are known to The Mercury, were appointed.
However, another applicant who was not successful contested the appointments.
A settlement was reached and the aggrieved employee was subsequently also promoted to deputy head of health with effect from August 1.
The settlement agreement said the employee would retain her existing salary and benefits.
After six months the “applicant and head of department” would revaluate her job description to reflect her duties, responsibilities and functions.
Gumede said the investigations into Gxagxisa were expected to be finalised within three months.
Gxagxisa could not be reached for comment.
South African Municipal Workers Union provincial secretary Jaycee Ncanana said: “At long last we have been vindicated.”
Last month, the HPCSA again found Gxagxisa guilty of unprofessional conduct. Gxagxisa pleaded guilty to unprofessional conduct and to bringing the profession into disrepute. The charges were combined for sentencing purposes and she was again fined R50 000 and issued with a two-year suspension, suspended for five years.
She told the health professions council she had not realised she had to be registered when she applied for the post of municipal head of health as she was not practising, but acknowledged that ignorance of the law was not an excuse.
She had apparently failed to pay her previous fine of R20 000, which was to have been paid in four instalments of R5 000, because of a “miscommunication” with the bank.
By the time she realised the payment had not gone through, the medical council had advised her she would have to appear before the council again.
The Mercury