Pietermaritzburg - Two of the KwaZulu-Natal health department's most senior officials have been suspended, health MEC Sibongiseni Dhlomo announced on Tuesday.
They are the department's chief financial officer Mashaka Ravhura, and its head of supply chain management Andile Zondo, Dhlomo told reporters at the KwaZulu-Natal legislature in Pietermaritzburg.
He would not give the reasons for the suspensions.
“All I can say is that there were irregularities in the execution of their duties,” he said.
“Before suspending people we usually look at the situation carefully and we are confident that this move was a correct one and it will help in carrying out the investigation.”
Dhlomo said a team was being appointed to conduct a forensic investigation. This is the second time Zondo has been suspended in her seven years in office. The first time was in November 2007, when she raised concerns about the purchase of a mammogram machine without a quote.
The now disbanded Scorpions opened a case against then health MEC Peggy Nkonyeni and others, but charges were later dropped because of a lack of evidence, and Zondo returned to work.
Ravhura has held his position for little more than a year.
Sapa