Pretoria - Despite warnings by the former acting MEC for Health Jacob Mamabolo that the high number of vacancies in health facilities could seriously affect the department's ability to deliver quality services to communities if left unattended, crucial senior posts continue to remain vacant in the province.
This was confirmed by Gauteng Health MEC Nomathemba Mokgethi in the Gauteng Legislature recently, who indicated that a total of 18 senior posts at the Gauteng Health Department were vacant.
Mokgethi said these vacancies included two posts that had not been filled for more than 10 years, which included the post of Senior Human Resource Manager in the Directorate of Health Information Management and Technology which had not been filled for 11 years and nine months.
The second post which has been left idle for 10 years and 4 months was that of Senior Administration Manager in the Directorate for Strategic Support and Performance Management.
Other vacant posts which have not been filled with permanent employees for more than two years include the Senior Administration Manager in the Integrated Employee Wellness Programme which has been unfilled for nine years and nine months.
The post of Senior Human Resources Manager at the Directorate Management, Leadership and Skills Development has been unfilled for three years and one month, with the Senior Nursing Manager post standing empty for two years and eight months.
For two years and four months, the post of Senior Manager in Health and Occupational Risk Management remained unfilled and there has been no senior Finance Manager for at least two years.
DA spokesperson for health Jack Bloom said it was concerning that despite failing health services in the province these crucial posts had not been filled.
"It is of great concern that key posts have had acting personnel for so long as competent leadership is desperately needed to fix this department plagued by scandal and inefficiency."
Bloom said even though MEC Mokgethi claimed that most of these posts would be filled by April or May this year, they were unsure as false promises had been made before about filling posts.
"I suspect that many posts have acting personnel in order to allow opportunities for corruption. The top post of head of department has not been filled for one year and five months, and a permanent Chief Financial Officer has not been appointed since the previous CFO left in May 2020."
"It’s high time that all senior posts were filled with ethical and competent people who will ensure a decent health service for sick people in our province.
Pretoria News