Johannesburg - The country might be in its worst health crisis with the Covid-19 pandemic but the Gauteng Health Department doesn’t have enough permanent staff in key positions.
Instead, senior managers at the department’s head office have left their positions after being implicated in the alleged corruption related to the procurement of personal protective equipment (PPE).
This has left the department with a hefty bill of R3 434 854.17 from April to September in acting allowances to officials. The department has more than 78 vacancies from senior management at head office to hospital management.
Former Gauteng health MEC Dr Bandile Masuku was relieved of his duties this month following investigations by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) into PPE procurement. Jacob Mamabolo is the acting MEC.
The department also doesn’t have a chief financial officer after Kabelo Lehloenya resigned in June. Her pension payout has been frozen by the SIU until investigations into the PPE procurement complete. The same was done with department head Professor Mkhululi Lukhele, who quit while on cautionary suspension.
Hospitals which don’t have chief executives include the Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital and Helen Joseph Hospital.
“It is unacceptable that we have such a high rate of positions where people are in an acting capacity, more so at senior management level,” Mamabolo said.
DA Gauteng health spokesperson Jack Bloom said despite promises from Premier David Makhura that hospital chief executive posts would be filled, this has still not been done.
“The premier promised 18 months ago that the hospital CEO positions will be filled. The hospital budgets are enormous and in some cases larger than some provincial department budgets. George Mukhari Academic Hospital and Edenvale hospitals don’t have chief executives and they have large budgets and employees.
“Acting employers don’t have authority to make changes and fix the department. You need leadership at all levels.
“The department decided to reinstate the Bheki Mlangeni CEO (Ruth Mabyana) after being on suspension – she is the worst CEO in the province. She was suspended and she is back while an investigation into the murder of a patient continues.”
Mabyana was suspended after a psychiatric patient allegedly stabbed 85-year-old Kholisile Edwin Zazayokwe to death at the hospital in May.
Mamabolo admitted the vacancies could impact on the department’s ability to deliver health care.
He said the department was working on filling the vacancies.
“The process to advertise vacant funded positions is being expedited and where posts are already advertised the human resource management has been instructed to ensure that short-listing and interviews take place as quickly as possible.
“In instances where suitable candidates are not found through the advertising process, headhunting needs to be considered.
“We have already made a commitment to ensure that the leadership structure issues are addressed within this financial year. We are also looking at ways to create a more conducive environment that will see the department being able to retain skilled people for longer in the system,” Mamabolo said.
Bloom said that the department was weakened by a lack of permanent leadership.
“It’s really disappointing. It was supposed to be fixed after Life Esidimeni but the department is in crisis yet again,” he said.
The Star