Johannesburg - Gauteng Health Department has advertised chief executive positions for three hospitals and plans on headhunting a candidate for one more facility.
It does not have an MEC after Dr Bandile Masuku was relieved of his duties following investigations by the Special Investigative Unit (SIU) into the procurement of personal protective equipment. He was replaced by Jacob Mamabolo who 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 is complete. The same was done to the former head of department, Professor Mkhululi Lukhele, who resigned while on cautionary suspension.
On Tuesday, the department announced that it had advertised positions for hospital CEOs at Tshwane District, Bertha Gxowa District in Soweto, Lenasia South District.
Mamabolo said: “The process to fill vacant senior management positions at the Gauteng department of health is being attended to with urgency and integrity in order to ensure adherence to governance prescripts.”
Other vacancies include deputy director-general for human resources and corporate services, CEO for emergency medical services, CEO for medical service deport, director for security directorate and the director for ICT operations and systems, among others.
“We will be head-hunting a candidate for the vacant position of the CEO for Heidelberg District Hospital. The position has been vacant for some time, and the department could not find a suitable candidate for this facility,” Mamabolo said.
The vacancies have proven to be a costly affair for the department, with it having to fork out more in allowances.
In October, the department disclosed it had paid just over R3.4 million from April to September in acting allowances to officials for about 78 vacancies from senior management at head office to hospital management.
The Star