MBOMBELA – Officials found to be responsible for the reprehensible state of the Mpumalanga health department would pay for their misdeeds.
This was the assurance offered last week by the cabinet of the premier, Mr David Mabuza, about the department being placed under curatorship.
Mr Eric Kholwane, MEC for finance, has been named the curator and will henceforth be responsible for the department’s finances – how it ended up in a state of near collapse will be simultaneously investigated.
“Nobody is going to come out scot-free,” said Mr Vusi Shongwe, MEC for community safety, at a press briefing on Friday. He said anyone who was found by the investigation to have been guilty of mismanagement, would be held responsible.
Ms Reginah Mhaule, MEC for education, explained that the investigation would show the exact place and nature of any mismanagement and those details would dictate action.
The provincial government first intervened in the health department in October, but despite various forms of assistance, the situation had deteriorated with internal controls remaining ineffective, infrastructure still not being maintained and persisting challenges with the provision of food, waste management and laundry services.
Mhaule said that whoever had failed to implement the recommendations would also be revealed through the investigation. “It is a systemic matter,” she said.
In terms of the Finance Act the department’s human resources delegation would remain with the MEC for health, Mr Gillion Mashego, with the curator taking over the management of finances, hospitals and supply chain as well as human capital, strategic leadership and infrastructure.
In all, the department has managed to accumulate pre-audited accruals totalling about R470 million. Kholwane said since the premier wanted a total overhaul of the department, “We are prepared to do just that.” He said it was a critical department since the lives of people depended on it. “We are going to clean up this problem, once and for all.”
