AfriForum Vryheid wants KZN Health Department to face justice

AFRIFORUM is going head to head with the Department of Health regarding R1.3billion in irregular expenditure incurred in the 2016/2017 financial year.

Branch manager for AfriForum Vryheid, André van der Walt, and district co-ordinator for KZN, Eugene van Aswegen, stood in line at the hot and crowded Vryheid SAPS charge office for an hour last week Monday to lay criminal charges against former Head of the KZN Health Department, Sifiso Mtshali.

Their statement was taken by Warrant Officer Sipho Zulu, who was also handed a copy of the Health Department’s annual report for the financial year in question.

This follows after the organisation studied the Department’s annual report and found that Mtshali was guilty of offences in terms of Section 86(1) of the Public Finance Management Act, 1999 (Act No. 1 of 1999).

Dr Mtshali resigned in December after he was suspended based on allegations of the irregular, and possibly illegal, appointment of KZN Oncology to repair machines at Addington Hospital.

AfriForum undertook to visit all nine provinces between November 5 and 9, in order to lay criminal charges against the heads of each Provincial Department of Health.

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“AfriForum is of the opinion that the misuse of taxpayers’ money is a national crisis,” says Mr Van Aswegen.

It is time that taxpayers put pressure on the National Prosecuting Authority to make examples of heads of departments who do not fulfil their duties as prescribed by the Act. They are some of the biggest perpetrators in the misuse of taxpayers’ money,” he added.

In a press release, AfriForum says that the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health’s annual report indicates that, not only did the Department incur irregular expenditure of R1.3 billion in the 2016/2017 financial year, the department also incurred unauthorised expenditure amounting to R18.9 million, and a fruitless and wasteful expenditure of R5,7 million in the 2016/2017 financial year.

“Irregular expenditures are all expenses that are inconsistent with what the Act prescribes. Unauthorised expenditures are all expenses incurred contrary to the approved budget. Fruitless and wasteful expenditures are expenses made in vain and that could have been prevented if reasonable precaution had been taken. This excessive expenditure could have been prevented if Dr Mtshali fulfilled his duties,” explained AfriForum’s media relations office, Marelie Greef.

“The charges against the department heads are based on alleged financial misappropriation in terms of the above-mentioned Act. They must prevent irregular, fruitless, wasteful and unauthorised expenditure and must hold guilty parties accountable. The department heads let taxpayers down by failing to fulfil their duties,” Mr Van Aswegen concludes.

Spokesperson for the Health Department, Ncumisa Mafunda, said, “The Department notes the action by AfriForum and the Department will attend to the matter through the standard legal processes that will unfold.”

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