Health: the situation is desperate, says Scopa’s chair

DESPERATE situations need desperate measures.

This was the opinion of Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) chair, Jack Matlala, on Thursday at the department of health’s review by die committee.

The department was taken to task for only partially implementing only one of 27 resolutions taken by Scopa for its March 2012 financial audit and partially responding to only three out of 26 questions asked with regards to the department’s 2012/13 audit from the Auditor General (AG).

The department received a disclaimer, meaning the AG could not form an opinion based on documents supplied or the reliability of the information supplied was deemed questionable.

It was the third successive year this department, who received the second largest slice of the provincial budget, received a disclaimer.

Scopa demanded accountability.

The committee initially said it was not going to entertain the department’s answers and responses, but was going to make recommendations to the legislature.

Matlala said the department overspent more than R208 million, but when patients go to hospitals or clinics, there was no medication available.

He further said, although there were people with experience working for the department, no-one was willing to take action and an intervention was needed on all levels.

The department experienced an exceptionally high turn-over of heads of departments (HODs) and MECs. At least four MECs and five HODs presided over the department in one term of Scopa.

The committee wanted to know where the former chief financial officer (CFO) was, how far the case against him had progressed.

Acting HOD, Dr Sipho Kabane, said the former CFO was placed on precautionary suspension and was put on a precautionary transfer to treasury, while the health department was still paying his salary.

Scopa wanted to know what a “precautionary” suspension was.

Kabane said the department hoped to sort the problem out soon, as they can not appoint another CFO while the former CFO was still in their employ.

“Negotiations are taking place with the individual to see what we can do to fill the post,” he said. He said they expected conclusion this week.

Kabane said since the resolutions were handed in in August, there was a lot of progress within the department.

He said some action had been taken against senior officials.

According to Kabane there was a leadership problem for many years and this caused a discipline problem within the department.

He said systems and processes can’t be turned around immediately, it takes time. “We are trying to put systems in place to get a semblance of order on the ground,” he said.

People were rotated and practises embedded in the bid adjudication committee were disrupted. Kabane said the officials, will now be developed and trained.