A-G agrees to DA’s request to probe medical waste management

12 May 2016

Auditor-General (A-G), Kimi Makwetu, has agreed to take up the DA’s request for a probe into the cost and management procedures of medical waste removal from South African hospitals.

The DA heartily welcomes this necessary move, which comes after our call on the A-G to investigate failing systems in the medical waste disposal industry, which includes the financial management thereof. 

Our request for an investigation arose from the DA’s visits to 11 hospitals in the Free State, Eastern Cape, Gauteng, Northern Cape and Mpumalanga, which revealed that the management accounting function was not consistently working, with the consequence that hospital management was not always certain that medical waste was disposed of properly.

This week the A-G, in a letter, said his office would consider our allegations of unaccounted medical waste costs, overcharging of medical waste removal and the control over the disposal of medical waste, in its annual audit and report on the accounts, financial statements and financial management of all government departments, municipalities and other identified organs of state.

He said they will consider the allegations as part of the normal risk assessment processes of all provincial health departments during the 2015/16 audit cycle by including the following during the normal audit at selected hospitals: 

- A review of the internal control processes for the removal of medical and general waste and the cost charged for waste removal; and

- A review of the internal control procedures over the disposal of medical waste.

The outcome of the review will be reported in line with the normal reporting processes for a regularity audit and will not be reported on separately. 

The A-G assured us his office will exercise its approach to the audits with our concerns factored in to their response to the risks in the audits.

In his letter to me, the AG said the extent of the issues highlighted in my letters to him would require much deeper technical expertise than his office can offer. He proposed that we seek a performance audit by persons who possess the technical capabilities to fulfil an independent investigation on our request. 

We will therefore consider approaching the Office of Health Standards Compliance – which has, as part of its mandate, to inspect health care institutions and ensure they comply with strict standards of quality health care standards – to look into this.

Issued by Wilmot James, DA Shadow Minister of Health, 12 May 2016