NW Health Administrator should step up or step out
17 August 2020
Note to Editors: Find attached soundbites in English and Afrikaans by DA North West Spokesperson on Health, Gavin Edwards.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in North West again calls on the Administrator of the Department of Health, Jeanette Hunter, to do the honourable thing and step down from her position.
This follows after the Department recently discovered more than 50 unpaid invoices at its Mafikeng medical depot, some dating back to 2014 and one allegedly for a purchase in the amount of R16 million. The Administrator needs to explain how she allowed a situation to escalate to the point of having to "raid" her own Department in order to carry out a simple accounting principle of paying suppliers.
Operations at the medical depot came to a standstill for the outstanding invoices to be sought and reconciled. The shut-down, at a time that all resources are needed to deal with the current Covid-19 pandemic, adds further strain on an already overburdened healthcare system.
The Administrator, appointed in May 2018, failed to deal with the total collapse of this Department. Under her watch, shortages of medical supplies escalated, unpaid invoices accrued to R1.1 billion and poor services by health facilities were not adequately addressed.
The overall poor state of healthcare in the province not only proves her incompetence, but also demonstrates a lack of political will to present an effective turnaround strategy.
The obvious delay in dealing with the outstanding invoices is a clear indication that the Administrator is not up to speed with developments within her own Department. Suppliers, who have been owed millions of Rand for more than 5 years, started withholding orders in March 2020 and yet nothing was done to address the matter.
The self-created crisis of medication shortages at the depot is nothing short of sabotage and blatant mismanagement. The non-payment of medical suppliers is directly linked to the suffering and even death of patients and we will lodge a case with the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) to investigate the matter.
In June, the Department revealed that they were dealing with 58 cases of misconduct of which 26 officials had been suspended. Among the suspended officials, were the Director of Pharmaceutical Services and two Deputy Directors of Pharmaceutical Services at a cost of R2 532 702.
The DA previously reported on the maladministration of this Department and wrote to the Minister of Health, Zweli Mkhize to request his urgent intervention, but no response was received from his office.
We will again engage with our Shadow Minister of Health, Siviwe Gwarube, to write to the Minister about the poor performance of Administrator Hunter.
Issued by Gavin Edwards, DA North West Spokesperson on Health and Social Development, 17 August 2020
