
Issues of financial mismanagement and wasteful expenditure are part of the department’s daily operations.
The DA in Mpumalanga has said that the rot at the province’s health department continues despite Sasekani Manzini being the new MEC.
Manzini, who was public works MEC, replaced Gillion Mashego in July 2018 when Premier Refilwe Mtshweni swopped them, making Mashego the new public works MEC.
DA leader Jane Sithole said the state of the province’s health continued to deteriorate and this has been revealed recently in the department’s quarterly report.
In just three months, 29 cases of hospital negligence were reported and the department is being sued by the victims for millions and millions of rands.
In their report to the portfolio committee on health, the Mpumalanga department said they are faced with issues of collapsing infrastructure, staff shortages, shortage of specialists and unserviceable hospital and clinic machines.
ALSO SEE: Refilwe Mtshweni says conditions at eMalahleni hospital brings her closer to tears
The department also stated how expired medicine to the value of R1.1 million were stored at their depot. This is basically 53% more expired medicine than what the hospitals and the clinics together previously reported, Sithole said.
“By failing to safeguard the people’s right to healthcare as enshrined in Section 27 of the Constitution, MEC Manzini and her failing ANC are truly killing the millions of Mpumalanga residents who depend on the state for healthcare,” she said in a statement.
The department is also sitting on R1 billion debt.
While the department believes the budget cut by R88 million is making it hard for them to run a proper healthcare system, Sithole said that now is being used as an excuse by the MEC for the “systematic failures”.
She called for the department to be placed under administration “to address the gross financial mismanagement”.
“A capable DA-led government would then put systems in place to deal with the understaffed and under resources healthcare facilities so that the people can finally access adequate healthcare.
“Only a DA-led government can bring real change to this department by fighting the corruption and maladministration that has crippled it. We will also speed up the delivery of services to ensure that healthcare can be accessed by all who need it,” said Sithole.
(edited by ZK)
Send tip-offs to editor@013.co.za