Manzini says wrong Mpumalanga stats picked from Mkhize’s ‘misallocated cases’

She says she tries to work hard in serving the province during this time of great panic.

Health MEC Sasekani Manzini has said wrong Mpumalanga stats released by her a week ago were actually picked from the “misallocated cases” that health minister Zweli Mkhize had sent the province.

Manzini was caught between Monday 4 May and Wednesday 6 May 2020 publishing false statistics of Covid-19 infections and changing them, with numbers quickly going back and forth.

For example, Manzini published on an infographic that Middelburg had 2 positive cases while a map accompanying the infographics was showing 1 case. In Pixley ka Seme in Volksrust, she reported 4 positive cases and one recovery yet an accompanying map showed she reported that 2 patients had recovered in the area. In the midst of the confusion, Manzini removed the infographic.

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In another example, an accompanying map showed that Nkomazi had 19 positive cases of Covid-19 and 9 patients had recovered while her infographics show that out of the 19 positive cases in Nkomazi, only six had recovered. 

But Manzini said she rejects all allegations levelled against on issues of false stats being published, saying all stats are announced by Mkhize nationally and then its details get sent to the provinces. 

She said stats “change from time to time” and in no way does she intend to mislead the people of Mpumalanga. Manzini said anyone that wants information can access it without problems.

RELATED: Manzini misleading people of Mpumalanga

“The minister of health announces the national statistics and sends the details to the provinces for validation, contact tracing and linkage to care. As a province we are responsible for the tracing of our cases and their contacts. Therefore, upon this process the province would pick misallocated cases and report them to the national health department for correction,” she said.

“A subsequent announcement” would then be made where Mkhize “corrects the misallocation,” said Manzini.

The DA in the province said Manzini’s distribution of false Covid-19 data was in contravention of Section 11 of the Disaster Management Act.

The opposition’s Jane Sithole said it was also worrying that the Mpumalanga Covid-19 Command Council was without members of the opposition parties elected to the legislature and was unlike Mkhize who works with leaders of all political parties to fight the pandemic and wondered exactly why the ANC officials want to work alone.

“Mpumalanga is also the only province that doesn’t publish the number of people that have been tested,” Sithole said.

(edited by ZK)

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