Percy Mahlati. (Photo: hst.org.za)
The suspension of high-ranking officials in the Department of Health after their arrest for alleged corruption, fraud and theft is a welcome step, but the DA says accountability and consequence management must be a priority. So says Michele Clarke, MP and the DA’s spokesperson on health.
Dr. Aaron Motsoaledi, the Minister of Health, Dr. Sandile Buthelezi, the Director General of Health, Dr. Percy Mahlati, the head of tertiary health services and human resource development, and Phaswa Manogale, the chief financial officer, “ultimately provisionally suspended”, says Clarke.
The three handed themselves in at the Pretoria Central police station on Monday.
Nokuzola Mavis Mafunda has also already appeared in the Pretoria specialized commercial crime court in connection with alleged fraud involving the Department of Health. Her company, Ithani Amen Pty. Ltd., which is represented by her, is facing charges of fraud amounting to more than R940 000. According to the indictment, the company was only registered with the commission for intellectual property and companies on 22 August 2023.
Only nine days after this registration, on 31 August 2023, the company was apparently already appointed by the department to provide services for investigations in an internal disciplinary hearing.
Clarke says the minister’s statement does not make it clear whether the suspension will be in effect until the issue is finalized within the criminal justice system, “which could take years” or whether the minister will ensure internal disciplinary steps. She appeals to Motsoaledi to provide clarity on this.
“The investigation by the Hawks must go hand in hand with an independent internal investigation and the minister must take the country into his confidence on the issue of whether the three officials will receive their full salaries while they are suspended.”
Clarke says the DA will ask the president in parliament on Thursday how he will handle the investigation and consequence management.
“A Department that cannot afford to hire enough doctors or nurses cannot indefinitely pay the salaries of three senior officials accused of corruption, fraud and theft.”