The DA has questioned whether accountability and consequence management are prioritised in the Department of Health, calling on Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi to clarify last week’s suspensions of DG Sandile Buthelezi and two other senior officials, reports Polity.
Motsoaledi was directed by President Cyril Ramaphosa to place Buthelezi, Dr Percy Mahlati and CFO Phaswa Mamogale on precautionary suspension after they were arrested in connection with suspected fraud and theft of more than R1m from the Department of Health.
The suspensions are said to be until their cases are finalised, but DA Health spokesperson Michele Clarke said Motsoaledi’s statement did not make it clear whether these would apply until the matter is finalised within the criminal justice system, which she said could take years, or whether the Minister would employ an internal disciplinary process.
“A department that cannot afford to employ sufficient doctors or nurses cannot afford to indefinitely pay the salaries of three senior officials accused of corruption, fraud, and theft,” she added.
The party said the investigations by the Hawks should run paralleled to an independent internal investigation, and that the Minister needed to reveal whether the three officials were receiving their full salaries while under suspension, and what type of suspension that was.
Polity article – DA wants clarity on senior health officials’ suspensions (Open access)
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