The Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus) has released a statement saying it is concerned with Malegapuru Makgoba’s appointment as Eskom’s interim chair but even more so, the party wants to know who will be filling Makgoba’s position as the health ombudsman. FF Plus MP and chief spokesperson of health Philip van Staden is quoted in a report the The South African as saying, Makgoba was still filling the position of health ombudsman with the last session of the portfolio committee for health in October 2019.
“The party does not only feel concerned that Makgoba’s departure will leave a gap in Health but also because the party feels that his appointment at Eskom will not be of any value when it comes to solving Eskom’s problems,” said van Staden.
“Makgoba proved to be an excellent health ombudsman,” says FF Plus. According to the statement, the FF Plus feels that Makgoba was an excellent health ombudsman, especially with the key role he played in handling the Life Esidimeni tragedy.
Van Staden said that Makgoba complained during the session of the portfolio committee for health in October 2019 that the government offered his office almost no support and that they had to make do with only him and a secretary. The FF Plus responded at the time by saying that the party hopes that the ombudsman’s resources will be increased so that his office can effectively investigate and address all the medical complaints streaming in from the public.
The FF Plus wants to see that a new ombudsman for health is appointed as soon as possible – someone with the same level of medical knowledge as Makgoba. The party also wants to see more support for the office of the ombudsman. “It would have been better to retain Makgoba as health ombudsman, instead of appointing him at Eskom, because his knowledge and talents are of immeasurable value to the health sector where there are extensive crises to handle in the country’s hospitals as a result of medical negligence,” said van Staden.
[link url="https://www.thesouthafrican.com/news/ff-plus-concerned-makgoba-replacement-health-ombudsman-2020/"]Full report in The South African[/link]