The Northern Cape Department of Health has been without a permanent head since 2020 – it’s had at at least two acting heads of department (HoDs) since then – despite the Premier saying in March 2022 that the recruitment process was in its “final stages”.
It is also in a dire financial position, owing hundreds of thousands of rands, and has critical staff vacancies, writes Refilwe Mochoari for Spotlight.
Dr Deon Theys, previously suspended and then reinstated, has been acting in the HoD position since 1 April this year, despite Premier Dr Zamani Saul’s spokesperson Bronwyn Thomas-Adams again telling Spotlight in February that the recruitment process was “under way and the appointment expected in a month or two”.
In April, head of communications in the Department of the Premier, Monwabisi Nkompela, had said the process was “in its final stages and will be done in the next two weeks”.
Last week (10 May), Nkompela told Spotlight: “The HoD post in the Northern Cape Department of Health has been advertised and the interviews are under way.”
Nkompela said that Theys had applied and been shortlisted. They are waiting for the interview process to be finalised and hope “to have the post filled by June this year”.
Withdrawn charges
Theys had replaced Riaan Strydom, then acting HOD, after Theys and the provincial health department’s CFO Dan Gaborone had been suspended in 2021. They were both implicated in contravening the Public Finance Management Act relating to a R43m personal protective equipment tender, and placed on precautionary suspension, spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority in the Northern Cape, Mojalefa Senokoatsane said.
The charges against both Theys and Gaborone were provisionally withdrawn on 8 December 2022.
“The matter is still being investigated,” said Senokoatsane, “as we believe a case needs to be answered by the accused.”
Northern Cape Health spokesperson Lebogang Majaha confirmed Theys was back as acting HoD, that court charges against him had been withdrawn, hence his return to the department.
Unions, opposition, unhappy
Meanwhile, unions and opposition parties have slammed the return of Theys to the acting HoD post, with Cosatu’s provincial secretary Orapeleng Moraladi saying the union “condemns the step taken by government”.
“They say they are fighting corruption, but they have turned the health department into a hub for criminals. Even if charges were withdrawn, Theys still needs to undergo a disciplinary process. They treat matters as if they owe people favours, that is why nothing will improve in that department,” he said.
Denosa’s provincial secretary Anthony Vassen also expressed concern. “Due diligence must be done and there will always be this dark cloud hanging. We believe an official must either be cleared or arrested. Withdrawn charges mean nothing.”
Nehawu, in turn, had a list of concerns over what the union deems the “below-par performance of the provincial Health Department”.
“We have always raised concerns about shortage of staff in health facilities, the poor working environment, including non-compliance with occupational health and safety,” said provincial secretary Moleme Moleme.
“We have called for the absorption of community health workers… and to make permanent appointments in acting positions in management. Lack of decisive leadership and poor management structures are worsening problems.”
‘Dark cloud’
The region’s DA leader Harold McGluwa said Saul must explain the re-appointment of Theys.
“The department has been without a permanent head since July 2020 and over the past couple of years, we have consistently asked the Office of the Premier about the prolonged delay in appointing a permanent head. Last year, we were told that an advertisement had gone out in June and that the timeframes for the appointment would be provided to the committee, which they never were,” McGluwa said.
“On 24 March this year, we were told an appointment would be made within two weeks. We are very disappointed that despite the commitment made to the legislature’s portfolio committee, a permanent HOD appointment has still not been made.”
McGluwa also expressed scepticism over the re-appointment.
“While some charges have been dropped, and Theys has not been criminally convicted, he was arrested twice within a six-month period during his tenure as acting HoD. He has a dark cloud hanging over his head and, given the extent of corruption within the health department, his appointment does not inspire confidence in the government’s ability to clean up the Health Department, which is on a downward spiral.
“The position needs a permanent head with unquestionable integrity and a proven ability to pull health out from its crumbling state, not a further questionable acting appointment to facilitate further regression.”
Minimal progress
Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Public Service & Administration conducted an oversight visit to the Northern Cape in March this year, and in a follow-up presentation to MPs, Director-General Justice Bekebeke showed that the Health Department was among the worst-performing in the province regarding frontline services, disciplinary cases, payment to creditors, and leadership instability.
He said there had been minimal progress in the province’s healthcare system over the past three years.
Issues he highlighted included “unresolved invoice discrepancies” relating to poor payment records. “Most departments are managing payments to creditors, but 99% of the invoices older than 30 days not paid are reported by the Department of Health,” he said. By February, 2 554 invoices with worth more than R128m remained unpaid.
Other challenges were “IT system issues, inadequate budget challenges, and inadequate internal capacity”.
On staff allocation, he said there are persistent delays in filling all vacant posts. “There is a serious lack of senior managers who are able to take responsibility for their actions.”
The Health Department is also among the departments with the most disciplinary cases. Between April and December last year, there were 184 cases, with only 25 finalised in that time: 26 officials were on precautionary suspension in that period, costing the department more than R29m.
Bekebeke also highlighted security and infrastructure challenges, pointing out that all facilities monitored as part of the Frontline Service Delivery Monitoring Joint Annual Plan for the province failed to timeously adhere to maintenance plans, many being too small to provide dignified health services. Some of them are houses that have been converted into clinics.
Many also “fail to comply with the safety regulations” regarding emergency exits and safety certificates, while a number of them had no 24-hour security officer on site.
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
Concern as suspended senior Northern Cape Health staff return to work
Second set of fraud charges but Northern Cape Health official still working
DA: More than 21,000 specialist medical posts vacant, reaching 46% in Northern Cape