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DA refers appointment of Tembisa hospital CEO to the Public Protector

Following the Gauteng Health Department’s bizarre about-turn on whether the Tembisa Hospital CEO Ashley Mthunzi was facing disciplinary charges when he was appointed last year, I have referred this matter to the Public Protector for investigation.

The Department accuses me of “sensational allegations” and “deliberate distortion of facts” after I stated that Dr Mthunzi was appointed even though he was facing a disciplinary charge which should have disqualified him.

I based my statement on an official reply by Gauteng Health MEC Nomathemba Mokgethi (see here) in which she says as follows:

“On 15 September 2021, the acting Head of Department, Dr Sibongile Zungu approved recommendations that Dr A Mthunzi should be disciplined for contravening the Recruitment and Selection Policy. The Labour Relations Directorate was supposed to implement the said recommendations.”

When I asked who provided the false information that he had not been found guilty on any misconduct charge, the reply was that it was the former Acting DDG: Hospital Services Mr Freddy Kgongwana.

According to Mokgethi: “The Selection Committee did not have knowledge or information on Dr Mthunzi’s pending disciplinary hearing whilst at Pholosong Hospital”, and the reason is that “The Selection Committee was not aware as the information was not in his personal [file] nor in the register of pending disciplinary cases.”

It is clear from the above that Mthunzi was indeed facing a disciplinary hearing when he was at Pholosong Hospital, and that it was wrong that this information was not given to the Selection Committee.

Why is the department now contradicting an official reply by the Health MEC?

While they concede that the former Acting Head of Department signed a report recommending that Mthunzi be given a final written warning, which confirms that he was facing a disciplinary charge, they now claim it was invalid as they did not provide Mthunzi the opportunity to respond.

I do not believe this is true. It’s a cover-up by Mthunzi’s buddies in the department who are trying to shield him as they are themselves implicated in irregular activities.

It confirms my suspicion that there was a plot to get Mthunzi appointed at Tembisa Hospital, which was followed by a surge of payments to suspicious companies that murdered whistleblower Babita Deokaran says were “possibly corrupt”. She requested a forensic audit but it was never done.

The Public Protector is already investigating the alleged irregular appointment of the Department’s CFO Lerato Madyo after a whistleblower referred it to them and also a referral by myself to the PSC which passed it on to them.

We need to expose the sinister network at the Department that colluded in massive theft while patients suffer in under-staffed and poorly equipped hospitals.

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Public Protector report vindicates the DA on Ekurhuleni refuse collection failures

The Democratic Alliance (DA) welcomes the Public Protector’s findings that the City of Ekurhuleni (CoE) was in contravention of the Constitution after it failed to collect refuse in the Kempton Park area.

In 2019 the DA laid a complaint with the Public Protector after the municipality failed to honour its service delivery obligations.

The Public Protector’s findings vindicate the DA’s efforts to make the municipality comply with its duties of offering uninterrupted services such as refuse removal.

For years the DA has maintained and communicated that Ekurhuleni Local Municipality’s failure to collect refuse and allowing it to heap up into huge piles placed the health and wellbeing of residents at risk.

The Mayor of the City of Ekurhuleni, Mzwandile Masina, should hang his head in shame at the fact that the CoE failed to adhere to their Constitutional obligation.

Instead of focusing on vanity ideas such as a Disneyland for Ekurhuleni, a Zoo and a Formula 1 racing track, he should rather focus his attention on providing basic services to the residents of Ekurhuleni.

The report allows for the DA to seek alternative interventions on behalf of the people of Kempton Park to address the municipality’s failures.

The Public Protector report made the following recommendations for the City Manager to implement:

· Noting that the contract for the appointment of specialised waste management vehicles, equipment and support services on an “As and When” required basis was concluded on 30 June 2020, timeously commence the procurement process prior to the cessation of this contract(s), to ensure the sustainable provision of refuse removal services in the Kempton Park area, without any interruptions.

· Ensure that the waste removal trucks and other equipment associated with the sustainable provision of these services are properly maintained and serviced as required.

· Ensure that any outsourced services are properly monitored and managed.

The DA will continue to apply pressure to the municipality to act on these recommendations to the benefit of the people of Ekurhuleni.

Where the DA governs, we ensure that refuse is collected regularly, this is the type of government that we want to bring to the people of Ekurhuleni.

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DA supports Protector probe into building fire

The Democratic Alliance supports the referral of the Bank of Lisbon fire to the Public Protector by a Gauteng Health Department employee.

Three firefighters died after the fire started on the 23rd floor of the Department’s head office on 5 September last year, but many questions remain about the cause of the fire and who was to blame.

Complaints from staff about poor conditions at the building were ignored by former Health MEC Qedani Mahlangu and current MEC Gwen Ramokgopa.

There needs to be accountability for the fact that the building was only 21% compliant with safety regulations according to a report released shortly before the fire.

I am concerned that the police investigation is making poor progress after I laid various criminal charges last year against three Gauteng MECs and senior officials for their negligence in this matter.

The ANC in Gauteng has brushed aside accountability for its failure to prevent the fire, and voted down the DA’s motion in the Gauteng Legislature for implicated MECs to resign or be fired.

The Public Protector’s investigation should supplement other investigations in ensuring that justice prevails in this traumatic event that laid bare the ANC’s incompetent governance in this province.

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DA calls on Public Protector to investigate wasteful expenditure and blatant ANC electioneering by City of JHB

The DA can today reveal that the City of Johannesburg, under Mayor Parks Tau, has spent an aggregate amount of over R1 million advertising tomorrow’s End of Term Report in newspapers since the beginning of July.

This after the DA slammed Tau for wasting R13.8 million on advertising himself and his administration in newspapers between the months of April and May this year.

We still see a number of billboards around this city amounting to excessive advertising by the City. The latest example is an enormous billboard on the M2 as you drive out of town which has a picture of Tau accompanied by the words, “14 000 small companies supported through SMME hubs”. This Billboard is one of many that have been used by the City this year, and costs an estimated R20 000 to produce and R40 000 per month to rent.

The DA has also been informed that the City of Johannesburg is allegedly airing a radio advert in which it states that, “Joburg deserves strong leadership” and then lists Parks Tau’s CV highlights before ending by saying, “[Tau] is the right man to lead Joburg”. This is a total abuse of tax payers’ money and blatant ANC electioneering by the City.

This advertising, not linked to any matters of public importance, and often bearing the face and name of the Mayor Tau, amounts to using City resources to campaign in this election.

In light of this continued, excessive advertising, which amounts to millions of rand’s worth of wasteful expenditure and blatant ANC electioneering by the City, the DA is left with no option but to request the Public Protector to investigate the matter.

In terms of Section 6(4)(a) of the Public Protector Act, 23 of 1994, the Public Protector is competent to investigate, inter alia, any alleged maladministration in connection with the affairs of government and any abuse or unjustifiable exercise of power.

The Government Communications Policy Guidelines policy document explicitly prohibits excessive advertising, and it clear that the City is contravention of this provision.

Section 3.3.4 on non-permissible advertising reads:

Departments should avoid misuse of public funds for advertising campaigns. Public funds should not be used for departmental advertising where:

  1. a) The method or medium of advertising is excessive or extravagant in relation to the objective being pursued;
  2. b) A reasonable person could interpret the message as promoting a political party, or communicating on behalf of a political party;
  3. g) Members of the department are depicted in a manner that a reasonable person would regard as excessive or gratuitous;
  4. h) The advertising creates a perception that a campaign promotes an individual, like a minister.

This wasteful expenditure also brings into question the ANC’s commitment to conducting free and fair elections.

This again highlights the importance of my colleague, James Selfe’s MP, Private Members Bill for Free and Fair Elections. This Bill which will effectively prohibit this type of advertising during an election period, and thereby prevent the sort of abuse being witnessed in the City of Johannesburg.

Tau claims to run a clean administration, yet under his leadership we have seen gross mismanagement of public money.

In June the DA revealed exorbitant mismanagement of public money by ANC governed metros. The worst offender was the City of Johannesburg that had over R4.2 billion in unauthorised, fruitless, and wasteful expenditure in the last financial year alone.

The Auditor General also bemoaned the fact that the City had, in contravention of law, failed to investigate this money to see whether any of it could be reclaimed.

Despite my calls for the City to urgently conduct this investigation nothing came of it. One is left questioning, what is Tau trying to hide?

I again reiterate my commitment to the people of Johannesburg is that I will never use their money in this abusive way, if I am elected as your mayor.

Money should be spent on ensuring that jobs are created, and better services are delivered. This will be my priority.

This excessive advertising is an unashamed example of the ANC using the public’s money to advertise itself for the upcoming election under the guise of City advertising.

The people of Johannesburg will not be fooled by ANC rhetoric and fairytale stories.

The ANC has lost the trust of the people after 22 years of broken promises.

On 3 August vote for a clean government that puts the people of this city first.

Vote for change that will move Johannesburg forward.

 

Herman Mashaba

DA Mayoral Candidate for Johannesburg

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It’s Time For A DA government In Emfuleni

Chronic Corruption and Maladministration

Emfuleni Local Municipality has been plagued with chronic corruption and maladministration that is crippling the municipality and has adversely affected the delivery of quality services to the residents of the municipality.

On many occasions, official communication from the municipality have denied their involvement in bungled tenders, poor service delivery and officials doing business with the municipality.

The DA will outline the scandals, service delivery issues, counts of corruption and money wasted in the municipality.

(Click here to access the press conference document).

Oversight Visits

It is high time that the residents of Emfuleni are made aware of how the ANC under the leadership of Mayor Simon Mofokeng, has brought this municipality to its knees.

During the past few months, the DA have asked many questions and conducted oversight visits to projects costing millions of rands, yet only empty sites remain.

I have travelled throughout Emfuleni and surrounding areas talking to residents and hearing their daily plight. Every single petition and community protest have fallen on deaf ears.

The residents of Emfuleni, especially the elderly and frail, have told me how difficult it is for them to take a bath or to prepare food for their loved ones.

Young people have told me of their plight in searching for a job as many of the facilities have no internet access. They cannot even visit the Boipatong Memorial and Youth Centre as it has been closed since inception.

No Action Against Corrupt Officials

The past few months, I, together with my colleagues in Emfuleni dug up what we deem to cost more than R400 million worth of corruption, inflated pricing and bungled tenders.

Poor administration have made matters worse, as very little to no action has been taken against corrupt officials.

Here is a list of headlines, which the DA has exposed to the public:

  1.  Billing scandal: DA uncovers massive organised crime syndicate in Emfuleni;
  2.  R14m roads & storm water project failure;
  3. Nguna and U-street: R14m later, still no tarred road;
  4. Dickinson Park – R52 million park – no equipment, no child’s-play;
  5. Residents of Sebokeng fed up with ANC jobs-for-pals schemes;
  6. Sharpeville ECD – still not open to service the community;
  7. Evaton Traffic Precinct R18 million later – still not precinct;
  8. Emfuleni Fire Brigade on a go-slow due to wage dispute;
  9. Emfuleni appoints Sedtrade with a contract value of over R150 million with no experience;
  10. The Mayor acknowledged a sum of R30 million lost to fraud. There has been no further attempt to recover the lost funds;

Public Funds Lost to Fraud and Corruption

All of our attempts have fallen on deaf ears from the Provincial Government to the Local Council and we have no other choice but to approach the Public Protector to investigate each and every transaction, interaction and pending investigations that might have been shelved by the municipality.

We will, in support of the Public Protectors investigation provide every piece of evidence, photos, transaction details, names of officials and responses from the MECs and we will work tirelessly to bring about change and once and for all expose the Emfuleni Local Municipality for fraud, corruption, maladministration and poor service delivery.

I will therefore be making this submission to the Public Protector to investigate public funds lost to fraud and corruption the tune of over R400 million.

Residents of Emfuleni now have a choice. They can either choose the status quo of corruption, empty and broken promises, poor service delivery and high unemployment, or they can choose the change that a DA-run local government can bring.

 

Media enquiries:

Kingsol Chabalala MPL

DA Mayoral Candidate for Emfuleni

060 558 8299

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DA Debates 2016/17 Gauteng Department Of Economic Development Budget

Speech by: Ina Cilliers MPL

“Economic budget out of sync with economic crisis”

  • The Department of Economic Development’s budget of R1.3 billion is not leveraged in such a way to create a meaningful, large scale economic difference in Gauteng – especially not in township economies.
  • An amount of only R245 million is budgeted for economic infrastructure- this is a very small amount given demands in Gauteng, and only R50 million of this will be spent in townships.
  • The department should re-evaluate their planned spend to focus on modernising the informal economy in the townships because this is where potential is and entrepreneurs there have different needs.
  • The department can use their money to make it easier to do business in Gauteng by cutting red tape, relaxing the regulatory environment and by looking for best practice to emulate.

The full speech can be obtained here.

 

Speech by: Ashor Sarupen MPL

“Cadre deployment holding back real job creation”

  • The AIDC is now paralysed by infighting. Documentation is presently sitting with the Public Protector and the Public Service Commission that shows that staff have been appointed by this CEO even though they did not even score highest in the interviews, in contravention of policy.
  • The reality is that the ANC created agencies in Gauteng not for the purposes of economic growth, but to give high paying jobs to its members, regardless of their position.
  • Honourable Premier – you called for more cadre deployment… The ANC must stop misleading people – what it says in its manifesto are not its real policies.

The full speech can be obtained here.

 

Speech by: Janho Engelbrecht MPL

 “Policy uncertainty cannot weather Gauteng’s economic storm”

  • This government must provide certainty on its vision for the economy, the policy it intends to implement to realize that vision, and its commitment to ensuring that the economy serves ordinary people.
  • The government should recognize the need to broaden participation in the economy and help to make it easier for outsiders, not just the politically connected, to become owners, access capital and actively participate in the economy.
  • Government must work to give more people the education and skills they need to get a job and to support the kinds of research and development that can make South Africa a winning nation in a globalized knowledge economy.

The full speech can be obtained here.

 

Media enquires:

Ina Cilliers

DA Gauteng Spokesperson on Economic Development

060 556 4344

 

Ashor Sarupen

DA Gauteng Spokesperson on Economic Development

060 558 8303

 

Janho Engelbrecht

DA Gauteng Spokesperson on Economic Development

060 556 4343

[Image source]

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Public Protectors Recommendations Binding On Gauteng Infrastructure Department

Public Protector’s Findings

The Constitutional Court ruling on Nkandla, which emphasised the binding nature of the Public Protector’s findings, means that the Gauteng Department of Infrastructure (DID) must pay out a sub-contractor who worked on the infamous Suikerbosrand project in 2014 a sum of more than R9.6 million.

The Public Protector indicated that this amount should be paid over a period of two months, however DID – blatantly ignoring the Public Protector wrote to the contractor indicating that they would not pay.

Years down the line, and after placing the contractor in a financially precarious position, DID has agreed to pay – as long as it runs its own parallel investigation, much like the Cabinet did when it tried to avoid the Nkandla scandal.

Claims of Damages

Recently, a different contractor approached the Public Protector requesting that her office investigate DID for claims of damages suffered whilst working on a DID site.  Despite referral to the Head of Department of DID as well as the Chairperson of the DID Portfolio Committee, the department has still not carried out the action proposed.

Neither the Department, nor its political head can feign ignorance as to the binding nature of the Public Protectors recommendations.

I will be writing to Jacob Mamabolo, the newly appointed MEC of DID drawing his attention to these matters, and should he fail to respond, I will ensure they are referred back to the Public Protector.

 

Media enquiries:

Alan Fuchs MPL

DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Infrastructure Development

060 558 8313

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Nkandla: DA Moves To Impeach Zuma Following Constitutional Court Ruling

Impeach President Zuma

Following today’s judgement by the Constitutional Court in the much anticipated Nkandla matter, the Democratic Alliance (DA) has officially begun the process to impeach President Jacob Zuma, in terms of Section 89(1) of the Constitution.

The Constitutional Court – the highest court in the land – found that President Zuma failed to uphold, defend and respect the Constitution as the supreme law of the land by disregarding the Public Protectors’ report. This pivotal judgment confirms the DA’s long held contention that President Zuma seriously violated the Constitution when he sought to undermine the Public Protector’s remedial actions by instituting parallel investigative processes, and his subsequent failure to implement her remedial action.

Section 89(1) of the Constitution states that “The National Assembly, by a resolution adopted with a supporting vote of at least two thirds of its members, may remove the President from office only on the grounds of – 

 (a) a serious violation of the Constitution or the law;

(b) serious misconduct; or

(c) inability to perform the functions of office.”

Constitutional Court Ruling

Today’s ruling is clear in this regard: President Jacob Zuma’s action amounts to a serious violation of the Constitution, and constitutes grounds for impeachment.

Up until recently, the President has argued that he was not obliged to heed this remedial action, and that such remedial action was simply advice which he could take or ignore. In his letter to the Public Protector dated 11 September 2014, he argued that her role was akin to that of an Ombud and she could not issue “judgements to be followed under pain of a contempt order.” Instead he described her reports as “useful tools in assisting democracy in a cooperative manner, sometimes rather forcefully”. He specifically denied that they were binding on him.

On the 09 February 2016 counsel for President Zuma, The Speaker of the National Assembly, Baleka Mbete and The Minister of Police, Nathi Nhleko, all eventually conceded that indeed the powers of the Public Protector have legal consequences and can only be challenged by way of judicial review. This is bizarre given that the DA had been arguing this from the very beginning.

Indeed it has been our assertion that Parliament failed to satisfy its constitutional mandate to hold the Executive to account in terms of section 55(2) of the Constitution by adopting the Police Minister’s report which we contend is- in and of itself- born from fatal errors in law because this amounts to the establishment of a parallel process as expressly prohibited by the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA). This was done- no doubt- to circumvent the remedial actions as ordered by the Public Protector and to thwart the discharge of her mandate. They have effectively aided and abetted the President in his vexatious attempts to unravel our hard won constitutional order.

Public Protector

Our Constitution is binding on all organs of state, including the President. To have ignored a constitutional organ, in the form of the Public Protector, for over two years, and to have employed a series of stratagems, including the Police Minister’s Report and the three ad hoc parliamentary committees, to “second guess” and “ignore” the Public Protector required judicial action.

Having succeeded in obtaining the Constitutional Court’s determination; I have therefore written to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Baleka Mbete, notifying her of such, and have tabled a notice of motion resolving to remove President Zuma from office in terms of section 89(1)(a) of the Constitution. Included therein are the President’s past and present failings to act in manner commensurate with the Constitution as evidenced by court judgements finding adversely against his conduct in the al-Bashir and Simelane debacles and the attempt to extend the term of office of the Chief Justice. In all these cases the Courts found that his actions were inconsistent with that of the Constitution.

Moreover, the Office of the Public Protector remains an integral part of a functioning democracy, and today’s judgment provides legal certainty and clarity as to the Public Protector’s powers.

Today’s finding by the Constitutional Court is a victory for our Constitution, a victory for the Rule of Law, and a victory for the South African people.

 

 

Media Enquiries:

Mabine Seabe

Spokesperson to the DA Leader

084 677 7851

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Mamelodi Hospital Short Of 366 Staff

The Mamelodi Hospital is short of 366 staff, with only 871 filled positions out of 1237 posts.

This was revealed today by Gauteng Health MEC Qedani Mahlangu in response to my questions concerning problems at this hospital that were identified by the Public Protector when she visited there recently.

The biggest shortage is of nurses – only 155 out of 445 nurse posts are filled, which means that the hospital is short of 290 nurses.

According to Mahlangu, the hospital is being upgraded over a period of two years from a district hospital to a fully-fledged regional hospital.

She said that more specialists were being recruited in the paediatrics, internal medicine and gynaecology departments.

She said that there were no major equipment shortages at the hospital and she was taking “firm action” to improve management and adhere to health quality standards.

I am not convinced that these steps will fix the deficiencies that shocked Public Protector Thuli Madonsela when she visited there on 20 October 2015.

Overcrowding is a major problem, with some patients sleeping in wheelchairs and on the floor.

Previous upgrading efforts have failed because of incompetent contractors who couldn’t do the job in time.

The extreme shortage of nurses must be rectified as soon as possible.

This hospital needs competent management and proper staffing, otherwise the problems will continue.

 

Media enquiries:

Jack Bloom MPL

DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Health

082 333 4222

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Public Protector exposes shocking conditions at Mamelodi Hospital

Truth Exposed

I commend Public Protector Thuli Madonsela for her surprise visit yesterday to the Mamelodi Hospital in Pretoria which exposed shocking conditions there.

She found patients curled between benches, the stench of urine, male and female patients in the same ward, and the death of up to 15 newborns every month.

The 400-bed hospital has been struggling with a severe shortage of staff and the poor work environment pushes many staff to leave.

At least one nurse resigns every month.

The intensive care unit has 8 beds but cannot operate fully because of the staff shortage.

In the neonatal ward, 25 babies are accommodated in 16 beds.

Empty Promises

Patients come from as far as Bronkhorstspruit because the department has failed to open a new hospital there despite many years of promises.

I hope that the Public Protector’s visit spurs the department to fix the problems at this hospital as soon as possible.

I will be asking questions in the Gauteng Legislature to ensure that this happens.

Media enquiries:
Jack Bloom MPL
DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Health
082 333 4222

[Image Source]