Esidimeni inquest should ensure full accountability for deaths, including Qedani Mahlangu

The inquest into the 144 Life Esidimeni deaths which begins tomorrow (19 July) should seek full accountability for those responsible, including former Health MEC Qedani Mahlangu.

I hope that all relevant witnesses give evidence which can lead to criminal charges against those who caused the deaths.

While direct culpability lies with people in the NGOs where the mental health patients died, Mahlangu and senior health department officials should not be let off the hook for their role in this tragedy.

Further charges should include contraventions of the Mental Health Act and the fraudulent licensing of the NGOs where the patients were sent.

The evidence should also lead to charges for the maltreatment of those patients who survived.

It is essential that there are no further delays in achieving justice for the relatives of those who died five years ago.

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Why we walked out of the Life Esidimeni debate – DA

The tragedy that is Life Esidimeni will continue until justice has been done. This is by no means frivolous. Any action that brings people to account is not frivolous. Dismissing this call for accountability is frivolous.

The ANC cannot escape accountability by attacking the DA. They say we are displaying insensitivity to the families of the victims. Actually, the families of the victims of the ANC’s so-called Marathon Project will receive justice when those responsible for their loss sit in jail and not in luxury. The families of the victims will only receive some comfort when those responsible for their pain pay for their crimes, even financially where permitted by law.

The DA’s Jack Bloom tabled a motion that called upon the Premier to extract costs from Qedani Mahlangu and two officials for their part in causing the deaths of 144 people in the Life Esidimeni tragedy.

The motion can be viewed here.

There is a law called the Apportionment of Damages Act. It is through that law that the taxpayers of Gauteng can recover some of the money needed to pay out compensation to those impacted by the ANC’s so-called Marathon Project. The ANC says that our motion was illegal. How can the application of law be illegal?

But it is clear that the ANC needs to shield Qedani Mahlangu. They don’t want her penalised in any way because she knows too much about the corruption of those still in office. They will protect her at all costs so that she does not blow the whistle on them.

We witnessed this yesterday in the debate on our Life Esidimeni motion as follows:

  • We witnessed the worst form of heckling ever seen in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature.
  • One of the EFF speakers was completely inaudible because of the sustained noise coming from the ANC benches.
  • The ANC heckling induced counter-heckling from the other parties.
  • The Speaker took an inordinately long time to bring order and only intervened at the demand of the DA’s Chief Whip.
  • But even then the Speaker chose to call to order the individual hecklers from the opposition parties and did not single out the noise-makers in the ANC.
  • Eventually, she appealed to her ANC colleagues to allow the EFF speaker to speak.
  • But this limp-wristed action was too much for half the ANC caucus who went off to the coffee lounge until the end of the EFF speech.
  • But worse was yet to come:
    • The Speaker illegally ruled out the possibility of a vote in this matter, even though this was a decision of the Programming Committee
    • Clearly the ANC did not have the numbers to defeat the motion and so the Speaker aided and abetted her comrades in subverting democracy.
    • Attempts to raise a point of order in this regard were met with disruption and insults

The Speaker and the ANC rejected a serious attempt to bring to justice to those impacted by Life Esidimeni and reduced the democratic proceedings to a sham. That’s why the DA protested. That’s why the DA walked out.

But we will not leave it here. We have already initiated processes to overturn the Speaker’s ruling. The guilty ones can run, but they cannot hide. If needs be, we will go to Court.

Former Health MEC Qedani Mahlangu and officials implicated in Life Esidimeni tragedy should be made to pay compensations to the victims’ families

Note to Editors: The following speech was delivered by the DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Health , Jack Bloom MPL during the DA’s motion in the Gauteng Legislature, today , 3 December 2019.

Madam Speaker, the purpose of this motion is to ensure that there is serious consideration of the option of recovering money from those most responsible for the Life Esidimeni tragedy.

More than a year ago the Honourable Premier said in this House that he was consulting with stakeholders and legal advisers, including the Department of Justice, on whether former Health MEC Qedani Mahlangu and senior health officials can be forced to pay for the compensation costs.

This House needs to know what the outcome of this consultation and what steps will be done to take this forward.

The first legal step is to make the Arbitration Award of Justice Dikgang Moseneke an order of the court so that the Apportionment of Damages Act can be used. There is then a one-year prescription period for action to be taken under this Act.

I don’t know why the provincial government has been dragging its heels in this matter. I hope it’s not to protect Qedani Mahlangu who was still popular enough in the ANC to get elected last year to the Provincial Executive Committee.

The Special Investigating Unit has led the way in getting a court order for two NGOs to pay back R663 000 to the Gauteng Health Department as they had fraudulently claimed this for patients who had already been removed from them.

They are also pursuing civil action against another 11 NGOs who submitted fraudulent invoices for payments of about R5.5 million.

I have to ask, however, why the people who were most to blame for the loss of 144 lives have not faced any court action whatsoever.

Investigations are taking far too long as people want to see accountability and justice.

It would be ideal to use the Apportionment of Damages Act in this matter, and we have legal opinion that it can be done.

It would be a very good precedent to hold errant officials personally liable. Why should they be allowed to leave with their pensions intact and the state has to pay for their misdeeds?

In fact, the Department has already indicated in a recent presentation to SCOPA that they intend to use the Apportionment of Damages Act to recover money from medical staff implicated in medical negligence cases.

So, we should really all be in agreement on this motion.

The Honourable Premier has talked about good governance and accountability. The Esidimeni horrors happened under his watch, so there is added reason to make sure that those responsible pay in every way, both financially and in jail time.

It is unfortunate that we are still far away from criminal charges against all those implicated in the deaths and other infractions with criminal liability.

Meanwhile, we can make progress for civil liability, not just against the NGOs but against the former Health MEC and her senior officials.

This is a test case. Accept this motion and come back to this House within 60 days or reject it because you still want to protect one of your comrades.

It is your duty for moral, legal and good governance reasons to support this motion.

DA considers legal options as Gauteng government stalls on recovery of Esidimeni payouts from former health MEC

by Jack Bloom MPL – DA Gauteng Shadow Health MEC

The Democratic Alliance is considering legal options to ensure that former Gauteng Health MEC Qedani Mahlangu and senior health officials are forced to pay from their own money for the Life Esidimeni compensation costs.

This follows the failure of the Gauteng Provincial Government to respond within 60 days to the letter I wrote on 16 July to Premier David Makhura and Health MEC Gwen Ramokgopa to demand that they pursue legal action against those implicated in the Esidimeni tragedy so that they personally pay a share of the R159 million arbitration award to relatives of those who suffered and died.

My letter noted that there is some urgency in this matter as action in terms of the Apportionment of Damages Act needs to take place within one year. I submitted that a period of 60 days was adequate time to take legal advice as Government may see fit to commence proceedings in this matter, but I have not received any written response.

The Act provides that a party that has been found liable in a civil claim, and has paid this claim in full, can act to recover from those who were also allegedly liable (the “joint wrongdoers”) to recover a contribution for their fair share of what has been paid.

In this instance, the “joint wrongdoers” include former Gauteng Health MEC, Qedani Mahlangu, former Gauteng Head of Department for Health, Dr Barney Selebano and former Chief Director Mental Health, Dr Makgabo Manamela.

Premier Makhura said in an oral reply to my questions on 4 September that he was still consulting with stakeholders and legal advisers in this matter, but it seems to me that he is not giving it the priority that it deserves.

Taxpayers should not have to foot the bill for woeful government conduct which led to the Esidimeni tragedy.

If the government continues to stall in this matter, the legal remedy would be to take steps to review the failure to take the appropriate action and/or compel government to do so.

We will continue to push the provincial government in various ways to ensure that Mahlangu and the implicated officials pay a fair share of the money that has been paid to the Esidimeni victims.

Gauteng Premier still consulting on recovery of Esidimeni payouts from former Health MEC

by Jack Bloom MPL – DA Gauteng Shadow Health MEC

Gauteng Premier David Makhura is still consulting with stakeholders and legal advisers as to whether former Gauteng Health MEC Qedani Mahlangu and senior health officials can be forced to pay from their own money for the Life Esidimeni compensation costs.

He said this today in an oral reply to my questions in the Gauteng Legislature concerning his response to the letter I sent him on 16 July requesting him to take steps using the Apportionment of Damages Act to recover some of the R159.46 million arbitration award money from Mahlangu, former Head of Department Barney Selebano and former Chief Director Mental Health Makgabo Manamela.

Makhura said that “extensive consultation” was taking place on the issue of the personal liability of the former MEC and officials, including input from the Department of Justice.

The Premier should be taking this issue seriously as taxpayers should not have to foot the bill for the deplorable conduct of his government which led to the Esidimeni tragedy.

The Democratic Alliance has established that Qedani Mahlangu has assets that are probably worth more than R20 million in total which should be seized by court action to pay a fair share of the financial recompense to the Esidimeni victims.

I hope that Makhura does not use imaginary obstacles to avoid legal action to force Mahlangu to pay up from her own money. He has protected her before and should not do so now.

ANC only acting on Qedani Mahlangu after public outcry

by Jack Bloom MPL – DA Gauteng Shadow Health MEC

I am astonished by the admission today by Trevor Fowler, the new Chairperson of the ANC’s Integrity Committee in Gauteng, that Qedani Mahlangu’s case had not previously been referred to this body for consideration.

This contradicts a statement by previous ANC provincial secretary Hope Papo in February last year that she had to explain to the Integrity Committee what happened concerning the deaths of 144 Esidimeni patients.

He was quoted as saying: “She was our deployee. She must explain to the commission what happened on the matter, and we will get a report from the integrity commission.”

But nothing happened and Mahlangu remained on the ANC’s Provincial Executive Committee.

It was only after the public outcry following her recent re-election to the PEC that the ANC is taking this matter more seriously because it is worried about losing votes in the next election.

Fowler says in an interview with the Sunday Times newspaper that due process will be followed by the Integrity Committee concerning her role in the Esidimeni tragedy.

But why has it taken more than 18 months for this to happen?

The truth is that Mahlangu has always been protected by the ANC, starting with Premier David Makhura’s failure to fire her immediately the Esidimeni deaths became known after she replied to my questions in the Legislature.

She only resigned after the devastating findings of the Health Ombudsman’s report, but was originally not on the state’s list of witnesses to appear before the Esidimeni arbitration hearings.

The ANC gave her permission to study abroad while the hearings were in progress, and public pressure was needed to force her to testify.

Earlier this year, President Cyril Ramaphosa hugged Qedani Mahlangu at an ANC march in Soweto, and said she was “still a comrade”

This shows the depth of the moral rot in the ANC, which is only concerned about remaining in power and protecting its own, regardless of the harm done to helpless people.

Qedani Mahlangu has means to personally pay for Esidimeni deaths

by Jack Bloom MPL – DA Gauteng Shadow Health MEC

Former Gauteng Health MEC Qedani Mahlangu has substantial wealth that should be attached to pay some of the R159 million arbitration award for the suffering and deaths of Life Esidimeni patients.

The Democratic Alliance has established that Mahlangu cashed in her R16 million pension fund when she resigned in February last year, leaving her with a nest egg of about R11 million after tax.

She lives in an property in Bedfordview which is worth about R5 million and recently paid R3.9 million for a property in the Johannesburg suburb of Kensington, apparently to be developed as an investment.

Last year she paid for a university course in England, and lived there for several months, which must have cost about half a million rand.

Mahlangu is even able to afford two professional bodyguards who drive and escort her, which costs about R50 000 a month.

Incredibly, she has even staged a political comeback with her re-election to the ANC’s Provincial Executive Committee in Gauteng.

Last week I wrote to Premier David Makhura to request him to use the Apportionment of Damages Act to ensure that Mahlangu and two former senior health officials pay a share of the R159 million Esidimeni arbitration award.

Makhura has not yet responded, but if he fails to force her to pay from her own pocket it will show that he is not serious about holding her to account for the Esidimeni disaster.

Her assets are probably worth more than R20 million in total which should be seized by court action to pay a fair share of the financial recompense to Esidimeni victims.

Ultimately she must appear in court for her crimes, but action can be taken now to curb her luxurious lifestyle so that taxpayers don’t have to foot the total bill for her cruel and negligent deeds.

Election of Mahlangu and Hlongwa shows moral bankruptcy of Gauteng ANC

by Jack Bloom MPL – DA Gauteng Shadow Health MEC

The re-election of scandal-plagued Qedani Mahlangu and Brian Hlongwa as members of the Gauteng ANC’s Provincial Executive Committee shows the moral bankruptcy of a party that protects its own at the expense of everyone else.

ANC members in Gauteng obviously don’t care about Mahlangu’s role in the horrendous deaths of 144 Esidimeni patients, nor the mounds of evidence that implicates Hlongwa in R1.2 billion corruption in the Gauteng Health Department (GHD).

It is a poor excuse for Premier David Makhura to say that the ANC’s toothless Integrity Committee will deal with Mahlangu and Hlongwa. This committee was supposed to take a decision on Hlongwa four years ago, and has not censured Mahlangu more than 18 months after the Esidimeni disaster.

It seems that Hlongwa continues to enjoy support because of money funnelled to the ANC by entities that had corrupt dealings with the GHD – at least R870 000 according to evidence in court documents.

According to the DA’s Hlongwa Monitor, it is now 33 days and he has still not been fired as ANC Chief Whip in the Gauteng Legislature, earning R1.5 million a year.

Makhura has also not responded to my call for the provincial government to force Mahlangu and senior officials to pay part of the R159 million Esidimeni arbitration settlement from their own pockets, which can be done in terms of the Apportionment of Damages Act.

Earlier this year, President Cyril Ramaphosa hugged Qedani Mahlangu at an ANC march in Soweto, and said she was “still a comrade”.

There is no “New Dawn” in Gauteng, just the same false promises and hypocrisy while corruption and cruelty to the vulnerable continues unabated.

ANC slow to act against Qedani Mahlangu

by Jack Bloom MPL – DA Gauteng Shadow Health MEC

The ANC in Gauteng claims to take accountability seriously but it is only now taking former Gauteng Health MEC Qedani Mahlangu before its Integrity Committee for the Esidimeni tragedy.

Why did it take them so long when it was always obvious that she was primarily to blame for the deaths of 144 Life Esidimeni patients who were sent to illegally licensed NGOs?

More than a year after the devastating findings of the Health Ombudsman in this matter, Mahlangu is still a member of the ANC’s Gauteng Provincial Executive Committee.

She was given leave of absence to study in England, thus delaying her testimony at the Arbitration hearings chaired by former deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke.

Brian Hlongwa, the ANC’s Chief Whip in the Legislature, said in a radio interview that he has advised her to go overseas for two years.

Recently she was embraced by President Cyril Ramaphosa at an ANC event in Soweto, who said that she “remains a comrade” despite what she had done.

The ANC cannot redeem itself in this matter as it staunchly defended Mahlangu even after she first disclosed the deaths of Esidimeni patients in reply to my questions in the Gauteng Legislature on 13 September 2016.

Premier David Makhura should have fired her immediately after the deaths became known, which would have saved lives because she and her officials continued to cover up what is happening.

The ANC in Gauteng should also hold Makhura to account for his failures in this terrible tragedy, but they continue to pretend that incompetence and corruption are not endemic in his administration.

Any action the ANC may now take against Qedani Mahlangu will have no credibility as it will be too little and too late.

President Ramaphosa embraces Esidimeni MEC

by Jack Bloom MPL – DA Gauteng Shadow Health MEC

I am appalled that President Cyril Ramaphosa has embraced former Gauteng Health MEC Qedani Mahlangu who was responsible for the deaths of 144 Life Esidimeni patients.

See photos here and here.

Mahlangu was with ANC leaders including Gauteng Premier David Makhura and former Johannesburg Mayor Parks Tau who joined him for his healthy lifestyle walk on Saturday.

Ramaphosa warmly embraced Mahlangu and said that she should not be rejected as she had been held accountable, first by resigning and then by appearing before the arbitration hearings headed by former Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke.

He said: “Qedani Mahlangu, like any other South African, is a person who must be treated as a citizen of this country. She is a comrade and whatever we have done, it does not mean we have to treat people with hatred and rejection and with total disdain.”

Ramaphosa’s embrace of Mahlangu is grossly insensitive to the memory of those who died.

She has still not accepted full accountability for the Esidimeni deaths, shifting the blame onto officials.

Despite all the Esidimeni horrors, the ANC still treats her as a comrade and she remains a member of the ANC’s Gauteng Provincial Executive Committee. After all this time, the ANC’s Integrity Committee has still not made a finding against her in this matter.

True justice will only be served when Mahlangu appears in court on charges that should include culpable homicide and even m