Following the arrest of the Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Gaborone and the former acting Head of Department, Dr. Theys, on Monday, the Department has placed both officials on precautionary suspension whilst investigations are undertaken. Other senior managers are being put into acting positions to ensure stability during this process.
According to the law enforcement agency, the charges relate to allegations surrounding the procurement of personal protective equipment (PPE) to the value at R43 million without following the correct procurement procedures.
The internal processes are covered by issues of employee/employer confidentiality agreements and the court procedures are under judicial consideration and therefore prohibited from public discussion elsewhere. Therefore, the department will not comment further on this matter.
Yesterday, the MEC for Health, Mr Maruping Lekwene, met with Executive Management Team in the Department where he re-emphasised the need to urgently strengthen governance processes and internal controls.
The MEC and Head of Department will be meeting next week with a joint sitting of the Northern Cape Legislature Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) and the Portfolio Committee on Health and Social Development. The purpose of the meeting is to brief the committee on these developments and explain the processes being implemented to ensure stability in the department in terms of its operations and its financial viability.
As part of an urgent task to strengthen health care services, the Department has finalised permanent appointments of managers in many health facilities and districts across the province. This will support management capacity building to expedite improved service delivery to communities.
This achievement is in line with the Budget speech commitments made by MEC to strengthen finance and human resource management functions and fill critical vacancies in support services, re-align functions, and ensure suitability for the task at hand.
