Auditor General confirms that KZN Health is on the verge of total collapse

19 September 2017

The Auditor General’s 2016/17 report on the state of the KwaZulu-Natal Health Department has vindicated the Democratic Alliance’s opinion that this Department is on the verge of total collapse.

The report, delivered to members of the province’s Health Portfolio Committee earlier today, saw the Department once again receiving a qualified audit opinion (with findings) while showing no improvement in terms of previous findings by the A-G. This is borne out by the repeat offences relating to employee costs, contingent liabilities, irregular expenditure, movable tangible capital assets and accruals and payables.

The Department’s irregular expenditure also increased from R4.3 billion to R7.1 billion while fruitless and wasteful expenditure has risen from R8.9 million to just short of R15 million over the last financial year. This despite an instruction from the A-G and Treasury last year to KZN Health MEC Sibongiseni Dhlomo and senior officials to get their house in order.

KZN Health MEC Sibongiseni Dhlomo and his Department are on record as having agreed to put certain control measures in place to address the management meltdown within this Department. Certainly, none of this was evident in the engagement with the A-G today with further findings that include;

- 33 cases of improper conduct in SCM by suppliers;

- 109 cases of improper conduct in SCM by officials; and

- 47 cases of financial misconduct.

Not one of these cases had been investigated and subsequently there has been no consequence management. This as Supply Chain Management turns into a looter’s paradise. Somebody has to take the rap for this atrocious performance.

It is clear that there is an absolute lack of will when it comes to turning around the sinking ship that is the KZN Health Department. This was made very clear today after both MEC Dhlomo and his HOD failed to attend today’s critical meeting.
This is a slap in the face to the people of KZN. When a Department is in collapse and the political head and his accounting officer feel they have other more important business, than answering to the provincial health portfolio committee on the damning finds of the A-G, then there is a serious problem.

It is time that KZN Premier Willies Mchunu faced reality and took steps to remove MEC Dhlomo from this critical post before it is too late to save our province’s healthcare system. He must act now.

Issued by Francois Rodgers, DA KZN Spokesperson on Finance, 19 September 2017