Gauteng Health defies Auditor-General's findings on irregular CEO appointments

28 November 2024

Gauteng Health and Wellness MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko denies clear findings by the Auditor-General of irregular CEO appointments at three major hospitals.

Replying to my questions yesterday at a sitting of the Gauteng Legislature, she said the A-G had found “nothing wrong” with the appointments of CEOs at the Chris Hani Baragwanath, Steve Biko and George Mukhari hospitals.

This is despite my reference to a letter by the A-G to the Head of the Gauteng Health Department on 18 July this year, which gives three working days to indicate the reason for non-compliance and the steps taken to rectify it.

See the letter here.

According to the letter, the CEO of Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital did not have the required Masters degree and should not have been short-listed for the position. Furthermore, she had less than three years’ experience at asenior management level when the applications closed, instead of the required 10 years Senior Management Service (SMS) experience.

In the case of Steve Biko Hospital, the CEO appointee had only one month of senior management experience when the applications closed, and at George Mukari Hospital the appointed applicant had no senior managerial experience, although they both had some years of relevant experience at a lower level

The A-G says in the letter that “Departmental leadership has failed to exercise oversight responsibility regarding compliance with the Public Service Regulations, which resulted in the department irregularly appointing employees.” Furthermore, “Management did not implement adequate review and monitoring controls over appointing employees to ensure compliance with Public Service Regulations.”

The recommendations were as follows:

• Leadership is urged to provide oversight over appointment processes to ensure full compliance with the requirements of relevant legislation.

• Management should ensure that suitable candidates who meet the minimum requirements are shortlisted.

• Management is requested to disclose the remuneration paid to the employees as irregular expenditure in the annual financial statements.

I don’t see how the MEC can brazenly deny these irregular appointments which should be immediately reversed and new applications opened as soon as possible.

Hospital patients are the big losers when under-qualified people are appointed. It is outrageous that three of the largest hospitals in Gauteng are not headed by the most qualified people.

The three CEOs head specialist academic hospitals with a combined budget of R10 billion, and they employ about 14 000 staff in total.

The Department has ignored the recommendations of the former Health Ombud Professor Malegapuru Makgoba on the importance of choosing the best candidates for the CEO position, which he outlined in his scathing report on the disastrous appointment of the Rahima Moosa Hospital CEO.

The DA will be meeting the Auditor-General in this matter to ensure that all our hospitals have top-notch CEOs who can drive the changes to drastically improve healthcare for patients who suffer under substandard management.

Issued by Jack Bloom, DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Health, 28 November 2024