Gauteng Premier rebuffed on reinstating Health MEC

22 October 2020

The DA notes that the ANC Gauteng Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) has approved Premier David Makhura’s axing of Health MEC Bandile Masuku and has called for a new Health MEC to be appointed urgently.

This is a rebuff to Makhura who wanted to reinstate Masuku if the final SIU report cleared him of corruption as opposed to his failure to stop it in the first place.

I agree that we need a new Health MEC who is ethical and capable of fixing the deep rot in this department.

Makhura shares the blame for the failures in this department because he was the one who appointed Masuku and Professor MkhululiLukhele, the Head of Department, and he did not monitor them effectively.

The PPE scandal follows after the Life Esidimeni tragedy caused by Makhura’s disastrous appointments of Qedani Mahlangu as Health MEC and Barney Selebano as Head of the Department.

There are currently 28 senior management vacancies in the Department that need to be filled urgently.

Makhura should abandon cadre deployment and ensure that all new staff at the Gauteng Health Department are appointed purely on merit.

Issued by Jack Bloom, DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Health, 22 October 2020