‘Headless N Cape Health dept sinking’

AN URGENT call has been made for the Northern Cape MEC for Health, Lebogang Motlhaping, to appoint a permanent chief executive officer (CEO) as well as other senior managers to Kimberley Hospital and other health facilities across the Province, as the cumulative unauthorised expenditure of the department swells to almost R400 million.

The DA’s provincial spokesperson for Health, Dr Isak Fritz, said yesterday that health care in the Province was on the verge of coming to a standstill as a result of the mismanagement of funds and resources.

“It is essential that management structures are stabilised to negotiate health services through volatile waters,” Fritz said yesterday.

He pointed out that during a briefing by the auditor-general earlier this week at the legislature, it was stated that while the Northern Cape Department of Health had incurred R574 million irregular expenditure in the past financial year, its cumulative irregular expenditure now stood at R5.747 billion.

“This is way more than the department’s annual budget allocation of R4.4 billion.”

Fritz stated further that the department had also incurred R51 million in unauthorised expenditure in the previous financial year as a result of over-expenditure on contractual obligations and accruals, which, he pointed out, were in effect late payments.

“Cumulative unauthorised expenditure now stands at R381 million.”

“On top of this, the department incurred fruitless and wasteful expenditure to the value of R10.537 million, mainly as a result of interest and penalties on late payments.”

Fritz said it was obvious that the department was caught up in a vicious cycle of mismanagement from which it could not escape.

“Every year, the department starts the new financial year off in the red as it pays overdue unpaid debts to suppliers and service providers.

“It then doesn’t have enough funds to pay for current supplies and services due to a combination of the effect of accruals, which totalled R339 million in the past financial year.

“This is in turn exacerbated by the department’s inability to implement frugal financial management.”

According to Fritz, this was not surprising “given that a number of facilities have been operating without the necessary management in place”.

“Kimberley Hospital, which is the Province’s only tertiary facility and treats the bulk of the Northern Cape’s patients, in particular has been operating with only an acting chief executive officer for years already,” Fritz said.

“It simply cannot be that health facilities are left to stumble through a financial minefield like headless chickens. Without the necessary expertise and stability of permanent and capable managers, the department is bound to sink.”

Fritz called on Motlhaping to “do what is best for the thousands of sick and vulnerable residents of this Province who depend on this department for their wellbeing, and move with haste to ensure that capable professionals are appointed to efficiently manage the finances and affairs of health facilities across the Province”.

“The MEC’s failure to do so will ultimately mean no medicines for the sick, no medical supplies for the injured, no fuel for ambulances, no diesel for generators and no food for patients.

“And, in effect, it will mean no health care for the people of the Northern Cape.”

The Department of Health did not respond to requests for comment yesterday.