Esidimeni claims another top official
Beleagured Manamela quits
Just a day after the resignation of Gauteng department of health head Dr Barney Selebano‚ suspended director of mental health‚ Dr Makgabo Manamela‚ has also tendered her resignation.
Gauteng premier David Makhura’s spokesman Thabo Masebe confirmed Manamela’s resignation.
Her resignation came on the eve of the resumption of the Life Esidimeni arbitration today. The hearings are chaired by former deputy chief justice Dikgang Moseneke.
In her testimony during the tribunal last year, Manamela said she was not responsible for the deaths that shocked the entire country.
Manamela‚ who is also a qualified psychiatric nurse‚ signed licences giving inexperienced‚ underfunded‚ poorlyequipped centres permission to look after mentally ill patients and as a result‚ 143 people died.
The NGOs were selected to care for patients after the department terminated the contract with Life Esidimeni Hospital‚ and about 1 712 patients were moved out of Life Esidimeni facilities.
Despite being told during the hearing that she was a “defensive ” witness‚ Manamela admitted to Solidarity advocate Dirk Groenewald that the NGOs to which she gave authority did not comply with the legal requirements.
But Moseneke had to interpret her answer for her.
The judge said: “At last‚ we have an answer: the NGOs that you issued licences to did not comply with most of the [legal] requirements.”
Meanwhile, Gauteng DA shadow MEC of health Jack Bloom last night welcomed both Manamela and Selebano’s resignations.
“They were obviously going to be found guilty [in internal disciplinary processes] and they would have been fired,” Bloom said.
“And it is not the end of the story, I hope that the police investigation leads to charges being laid against them... in a court of law, that’s where real justice will happen.”
He said their salaries while on suspension since February costs taxpayers more than R2-million.
‘ ‘ They were obviously going to be found guilty