Closing Life Esidimeni was the collective’s responsibility
FORMER Gauteng health MEC Qedani Mahlangu yesterday said the “collective” had made the decision to close Life Esidimeni homes‚ saying government didn’t make decisions individually.
Mahlangu‚ who began her testimony in the arbitration hearing yesterday‚ has laid the responsibility for the tragedy that led to 143 deaths on her former head of department Barney Selebano and former mental health director Makgabo Manamela.
She said her managers had assured her that the NGOs that had reconditioned hospitals, would be ready for the 1 700 patients after the Life Esidimeni contract was ended.
She “trusted” her team, including Selebano and Manamela.
“I had no reason to doubt them.” Speaking of the decision to close down the Life Esidimeni homes and move patients, she said: “To say it was Qedani Mahlangu’s [decision] is not true. I met with the premier’s budget committee.”
She said premier David Makhura knew about the decision to close down the homes as part of wideranging cost-cutting measures.
“Government decisions are made by individuals.”
She also said Manamela did not tell her that NGOs were struggling to feed patients and she learnt about this in July 2016 from the media.
Mahlangu said: “Nobody alerted me that no one had food. We got to know about that through the media.”
She said the information had been brought to Manamela’s attention but she claimed it had been kept from her.
“I considered myself very accessible to anyone who had issues.”
However‚ Manamela had testified she was afraid of Mahlangu. The health ombudsman suggested in his report that juniors were too afraid of their superiors to do the right thing.
Judge Dikgang Moseneke repeatedly questioned Mahlangu on her testimony, saying both Selebano and Manamela had testified that Mahlangu had forced them to go ahead with the project.
“They both say you not instructed them to proceed with the marathon project for better or worse.
“You are [the] one who instructed them. [But] you say you know nothing; they didn’t tell you anything.”
Mahlangu then gave long‚ confusing answers but eventually said: “They provided me with inaccurate reports.”
She said her juniors had told her there were NGOs available to house patients and the department of infrastructure would fix vacant buildings to take some of the 1 700 patients.
“I will never turn a blind eye if it is going to harm a patient. I did not know there would be difficulties.”
She also blamed cost-cutting for the project‚ saying there was major financial pressure on the Gauteng health department.
Mahlangu said the department had many unbudgeted costs and she admitted it didn’t budget for the huge number of negligence cases that the department loses which cost millions. She also said that 50% of women who had their babies at Charlotte Maxeke hospitals, were foreign and thus not budgeted for.