Tshwarelo Hunter Mogakane
Pretoria - The office of Limpopo Premier Stanley Mathabatha is not worried about the fate of former provincial Health Department head Dr Thokozani Florence Mhlongo following a Special Investigating Unit (SIU) preservation order against her pension fund.
Mhlongo resigned from the department in June this year following an internal disciplinary hearing emanating from SIU investigations relating to the procurement of Covid-19 personal protective equipment worth R182 million.
“The SIU investigations uncovered irregularities in the appointment of service providers Clinipro Pty Ltd, Pro Secure Pty Ltd, and Ndia Business Trading (Pty) Ltd for the supply and delivery of PPE items, which resulted in the department incurring irregular expenditure and or fruitless and wasteful expenditure of approximately R182 million,” said SIU spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago.
According to Kganyago, Mhlongo allegedly allowed irregular expenditure to occur under her watch.
“The SIU investigation revealed that Dr Mhlongo, as the accounting officer, allegedly exposed the department to wasteful expenditure when she authorised the procurement and payment of 10 000 cellphones to the value of R10m for Covid-19 household screening.
“The department could only manage to distribute 388 of the 10 000 cellphones between September 2020 and March 2021, and the cellphones were distributed without the required screening application,” he said.
He added that 9 588 cellphones were distributed to community health workers for Covid-19 work without the required application installed.
As a result of the investigations, Mhlongo resigned with immediate effect, hoping that she would live off her pension fund.
However, in the same month of her resignation, the SIU approached the Special Tribunal to freeze her pension benefits.
Yesterday, Kganyago said the SIU was granted a preservation order against Mhlongo.
“The SIU welcomes the preservation order granted by the Special Tribunal. This is a continuation of the implementation of the SIU investigation outcomes and consequence management to recover assets and financial losses suffered by state institutions and/or to prevent further losses.
“The Special Tribunal order interdicts and restrains the Government Employees Pension Fund from paying out or transferring any benefits due to Dr Mhlongo, pending the final determination of civil proceedings, for recovery of damages or losses suffered by the department and disgorgement of profit derived from unlawful contracts and secret profits,” he said.
The SA Medical Association Trade Union’s Limpopo executive committee has been calling for fruitless expenditure within the provincial health department to be dealt with.
The union decried the state of dilapidation of health-care facilities in Limpopo, including a lack of MRI scan machines and a shortage of permanent doctors, among other problems.
“The dilapidated infrastructure of provincial hospitals has become hazardous to both employees and community members. This is inclusive of the poor state of doctors’ quarters that had become fertile ground for criminals.
“There has been a lack of accountability and mismanagement of funds, which has been playing itself in various platforms and further contained in the report of the SIU.
“These are amongst burning issues that (the union) has been raising with the department and most unfortunate, fell on deaf ears,” said the committee.
Spokesperson in Mathabatha’s office, Ndavhe Ramukuela, said service delivery would not be negatively impacted by Mhlongo’s civil matters.
“This individual is no longer in the employ of the provincial government. She resigned six months ago and is facing these SIU challenges as an individual since we no longer have a contractual relationship with her,” said Ramukuela.
Ramukuela said the provincial government would have been affected if they were paying for Mhlongo’s legal fees.
“Since she is no longer employed by the provincial government, it means she pays for her own legal fees.
“So, whatever happens with the SIU, has no bearing on continued service delivery. For that reason, the provincial government has no reason to comment much on the matter,” said Ramukuela.
Pretoria News