The DA will submit questions to the Northern Cape legislature regarding who is footing the legal bills for the officials from the Department of Health who were charged in connection with the alleged irregular procurement of personal protective equipment to the value of R16.9 million during the Covid-19 pandemic.
THE DA will submit questions to the Northern Cape legislature regarding who is footing the legal bills for the officials from the Department of Health who were charged in connection with the alleged irregular procurement of personal protective equipment (PPE) to the value of R16.9 million during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Among the officials charged are the head of the Department of Health, Dr Dion Theys, the chief financial officer, Daniel Gaborone, the deputy director of finance, Victor Nyokong, the supply chain management director, Montgomery Lifa Faas, the supply chain management assistant director, Siyabolela Booi, the assistant director from the communicable diseases unit, Goitsemodimo Piet Moseki, and a retired deputy director in the nursing directorate communicable diseases, Elizabeth Dibueng Manyetsa.
Theys was recently convicted of contravening the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) in relation to the procurement of nursing accommodation at the JP Hugo hostels. He intends to appeal the sentence.
The Department of Health funded the legal costs for Theys and Gaborone in a R43 million PPE tender case, which was provisionally struck off the court roll last year, as well as for Theys’ nursing accommodation charges.
DA provincial leader Harold McGluwa questioned whether the department would also pay the legal costs and bail for the Health officials implicated in the R16.9 million PPE tender.
“The Department of Health must come clean on whether it has recouped legal fees relating to the previous trial of Dr Theys in which he was criminally convicted,” said McGluwa.
“Violations of the PFMA facilitate fraud, corruption and money laundering and are not financial mistakes that can simply be pardoned by government institutions or, even worse, paid for with state funds through endless expenditure on the legal fees of culprits, in addition to the actual losses suffered as a result of crime.”
The MEC for Health, Maruping Lekwene, noted the court proceedings involving nine officials implicated in the R16.9 million PPE tender.
“The department is currently looking into the matter and will provide a way forward after all internal processes have been finalised in line with relevant legislation. A comprehensive media statement will be issued in due course, to appraise the public on our position going forward,” said Lekwene.
Provincial Department of Health spokesperson Lebogang Majaha added that they would respond accordingly once questions to the legislature were submitted by the DA.
