The Citizen reports that the Democratic Alliance (DA) has asked the office of the Public Protector to investigate suspended Tembisa Hospital CEO Ashley Mthunzi’s appointment by the provincial Department of Health last year.

Last week, the department denied that Mthunzi faced disciplinary action at the time his appointment was effected. According to the DA’s Gauteng health spokesperson Jack Bloom, the department accused him of “sensational allegations and deliberate distortion of facts”” after he stated that Mthunzi was appointed even though he was facing a disciplinary charge that should have disqualified him. According Bloom, Gauteng Health MEC Nomathemba Mokgethi told him in a written reply on 15 September 2021 that Mthunzi was facing a disciplinary hearing based on misconduct and was given a final written warning. He said she further indicated that Mthunzi was supposed to be disciplined for allegedly contravening the department’s recruitment and selection policy. “It is clear … that Mthunzi was indeed facing a disciplinary hearing when he was at Pholosong Hospital, and that it was wrong that this information was not given to the Selection Committee. Why is the department now contradicting an official reply by the Health MEC?,” Bloom asked. Mthunzi is now suspended – together with chief financial officer Lerato Madyo – over the improper procurement and payment of service providers at Tembisa Hospital totaling R850 million. Mthunzi is married to Young Nurses Indaba Trade Union (YNITU) secretary Lerato Mthunzi. The union has come to his defence regarding the serious corruption allegations he faces.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Getrude Makhafola at The Citizen
• Read too, Gauteng Health fires back at Bloom, on page 1 of The Star of 23 September 2022

Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page