News24 reports that more than 100 senior management service (SMS) officials in the Gauteng health department have submitted their documents for vetting by the State Security Agency (SSA).
According to Gauteng MEC for Health and Wellness, Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko, the process will strengthen the department's governance systems. Of the 106 human resources (HR) and supply chain management (SCM) employees, 104 have submitted their documents, two missed the deadline, while nine have received clearance from the SSA. The department said the SSA would vet about 1,600 employees in total. "In addition to the SMS members, 1,487 SCM and HR officials have submitted their completed forms for SSA to process, making the total number of officials being vetted 1,593. The vetting process is a detailed exercise that is quite involved and requires officials to submit various documents and references," the department indicated. It came under scrutiny after corruption allegations were brought to light by the murder of whistleblower Babita Deokaran in August 2021. Deokaran had been a senior finance official in the department and she flagged several suspicious payments relating to the R1 billion Tembisa Hospital tender scandal.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Cebelihle Bhengu at News24
- See too, More than 1,000 officials in Gauteng health, HR subjected to vetting process, at TimesLive
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