Mr Fix-it: Even if the ANC loses Gauteng in 2019
Gauteng Premier David Makhura has denied his office had any role in the deaths of more than 100 mental health patients who died after they were transferred from Life Esidimeni to unlicensed nongovernmental organisations.
Makhura said this during his State of the Province address (Sopa) on Monday.
Earlier on Monday, members of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) held crosses in remembrance of the dead and called for Makhura to resign. The EFF protested outside the Greenhills Stadium in Randfontein where Makhura made his speech.
The party has also laid criminal charges against Makhura and former health MEC Qedani Mahlangu, who stepped down shortly after the health ombudsman published his findings on the deaths.
Life Esidimeni has, for years, provided healthcare services to indigent patients, under contract to the national and provincial Departments of Health and Social Development.
Makhura said his office had not been involved in the decision to move 1 300 Life Esidimeni patients to 27 NGOs, allegedly in a bid to save government money.
“I would like to state categorically that the decision to transfer Life Esidimeni mental health patients to NGOs was not made in consultation with the provincial executive council. The executive council and I would have never approved a plan to outsource mental health, a primary responsibility of the state to care for the vulnerable in society, to NGOs,” Makhura said.
The premier began his speech by acknowledging the patients and their families, saying that the Gauteng government has been working with families to implement the remedial action set out in in the report by health ombud Professor Malegapuru Makgoba.
Over the weekend, Makhura met some of the families and promised them that he would focus on restorative justice for the deceased in the final two years of his term in office.
“I want to reiterate the commitment I made to the families on Saturday: I will spend the remainder of my term over the next two years, to ensure that there is restorative justice and healing for the families and take every executive action possible to restore confidence in our public health system.”
A health department at fault
Makhura suggested that it was primarily the decisions made by the Gauteng health department which led to the deaths of the patients.
“The provincial department of health had repeatedly reported that, as a result of the new hospitals and community health centres, they had enough beds in public health facilities that could accommodate public patients from private health facilities such as Selby Hospital and Life Esidimeni centres,” he said.
The report by the health ombud said the NGOs were not adequately resourced and and people were not trained to treat mental health patients. The report stated that Makhura did not make the decision to transfer the patients but the “decision to start deinstitutionalisation of mental health care users from [Life Esidimeni] was undertaken in the office of the premier of Gauteng, the Honourable David Makhura, together with the HoD”.
Others have found it hard to believe that Makhura, as premier of the province, knew as little about the saga as he claims.
Ahead of his Sopa speech, residents in Randfontein called on Makhura to resign. One resident, Donovan Cloete, told The Citizen that the premier had an onus to take responsibility for the deaths.
“The MEC resigning is not enough and we also feel that the premier must also do the right thing and step down because the tragedy happened right under his nose,” Cloete said.
The Democratic Alliance has also called for Makhura to step down. The party’s spokesperson on health, Jack Bloom, said Makhura had acted too late and people had died as a result.
“Lives could have been saved if the premier had acted earlier by firing Mahlangu and appointing a new MEC to oversee the transfer of patients from unlicensed NGOs to reputable institutions, which is only happening now after the ombud’s report,” Bloom said.
A monument for the deceased
Makhura promised on Monday that the Gauteng government would erect a memorial for the patients. He also said that the remedial action recommended by Makgoba had been initiated.
It includes disciplinary proceedings and corrective disciplinary action against those implicated in the saga. Makgoba said the remedial actions should be instituted within 45 days as of February 1.
Makhura said the deaths had compelled him to launch a nationwide inspection of health facilities dealing with South Africa’s most vulnerable citizens.
“Learning from this tragic death of mental health patients, I have decided to institute a wide-ranging inspection and condition assessment of all centres that care for the most vulnerable – the elderly, people with disabilities and children – whether they are operated by the public, private or NGO sectors,” he said.