A departmental inquiry into Sarafina II has cleared three officials and slapped a fourth on the wrist, reports Jim Day
FOUR officials investigated by the Department of Health for their role in Sarafina II, the ill-fated Aids awareness play that cost taxpayers several million rands, have escaped with their jobs.
Responding to a request by the Mail & Guardian this week, Health Department Director General Dr Olive Shisana released details of the steps the department has taken to prevent a replay of the Sarafina fiasco: three officials were cleared of any wrongdoing, and a fourth was slapped on the wrist.
The credibility of the department, and in particular Health Minister Nkosazana Zuma, was severely strained last year when it emerged that the department, ignoring normal tendering procedures, had agreed to spend R14,2-million on Sarafina II.
The musical, produced by Mbongeni Ngema and his Committed Artists theatre company, was panned, and the role of the department was subjected to an investigation by Public Protector Selby Baqwa.
In his damning report last May, Baqwa laid much of the blame on Hugo Badenhorst, the chief director of departmental services, and Johnny Angelo, chair of the departmental tender committee.
But Shisana said the departmental investigation into the actions of four officials – Badenhorst, Angelo and two unnamed officials – cleared three of them of misconduct. The fourth “has been reprimanded and warned that signing misleading documents will not be tolerated”, she wrote in a report she gave to the M&G.
She declined to give names, though Baqwa’s report pointed to Angelo as the one who had signed a note which led Shisana to believe the tender committee had approved the bid by Committed Artists. The committee in fact had not.
Shisana’s report listed other steps the department has taken to prevent future Sarafinas, including appointing three senior officials to the tender committee.
The head of the legal section, SA Ramasala, whose inexperience, Baqwa said, had contributed to the vague and poorly written contract with Committed Artists, has been given further training in “legal drafting”. A principal legal adviser will be hired, she said. The department is currently being assisted by a legal adviser from the Ministry of Justice.
Shisana’s report remains vague on how much the department recovered of the more than R10-million paid to Committed Artists before the contract was cancelled last June. It states: “All assets remaining under the control of Committed Artists have been repossessed, with the exception of furniture and equipment which was the subject of a legal claim.” The report does not mention how much those assets are worth, or how much more can be recovered.
A report focusing on the financial aspects of Sarafina II is expected from the auditor general later this month.