The Democratic Alliance (DA) on Tuesday proposed a motion of no confidence in Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang and called for her dismissal.
Giving notice in the National Assembly of a substantive motion, DA parliamentary leader Sandra Botha said Tshabalala-Msimang, ”while holding the position of medical superintendent of the Athlone Hospital in Botswana in the period 1973 to 1976, was convicted on a criminal charge of theft, and was dismissed from her position and declared a prohibited immigrant by the Botswana government for a period of ten years”.
The existence of this conviction was never disclosed to the South African public, despite the position of trust she was placed in as minister of health, which made any conduct reflecting on her honesty and integrity highly pertinent, Botha said.
The medical fraternity in particular, and civil society in general, had lost faith in the minister’s ability to effectively discharge her duties.
The minister’s decision to downplay the crisis at Frere Hospital was the latest in a long list of examples of poor management of the nation’s healthcare system.
”The minister, together with the president, sought to have the former deputy minister of health dismissed from office for political reasons, unrelated to her performance as deputy minister.
”I will therefore move that this House has no confidence in the health minister, and that she should resign forthwith. If she fails to do so, the president should dismiss her,” Botha said.
However, Speaker Baleka Mbete said it was not clear whether Botha’s motion was a substantive motion or a motion of no confidence.
Mbete said she would consider the matter and report back to the House.
Evidence
The Public Service Accountability Monitor (PSAM) said on Tuesday that the evidence President Mbeki needed to sack Tshabalala-Msimang was contained in the Auditor General’s reports.
”If President Mbeki needs evidence for the removal of Tshabalala-Msimang, he need look no further than the Auditor General’s and annual reports of South Africa’s national and provincial health departments,” the PSAM said in a statement.
The reports show that, during her time as minister of health, Tshabalala-Msimang had failed to ensure adequate financial management and had failed to ensure a reduction in the shortage of skilled health workers in South Africa, the PSAM statement read.
Amongst other things, the Auditor General found late or non-submission of monthly and quarterly financial reports by provinces, resulting in the national department not being able to properly monitor expenditure; quarterly visits to provinces were not always conducted; and the minister had failed to ensure that her accounting officer had maintained oversight over the financial management of provincial departments.
‘Without foundation’
Meanwhile, claims by the DA that Mbeki intervened in Tshabalala-Msimang’s liver-transplant process are intended to injure Mbeki’s reputation, the Presidency said on Tuesday.
”The Presidency has noted the DA’s claims that President Mbeki called doctors at the Donald Gordon Medical Centre to insist that they approve a liver transplant for the minister of health,” a statement read.
”The Presidency also notes that the DA has approached the Public Protector to investigate its claims.
”The Presidency would like to inform the nation that the allegations made by the DA are in all respects without foundation. They are intended to score political points, to injure the office of the Presidency and the reputation of the president.
”In this regard, the Presidency, while respecting the right of the DA to approach the Public Protector, rejects the allegations with the contempt they deserve.”
Earlier, presidential spokesperson Mukoni Ratshitanga said: ”The DA’s claims are complete fiction. At no stage did the president call any doctor there, and at no stage did he contemplate doing so.”
The DA claimed that, according to an independent source, Mbeki phoned the Donald Gordon Medical Centre in Johannesburg, where the transplant was performed earlier this year, and insisted Tshabalala-Msimang receive the next available donor liver, irrespective of where she was on the waiting list.
It submitted a request for an investigation into this claim to Public Protector Lawrence Mushwana, and also wrote to the medical centre to establish the health minister’s position on the waiting list.
It would submit a parliamentary question on the subject on Tuesday.
The party is basing its inquiry on its contention that, if true, this would be an abuse of power.
The Public Protector’s office confirmed receiving the request and the office’s spokesperson, Charles Phahlane, said Mushwana would examine it and decide how to proceed. — Sapa