Seven Eastern Cape emergency services staff have been dismissed following a soccer jaunt at government expense, the provincial health department said on Thursday.
Spokesperson Sizwe Kupelo said the seven were dismissed after being found guilty at an internal disciplinary hearing on Wednesday.
They allegedly used a provincial air ambulance to fly to Bloemfontein for a Confederations Cup match in June last year.
The jaunt cost the province R182 000, Kupelo said. They included the chief emergency operations officer in the province, and senior staff from various centres. An eighth official was found not guilty. The seven had a right to appeal.
The department earlier this year terminated that air ambulance contract after uncovering irregularities totalling millions of rands, including claims for six hour flights from East London to Mthatha, triple the driving time, and six hours back.
The department is now hiring air ambulance services on a month-to-month basis.
The province’s head of emergency medical services, Shanks Maharaj, resigned in February after news of the jaunt emerged. – Sapa