Top Gauteng hospital appointments queried after Public Protector finding

Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka last week released a report that found there were irregularities in the Gauteng Department of Health’s (GDoH) selection and recruitment process of Dr Ashley Mthunzi as the CEO of Tembisa Hospital in July 2021.

Mthunzi was suspended in August 2022 after being implicated in the R1-billion Tembisa Hospital tender scandal.

The report stemmed from a complaint lodged with the Public Protector in September 2022 by DA Gauteng shadow health MEC, Jack Bloom.

Bloom told Daily Maverick that Mthunzi’s irregular appointment could be a sign of what was happening in other hospitals.

“I don’t think it was an oversight that they did not do the pre-employment checks. It is clear some of them didn’t do their jobs… some were just negligent – or didn’t do their jobs diligently,” he said.

“It could be the same with the other positions… we have a similar situation with the CEO of Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital and the controversy around her credentials for the post,” said Bloom.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Red flags raised over disputed credentials of new Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital CEO

The Public Protector’s report found that the GDoH did not adequately conduct pre-employment screening before Mthunzi’s appointment, nor did it conduct all the requisite personnel suitability checks, such as the verification of financial stability, citizenship or identity screening, criminal record and personal security.

Mthunzi died in April 2024 while on suspension.

The report also said the panel which conducted Mthunzi’s interview did not properly ventilate discrepancies on his Z83 form, where Mthunzi said he wasn’t a South African citizen and was already facing disciplinary action.

It said Arnold Malotana’s recommendation of Mthunzi to former Gauteng Health MEC Dr Nomathemba Mokgethi contained material omissions and was not a true reflection of Mthunzi’s candidacy.

Malotana has been acting as the head of the Gauteng Department of Health for more than two years. He is among officials implicated in an alleged tender-rigging scheme and was reportedly a member of the controversial committee that procured personal protective equipment during the pandemic, as well as contracts that are now being investigated for corruption.

Mthunzi’s appointment came against a backdrop of lifestyle audits made mandatory for all national and provincial departments as of April 2021. These audits have still not taken place in Gauteng.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Still no sign of lifestyle audits for Gauteng’s executive, despite promises made months ago

The Public Protector’s office ordered the following remedial action:

• The MEC for Health is to take cognisance of the report and ensure implementation of the remedial action in terms of Section 133 of the Constitution;


• The head of department is within 120 calendar days from the date of the final report to take effective and appropriate steps and embark on a procurement process to appoint a service provider to conduct personnel suitability checks for all senior management personnel including non-senior management personnel in supply chain management.

Motalatale Modiba, spokesperson for the Gauteng Health Department, told Daily Maverick: “The department has noted the report of the Public Protector and has taken effective and appropriate steps to comply with the remedial actions as directed.”

He said the department had advertised a tender for a service provider to conduct personnel sustainability checks in all Gauteng health facilities.

Modiba said members of the selection committee for the CEO of Tembisa Hospital were no longer employed by the GDoH and as such, the Public Protector made no recommendations regarding those who had decided to appoint Mthunzi as CEO.

He said staff received continuous training and development and senior managers underwent competency assessments when they were appointed. Asked about lifestyle audits, Modiba said the 2016 Public Service Regulations required senior managers to disclose their financial interests annually.

The department has still not implemented the recommendations of the Health Ombudsman’s report relating to the care of expectant mothers at Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital.

Meanwhile, the Hawks’ investigation into the Tembisa Hospital PPE scandal is continuing almost two years after Premier Panyaza Lesufi released a Special Investigating Unit report on rampant corruption at the hospital. In the interim, key figures in the scandal have resigned.

Commenting on the slow pace of the probe, Bloom said: “It is concerning and sad to see that the investigations are not translating to anything tangible.” DM