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The Democratic Alliance (DA) is calling for the immediate suspension of the former acting Head of Department (HOD) of Health, Dr Dion Theys, and current Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Mr Mosimanagape Gaborone, following their arrest by the Hawks yesterday. Both senior officials have been implicated in a very serious case allegedly relating to the awarding of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) contracts valued at R43 million, without following prescribed procurement procedures.

Yesterday’s arrest by the Hawks is the second arrest in less than six months for Dr Theys and follows his initial arrest in March this year, in relation to lease agreements for accommodation for nursing students believed to amount to R96 million.

Mr Gaborone is also no newcomer to the recourse of the law and was previously implicated in the controversial Intaka case.

The DA has on numerous occasions questioned the decision by the Premier, Dr Zamani Saul, to simply transfer Dr Theys from his acting HOD position, straight back into his former senior management position of provincial medical director after the March arrest. Now, with Dr Theys, and Mr Gabarone, being implicated in yet another case, we cannot accept that either of them continues to operate from positions of influence within the Health Department.

The DA has long voiced our concern about inherent corruption within the Northern Cape Health Department and, while we welcome the firm stance being taken by the Hawks against corruption, we should not expect law enforcement to fight state-orientated criminality in isolation.

The Health Department, more than any other department, must take responsibility for wrongdoing within by instituting its own internal disciplinary proceedings and by removing further risk posed to the institution by individuals such as Dr Theys and Mr Gaborone.

A number of damning allegations related to the health department have come out of the Auditor-General’s report on Covid-19 related corruption, which is no doubt only the tip of the iceberg. From our side, the DA will also be requesting urgent reports from the department on the progress in relation to investigations into these findings that also relate to controversial PPE contracts.

Issued by The DA