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DENOSA in the Eastern Cape is welcoming the decision taken by Premier, Oscar Mabuyane, to relieve the embattled MEC Of Health, Sindiswa Gomba, of her duties from the department. 

 DENOSA has been following with great concern the allegations of corruption and fraud leveled against the MEC and other mishaps. On 22 April 2020, DENOSA called for MEC Gomba to step down after setting "inadequate PPE example”. Since then, the MEC has been entangled by many misfortunes. It is pleasing to see that ten months later the Premier has finally heeded the call of firing Mrs. Gomba.

 Eastern Cape is one of the hardest-hit provinces since the arrival of the Coronavirus on our shores in nearly a year now. We lamented then that the province was not ready to face the Coronavirus due to chronic malfunctioning of the health system. We raised the lack of leadership and management as some of the reasons that led to the collapse of the system. We also raised the lack of good governance that resulted in the misappropriation of funds. It is therefore only appropriate that the department must be led by the person who is unquestionable when it comes to clean records. The department of health is one of the most challenging in government, and it, therefore, deserves a leader that has undivided attention. It is a good move that Mrs. Gomba should be given an opportunity to defend herself without further suffering of the department.

DENOSA is urging Premier to act swiftly in filling the vacancy of the MEC. There is an urgent need to stabilize the department. The firing of MEC is following at the footsteps of stepping down of the Head Of Department (HoD), Dr Thobile Mbengashe and since then the position remains vacant. This means that the department does not have HoD and MEC. Our health system is currently facing the biggest challenge that it never experienced in modern times. The province cannot afford not to have the head of administration and political head. Otherwise, there is a risk of not taking political decisions and non-implementation of administration decisions in our already compromised health system. 

 We hope and trust that the Premier will appoint a suitable person to the position of the MEC. The person with strong health background and qualifications. We wish to have a young person with new ideas and vision to take our health system out of these doldrums. As we respect the political processes of appointing the MEC, we hope that a health professional will be considered for the position. 

Issud by DENOSA Eastern Cape