/ MEDIA STATEMENT / The content on this page is not written by Polity.org.za, but is supplied by third parties. This content does not constitute news reporting by Polity.org.za.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) welcomes Friday’s ruling by the Kimberley High Court dismissing the appeal of Dr Dion Theys, Northern Cape HOD of Health, on three counts of contravening the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) in relation to him concluding three irregular lease agreements for nursing accommodation.

This is a victory for the fight against corruption, which has brought the Northern Cape Department of Health (NCDoH) to its knees.

The Premier, Dr Zamani Saul, can no longer protect Theys, who was spared internal disciplinary processes and transferred back to his former position of Medical Director while appealing the case, where he continued to earn a salary greater than an HOD.

The Premier must now fire Theys and unfreeze the HOD position, so that a fit-for-purpose candidate, not cadre, can take charge of the broken health department.

The Premier must also be held accountable for appointing Theys to the position of HOD in July 2023, despite being aware that, at the time, Theys was standing trial in the nursing accommodation case. Saul not only gambled with the public purse but also prolonged the appointment of an HOD to the department, which aside from They’s three-month stint as HOD, was run by a string of acting HODs, including Theys, for almost the entire Sixth Administration.

The DA will follow-up on our request to the Public Service Commission (PSC), submitted in September this year, to investigate whether Theys’ recruitment, his internal transfers and promotion to HOD, comply with the regulatory framework applicable to the appointment of staff as prescribed in the Public Service Act 1994, relevant legislation and policies applicable to the department and Public Service Regulations.

We further hope that the two separate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) corruption charges against Theys, which were struck off the roll in October due to the unavailability of the racketeering certificate, will be re-enrolled soon.

Over the past five years, the NCDoH contributed R7.51 billion to the total of R46.25 billion irregular expenditure incurred by provincial health departments. It is high time that people are held liable for this.

Issued by Harold McGluwa MPL - Northern Cape Provincial Leader