The Minister of Health, Dr. Joe Phaahla, has announced that seven employees in his department embroiled in the fraudulent Digital Vibes tender scandal were due to be slapped with suspension letters by the end of business on Thursday.
The suspension follows President Cyril Ramaphosa’s decision to publish the long-awaited final report by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) into the Department of Health’s award of the National Health Insurance media campaign and COVID-19 communications to Digital Vibes.
In his statement, he explained that the seven would be suspended pending the completion of the disciplinary proceedings.
“We have completed our review of the Ngubane report and the SIU documentation regarding possible misconduct by nine officials. It is also important to note that three of the nine officials mentioned in the report do not work for the Department of Health,” said Dr. Phaahla.
According to Dr. Phaahla, the three officials are employees from other government departments, whose Director Generals have been informed of the health department’s disciplinary process., saying his department has been able to deal directly with the disciplinary process of seven officials implicated in this report.
He said acting-Director General Dr. Nicholas Crisp has written to the DGs of Government Communication Information System and the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, and Chief Executive Officer of the Government Printing Works, where the other three officials mentioned in the SIU report, to inform them of the Department of Health’s actions.
“Our intention was to explain to them the Department’s course of action and to offer them a chance to participate in the same investigation and disciplinary process. “Disciplinary processes are matters between the employer and employee, and the public service is governed by the Public Service Act and Regulations,” he said.
“By the end of business today, all seven impacted health department officials will have received suspension letters, pending the outcome of the disciplinary hearing and formalization of accusations. The ongoing disciplinary investigations will require investigators communicating with the SIU and procurement specialists, “Dr. Phaahla said.
He said the department has taken note of the serious allegations against several senior government officials, notably the acting Director General of the Department of Health, Dr. Anban Pillay, who was Deputy Director General for Health Regulations and Compliance at the time the Digital Vibes contract was awarded.
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