The allegations include that the former HR director had been assigned to another job while an investigation into his conduct was being done, but in the three years of his secondment did not turn up for work despite being paid R1.3m a year. After years without a permanent CEO, the provincial health department finally appointed Sicelo Msi, who started work on December 1. Msi previously served in a similar role at Cecilia Makiwane Hospital in Mdantsane.
The department had been without a permanent CEO at Frere since the departure of Dr Rolene Wagner to the provincial health headquarters, where the hospital’s former acting CEO, Mmabatho Ndwandwe, confirmed she was headed. The new claims come after the chair of parliament’s standing committee on appropriations, Dr Mmusi Maimane, wrote to public protector Kholeka Gcaleka last Thursday asking for a formal investigation into the troubled tertiary hospital. Public Protector spokesperson Ndili Msoki on Tuesday said: “The Public Protector South Africa confirms receipt of the complaint.” Maimane told parliament his committee had received confidential information from a whistleblower shortly after the committee’s oversight visit to the hospital in November.
The whistleblower said Ndwandwe — who was acting CEO during the committee’s visit — was suddenly removed “without a clear reason”. Her removal came despite what staff have described as extensive work done in stabilising operations during a leadership vacuum that has stretched over several years. On Tuesday, provincial health spokesperson Siyanda Manana dismissed the allegations, insisting Msi’s recruitment process had been above board. “The Frere CEO post was vacant and filled through a competitive external advert,” he said.
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