Thabiso Goba31 July 2024 | 14:46

Opposition takes Gauteng Health MEC to task over mismanagement of her budget

Nkomo-Ralehoko, who is returning for a second stint on the post tabled her department budgets before the Gauteng legislature today.

Opposition takes Gauteng Health MEC to task over mismanagement of her budget

FILE: Gauteng Health MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko (centre). Picture: @NkomoNomantu/X

JOHANNESBURG - Opposition parties in Gauteng have taken Health MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko to task over the mismanagement of her department’s budget.

Nkomo-Ralehoko, who is returning for a second stint on the post, tabled her department's budget before the Gauteng legislature on Wednesday.

The health department eats up a large majority of the provincial government’s overall budget, with just over R64 billion allocated to it for this financial year.

Democratic Alliance (DA) provincial health spokesperson, Jack Bloom, said that the budget for this department now surpassed the per capita basis for Gauteng’s population.

"The really big question is whether this huge budget is being spent properly. Many good things are being done by dedicated workers who really want to do the best for our people but they are let down by top management. The Auditor-General reports have painted a picture for many years of terrible financial mismanagement and massive misspending; the scandals never seem to stop."

Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) Gauteng Legislature member, Koketso Poho, said that the public health issues in the province had more to do with the mismanagement of funds than a shortage of them.

"Firstly, we must address the department's egregious failure to spend the allocated budget for oncology. Cancer patients are languishing in pain, waiting for treatment that is indefinitely delayed due to administrative inefficiencies and bureaucracy. This is not just a budgetary oversight, it’s a matter of life and death."