Suspended Gauteng department of health director of mental services yesterday blamed former health MEC Qedani Mahlangu for the move to place mentally ill patients from Life Esidimeni to NGOs around Gauteng.
Dr Makgabo Manamela said if Mahlangu had approved a stop to the move she would had complied. "We told the MEC we were not ready. We would have stopped had she approved it. We never planned that anyone should lose their life," she said.
Manamela said officials were pressured to complete the move before the end of June 2015.
Manamela was grilled at the Life Esidimeni hearings in Parktown, Johannesburg.
She contradicted herself on the stand, and had to be told frequently by retired justice Dikgang Moseneke to speak slowly and answer questions.
She was taken to task about how she issued licences to NGOs that did not have the capacity to care for patients.
She headed the department's NGO project responsible for the move that resulted in the death of 143 mentally ill patients.
During the process, Manamela issued an operating licence to Precious Angels, a facility that had no beds to accommodate patients.
Moseneke wanted to know why she issued the licence.
"In February you were told that there were no beds at this NGO and two months later you issued them with a licence. How did that happen?"
Manamela said Ethel Ncube, who ran the NGO, told her team she had a new place but she did not occupy the new premises.
Manamela said the issuing of the licences was due to human error.
'Qedani made me do it' - Rush to follow MEC's orders
Suspended Gauteng department of health director of mental services yesterday blamed former health MEC Qedani Mahlangu for the move to place mentally ill patients from Life Esidimeni to NGOs around Gauteng.
Dr Makgabo Manamela said if Mahlangu had approved a stop to the move she would had complied. "We told the MEC we were not ready. We would have stopped had she approved it. We never planned that anyone should lose their life," she said.
Manamela said officials were pressured to complete the move before the end of June 2015.
Manamela was grilled at the Life Esidimeni hearings in Parktown, Johannesburg.
She contradicted herself on the stand, and had to be told frequently by retired justice Dikgang Moseneke to speak slowly and answer questions.
She was taken to task about how she issued licences to NGOs that did not have the capacity to care for patients.
She headed the department's NGO project responsible for the move that resulted in the death of 143 mentally ill patients.
During the process, Manamela issued an operating licence to Precious Angels, a facility that had no beds to accommodate patients.
Moseneke wanted to know why she issued the licence.
"In February you were told that there were no beds at this NGO and two months later you issued them with a licence. How did that happen?"
Manamela said Ethel Ncube, who ran the NGO, told her team she had a new place but she did not occupy the new premises.
Manamela said the issuing of the licences was due to human error.
She said another facility, Siyabadinga, was not selected to care for patients, but it was allocated a number of patients.
Manamela said the first patient died at this NGO.
"I was devastated," she said.
But Moseneke would have none of it, and pressed her for answers.
Two NGO owners already testified they were "forced" by Manamela to take patients they couldn't accommodate.
Manamela denied this, saying: "That is not true. That is not true."
Moseneke asked Manamela who gave her permission to take human beings and spread them around NGOs. "It was a collective decision," she said.
Manamela, who has a PhD in psychiatric nursing, admitted she met with patients' families before the move, and knew they did not want their loved ones to be moved.
She said 773 patients at Life Esidimeni homes had "no known family members".
Manamela said she could not take all the blame because they worked as a team.