Former Gauteng health MEC Qedani Mahlangu told the inquest held in the Pretoria high court that she did not believe she had contravened the constitution or violated the rights of Life Esidimeni victims.
Throughout the week she was questioned by different lawyers to assist the court in determining if anyone is liable for the deaths of 144 mental healthcare patients in 2016.
“I know that the constitution is binding on all of us as public officials. I was not admitting that I violated the provisions of the constitution.”
Part of her testimony on Thursday highlighted an alleged financial burden in the department which resulted in budgetary constraints: the corruption allegations against the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) for corruption.
The SIU was instructed by President Cyril Ramaphosa to investigate multiple allegations of maladministration, improper or unlawful conduct and intentional or negligent loss of public money.
The allegations cover the period from July 1 2015 to the present.
The tenders include renovation contracts for the virology laboratory at Charlotte Maxeke Academic Hospital, the library at the National Institute of Occupational Health, the Centre for Respiratory Diseases and Meningitis, and toilets at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases.
“That was one of the thorny issues we were dealing with at the time, there was a Treasury investigation regarding costs attributed to the national laboratory, and as a result, they owed Treasury money. It was one of the cost drivers. This was one of the items causing difficulties,” Mahlangu said.
During the week, Adv Adila Hassim, representing the public interest law centre Section 27 and the families of the mental healthcare users, dealt with the letter from the Society of Psychiatrists on their primary concern of the reduction of beds at Life Esidimeni.
She sought Mahlangu’s evidence on whether she thought the deinstitutionalisation of mental health patients was undertaken at a rapid pace, and of details of certain meetings where the decision to terminate the contract took place.
She said the decision to close Life Esidimeni was to curb spending and save more than R300m.
“I would like to repeat that we were not going to throw any patients away. We were saving the R300m that we were spending at Life.
“If we had R300m to pay for these patients, great, let’s go ahead with the contract. But we didn’t have the money,” she said.
TimesLIVE
‘I didn’t violate the constitution, Qedani Mahlangu on Life Esidimeni deaths
Image: THULANI MBELE
Former Gauteng health MEC Qedani Mahlangu told the inquest held in the Pretoria high court that she did not believe she had contravened the constitution or violated the rights of Life Esidimeni victims.
Throughout the week she was questioned by different lawyers to assist the court in determining if anyone is liable for the deaths of 144 mental healthcare patients in 2016.
“I know that the constitution is binding on all of us as public officials. I was not admitting that I violated the provisions of the constitution.”
Part of her testimony on Thursday highlighted an alleged financial burden in the department which resulted in budgetary constraints: the corruption allegations against the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) for corruption.
The SIU was instructed by President Cyril Ramaphosa to investigate multiple allegations of maladministration, improper or unlawful conduct and intentional or negligent loss of public money.
The allegations cover the period from July 1 2015 to the present.
The tenders include renovation contracts for the virology laboratory at Charlotte Maxeke Academic Hospital, the library at the National Institute of Occupational Health, the Centre for Respiratory Diseases and Meningitis, and toilets at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases.
“That was one of the thorny issues we were dealing with at the time, there was a Treasury investigation regarding costs attributed to the national laboratory, and as a result, they owed Treasury money. It was one of the cost drivers. This was one of the items causing difficulties,” Mahlangu said.
During the week, Adv Adila Hassim, representing the public interest law centre Section 27 and the families of the mental healthcare users, dealt with the letter from the Society of Psychiatrists on their primary concern of the reduction of beds at Life Esidimeni.
She sought Mahlangu’s evidence on whether she thought the deinstitutionalisation of mental health patients was undertaken at a rapid pace, and of details of certain meetings where the decision to terminate the contract took place.
She said the decision to close Life Esidimeni was to curb spending and save more than R300m.
“I would like to repeat that we were not going to throw any patients away. We were saving the R300m that we were spending at Life.
“If we had R300m to pay for these patients, great, let’s go ahead with the contract. But we didn’t have the money,” she said.
TimesLIVE
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