Staff Reporter
Bloemfontein – The Free State Department of Health is on the verge of being placed under administration, as officials scramble to delay what insiders describe as the inevitable collapse of governance.
According to multiple sources within the department, the looming intervention is driven by persistent failures in financial control and service delivery.
The department has had three heads of department in just three years, a level of instability that insiders say has crippled long-term planning and accountability.
2023 ANC Conference: Where It Began to Unravel
The wheels began coming off shortly after the ANC’s provincial conference, when a newly sworn-in EXCO saw Montsheng Tsiu replaced by Mathabo Leeto.
First Casualty
Soon after the EXCO changes, Advocate Molemane Thebe, the then Chief Director: Infrastructure, was transferred to the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA).
ANC Deployment at Play
What followed was a series of deployment-driven appointments.
Mathabo Leeto reportedly lobbied the ANC deployment committee to have Sinah January appointed as Chief Director: Supply Chain Management (SCM). Following January’s promotion, her previous position became vacant.
Leeto again intervened, pushing for Advocate Mokgobo, then Deputy Director: SCM at the Department of Education, to be transferred to Health. The move was approved.
Mokgobo has since been acting Director: SCM, despite the presence of other qualified and experienced officials within the Department of Health.
Mokgobo’s transfer from Education to Health meant Simon Thulo, a supply chain specialist would be overlooked and indeed he was.
Thulo who recorded clean audits in almost all departments he worked at was completly isolated and even transferred to Pelonomi just to keep Mokgobo in charge of SCM.
STEPUPSANEWS has previously reported that Leeto allegedly requested lists of companies to be prioritised for payment, raising serious concerns about procurement interference.
Service Delivery Collapse
At one point, Leeto halted the recruitment of junior staff members — a decision that insiders say directly worsened service delivery across health facilities.
Under Leeto the department signed a contract with Vodacom for Bophelo App, Patient File Digitisation and procured 10 000 blankets.
Premier’s Role Questioned
Free State Premier Joyce “Pretenders” Mathae, herself an ANC deployee, is also accused of playing a central role in the department’s deterioration.
Upon assuming office, Mathae instructed that Advocate Mokgobo be returned to the Department of Education, only to later reverse the decision and insist she remain at Health.
Mathae also terminated the contracts of Community Health Workers (CHWs), a move that was only reversed following public backlash.
Mathae wanted recruitment of hospital CEOs halted but Sesing put her foot down, that cost her the job at Health.
In another controversial reshuffle, Godfrey Mahlatsi (most experienced administration at the time) was moved from Department of Health to Provincial Treasury while Masechaba Sesing was transferred to Health — only for Sesing to later be moved into the Premier’s Office. She was subsequently replaced by Ernest Mohlahlo.
A Warning Ignored
Sources say these developments are precisely what Dr Takisi Masiteng warned Premier Mathae about, that such political interference would collapse governance in the province.
With the department now teetering on the edge of administration, insiders concede that there is little that Viceroy Mahlatsi can do to arrest the decline because employees are pushed down his throat.
Dr Thabiso Monyane, Chris Elefthrou and Mokete Makepe were all forced on Health.
The system was collapsed intention for purposes other than service delivery.
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