Lekwene held a media briefing earlier on Thursday to give an update on the state of provincial healthcare services.

The provincial DA leader, Harold McGluwa, and the provincial chairperson and spokesperson of Health, Isak Fritz, conveyed a press briefing last week in which they announced that the party wants the Northern Cape Department of Health to be placed under administration.

Both DA representatives stated that there have been no improvements in audit outcomes in the past five years whilst the department has obtained qualified opinions while people are dying. Lekwene said that the department was not surprised by the misleading statement that was made by the opposition party.

“The department has looked at the views of the official Democratic Alliance (DA). These views are based on outdated information. The attempt to portray the Department of Health as having collapsed or collapsing is an attempt to scrape the bottom of the barrel to seek political relevance. Interestingly, the DA is attempting to preempt the appearance of the Department of Health,” said Lekwene.

He said that the Auditor-General, Northern Cape Public Service Commissioner, and other stakeholders are satisfied with the services of the Northern Cape Health Department.

Also read: Health issues highlighted during PPS visit in NC

OFM News reported that the Northern Cape Premier, Zamani Saul, had announced that his government was working in earnest to look at ways to improve the management of health facilities as a critical aspect of moving the health system forward. Meanwhile, Lekwene added that the department’s main objective is to keep on improving the quality of health services provided to the people.

OFM News