Senior manager claims she was removed after blowing whistle on scam at Uitenhage hospital

The acting district manager for Nelson Mandela Bay’s clinics and Uitenhage Provincial Hospital, Sonia Lupondwana, has been removed from her position.

Lupondwana claimed on Tuesday that she was being “silenced” because she blew the whistle on a scam at Uitenhage Provincial Hospital, inside which she claimed state officials were running a private hospital for payment using resources from the Eastern Cape Department of Health.

The department’s spokesperson, Siyanda Manana, said Lupondwana’s claims were false. He confirmed that a rogue private hospital was being run from inside the Uitenhage Provincial Hospital, but said that staff members, not Lupondwana, had informed the department of this.

“We are investigating. Surely we won’t silence a person who means good. If we did, it means we are part of the corruption,” he said.

The head of the department, Dr Rolene Wagner, wrote to Lupondwana that she had instituted an investigation into the issues raised by her. Wagner added that Lupondwana would be reassigned as the director of primary healthcare — a position that reports to the district manager.

Before this, staff at the district health office lodged a litany of complaints against Lupondwana at the provincial legislature in an unsuccessful attempt to have her removed.

The allegations included that Lupondwana failed to act during a life-threatening strike at the Uitenhage Provincial Hospital this month.

Community cries for help in that instance led to Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Health getting involved in an attempt to restore services at the hospital.

Lupondwana said she failed to intervene because she had been suffering from raised blood pressure and could not deal with an emotionally charged issue like the strike.

In a letter to Wagner, Lupondwana alleged that road accident files at the hospital were sold for R600 each, that car tyres were bought for private individuals using the hospital’s budget and that parts of the hospital were run as a private hospital using state resources.

She said she had to handle the strike without assistance.

Manana said Lupondwana had been appointed to her position pending a review of the department’s organisational structure.

“Her moving to her substantive post as director for primary healthcare is standard administrative practice and does not amount to a suspension or punitive action,” he said. “Our primary objective is to improve service delivery to the people of Nelson Mandela Bay. This requires teamwork, collaboration and focus.

“The department is unable to comment in detail on the ongoing internal processes, but we wish to state that no disciplinary action has been instituted against Lupondwana at this time. Any internal preliminary assessments or investigations do not equate to formal disciplinary action.

“Should formal processes be initiated, due process will be followed and the employee concerned will be informed accordingly.”

Lupondwana said she had obtained a court order for her to be appointed as the district health manager, and that only the MEC, Ntandokazi Capa, could remove her.

She said she would consider going back to court to be reinstated. DM