Gauteng government finalising Life Esidimeni legal claims says Lesufi

The Gauteng government is finalising financial claims for the families of the Life Esidimeni victims says Premier Panyaza Lesufi.

Lesufi revealed this during the budget vote for the Premier’s office on Thursday in the Gauteng Legislature.

“We intend to finalise all Life Esidimeni claims by the end of this financial year so that this particular chapter can come to an end,” he said.

Lesufi said the Gauteng government would also build a monument in memory of the deceased victims of the Life Esidimeni tragedy.

Reparations for victims’ families

“This matter is now concluded in court with a clear ruling that will culminate with the completion of the Life Esidimeni monument by the Gauteng provincial government,” he said.

The announcement about the finalization of the claims comes weeks after the High Court in Pretoria found former health MEC Qedani Mahlangu and the Head of Department for Mental Health Makgabo Manamela were responsible for the deaths of some Life Esidimeni patients.

ALSO READ: ‘Life Esidimeni: Portraits of Lives Lost’ pays tribute to 114 lives lost in tragedy

“The judgement on Life Esidimeni should serve as a lesson to all of us to respect and protect the rights of the weak,” Lesufi said.

A total of 144 mental health patients died in 2016 after they were transferred to ill-prepared non-governmental organisations (NGOs) by private healthcare provider Life Esidimeni.

The Gauteng Health MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko also announced several initiatives that would improve health care for mentally ill patients, including better oversight mechanisms that would ensure the safety and well-being of patients.

Meanwhile, Lesufi said the Nasi iSpani jobs initiative will now be taken into the premier’s office.

“We are migrating skills development programmes like the Gauteng City region academy and the Nasi iSpani programme to the office of the premier to mainstream support to all departments,” he said.

ALSO READ: Preventing future tragedies like Life Esidimeni

He said the office of the Premier had received a budget allocation of around R671m for the 2024-2025 financial year.

“Allowing service delivery departments to gain more budget during these difficult fiscal times. The office of the Premier continues to prioritise its budget to safeguard and perform its core mandate,” he said.