Western Cape Health MEC in hot water for boasting about holiday on Facebook

Western Cape Premier, Alan Winde, has described a social media post in which Health MEC, Nomafrench Mbombo, boasts about going on holiday as “just unacceptable”.

Mbombo posted the message on Facebook two days before Christmas along with a video of her singing and dancing. In the message, she said she was on her way to Limpopo for the holidays – a time when overstretched health workers in her province are complaining that Covid-19 infections are out of control.

Winde told Jeremy van Wyk on Cape Talk on Monday that his whole team was on standby during the holiday season and that there were stand-ins for those who did take leave, “whether you’re a minister or a head of department.”

He said Mbombo had been sitting in on meetings on a daily basis, but remotely, through Microsoft Teams.

However, he added that he did not approve of her Facebook post.

He said: “I must also say that, quite frankly, that social media posting was just unacceptable. That was not the right message that we want to send out.”

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Asked whether he would pursue disciplinary action against her, he said: “I have spoken to her and I will be having a further discussion with her.”

The post is still up on Facebook and hasn’t been deleted.

The ANC described Mbombo’s post as one that was “in utter bad taste” and said she was not fit for purpose. Mbombo, at the time, said she was not aware of any negative reactions to her post.

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