It has been made clear by two political parties that action must be taken against Qedani Mahlangu, the Gauteng Member of the Executive Committee (MEC) for Health.
This follows after Mahlangu confirmed the deaths of 36 psychiatric patients who had been moved from Life Esidimeni, their former care facility in Randfontein.
Jack Bloom, DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Health called for Mahlangu to step down or be fired. He has since launched what he calls the ‘Mahlangu Monitor’ which can be found on Twitter under the hashtag #MahlanguMustGo.
It's now 7 DAYS and Gauteng Health MEC has not been fired after deaths of 36 psychiatric patients #MahlanguMustGo pic.twitter.com/wrsjUJstf1
— Jack Bloom (@JackBloomDA) September 20, 2016
Bloom said that every day Mahlangu remains in office is an insult to those who have died.
Philip van Staden, Freedom Front Plus (FFP) Member of the Provincial Legislature for Gauteng, has stated the party will be considering lodging a criminal complaint against Mahlangu.
“It’s a pity that 36 patients had to die before the Minister decided to take action. This past year, [the] FFP has been investigating the large number of unusual deaths in public hospitals in the province. The party has received numerous complaints in this regard from the public,” said Van Staden.
He added, “It’s time for the MEC of Health to be held accountable.”
Parliamentary Communication Services, on behalf of Cathy Dlamini, the chairperson of the Select Committee on Social Services, has stated that the investigation into the deaths is most welcome and urged that the process be sped up.
“While the committee is cognisant of the need to find alternative measures to care for patients, these measures should have been made with the clear understanding and guarantees that the care of patients would not deteriorate. Every decision that is made must have as its central pillar the delivery of quality care for our people,” said Dlamini.
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