By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The director-general of the national Department of Health, Sandile Buthelezi, has been placed on precautionary suspension.
Prior to Buthelezi’s precautionary suspension,He had requested two weeks to prepare a response to allegations about his role in the Digital Vibes saga.
The Special Investigating Unit’s (SIU) inquiry into the scandal will likely result in the suspension of a number of senior health department officials.
The SIU cites Buthelezi, as the thirtieth respondent, in his capacity as representative of the National Department of Health and was the accounting authority,what happened could have not happened without his knowledge.
In the remainder of 2020, Buthelezi, who has described former health minister Zweli Mkhize as his personal mentor, authorised “in excess of R60-million” in further payments to Digital Vibes.
With pending disciplinary inquiries and the Special Tribunal hearing and NPA investigations all ongoing, it is clear that the Digital Vibes matter still has some way to run.
Dr Nicholas Crisp, Deputy Director General responsible for National Health Insurance, will continue to act until Buthelezi’s hearing process has been concluded, the national health department said.
Buthelezi was the CEO of the South African National Aids Council (Sanac).
According to Sanac’s website, he has more than 15 years of experience in health governance, policy and programme management.
After serving as a clinician and later medical superintendent in hospitals in KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State, he served for 10 years as KwaZulu-Natal’s provincial head of strategic health programmes, which encompassed HIV, TB, maternal child and women’s health, nutrition and communicable diseases.
Before joining Sanac, Buthelezi was South Africa’s country director for ICAP at Columbia University, which is a division of the New York-based Mailman School of Public Health.