Africa-Press – South-Africa. Dr Makgabo Manamela, the former head of mental health at the Gauteng health department, has detailed how it was not “practical” to move patients to NGOs.
However, she said because of former Gauteng health MEC Qedani Mahlangu’s “forceful” management style, officials were forced to comply.
On her second day on the stand at the Life Esidimeni inquest, being heard virtually in the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, Manamela said when Mahlangu announced the termination project, there were 1 442 patients at Life Esidimeni hospitals.
The province only had 116 free NGO beds.
“We did not have enough NGOs. It was impractical.”
Manamela told the court that she continued with the project because there was a service level agreement (SLA) that indicated patients needed to be removed from Life Esidimeni in six months.
“There was no reason to refuse a legal instruction.”
She said in weekly meetings, Mahlangu did not give officials space to disagree with her, threatening them with firing.
She said:
“In the mental health directorate, we look at the legality of the termination in terms of SLA and find that we don’t have a leg to stand on and refuse to do it. But in these meetings, we worked under so much pressure. They would say if you don’t want to do it, you rather leave the department. That you will be fired if it is not happening. You go to that meeting with fear. You go to those meetings not being at rest. The environment was not conducive.”
She said she did not have the power to stop the project. Still, she encouraged organisations like the South African Society of Psychiatrists to write letters to Mahlangu and former Gauteng health HOD Dr Tiego Barney Selebano about their unhappiness.
The inquest aims to determine whether anyone can be held criminally liable for the deaths of 141 mental healthcare patients, who died after being moved to NGOs from Life Esidimeni facilities.
The inquest continues on Wednesday.
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