FILE PHOTO: Mr Trevor Manuel has implore the president to act with urgency in removing the minister of cooking from the critical portfolio. PICTURE: Business Day
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0 JOHANNESBURG: Dr Phaahla is a medical doctor and has been the deputy minister of health for seven years.
South Africa’s former minister of finance, Mr Trevor Manuel has said there is nothing stopping President Cyril Ramaphosa from promoting deputy health minister Dr Joe Phaahla to his cabinet while Dr Zweli Mkhize is on special leave.
Mr Manuel believes the country needs a dedicated health minister to focus on fighting the Covid-19 pandemic, instead of an acting minister who has another portfolio to worry about.
Acting minister of health, Ms Mamabolo Kubayi-Ngubane is also responsible for overseeing tourist in the country and she is grabbling to curb the surge in covid-19 cases in the wake of the third wave.
Speaking at the Centre for Development and Enterprise’s webinar themed
“SA and the next five years: How do we resolve our political and economic crises?”, Mr Manuel said, “Let’s take the fact that Dr Mkhize has stepped aside voluntarily, seemingly, and you now have a minister of tourism taking responsibility for that [pandemic].
Mr Manuel also indicated that there is nothing stopping Mr Ramaphosa from appointing Dr Mkhize’s deputy, Dr Phaahla to deal with the pandemic instead of the minister responsible for another portfolio.
“There is no impediment to President Ramaphosa actually looking at the situation and acknowledging that in a pandemic you need a competent health minister who is au fait with the running of health systems and recognise that in the deputy minister of health, Dr Phaahla, he may have somebody like that, elevate him to the cabinet so that he can be of single-minded focus on the pandemic.
“If later, Dr Mkhize is in a position to return, it’s fine, you can reshuffle the cabinet again. But you can’t have somebody operating, on one hand, trying to deal with matters of tourism and cooking with Somizi, and on the other hand trying to have the necessary serious focus of resolving critical elements of the pandemic,” said Mr Manuel.
Ms Kubayi-Ngubane recently faced heavy criticism after it emerged that his department paid the media personality, Mr Somizi Mhlongo-Motaung an exorbitant amount to cook with her in Tembisa.
It has also emerged that the venue used belongs to the boyfriend of the Head of Digital in the office of the president, Ms Athi Geleba. It is alleged that Ms Geleba’s boyfriend has been receiving government favour because of his proximity to her.
Meanwhile, Mr Manuel has said that the president will have to take a decision very soon because the continue surge in number of cases does not need someone that has her arms in cooking and the other in saving the lives of people.
He said this “just can’t work” in the public’s mind. “These are decisions that must be taken and must be taken soon,” Mr Manuel said.
Dr Phaahla is a medical doctor and has been the deputy minister of health for seven years.
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