A last-minute scramble in its response to the Covid-19 pandemic, people in power who saw it as an opportunity to cash in and years of poor governance showing itself through the horrific state of the Eastern Cape health system.
This is how the provincial government fared in its handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to medical, political, economic and policy experts.
Today marks 212 days since the first confirmed case of Covid-19 was reported in the province — with a possible second surge on the way.
Since the first case was reported in East London, the province has limped from one scandal to the next.
Among the scandals was how, especially in Nelson Mandela Bay, there was a disorganised plan to fight the spread of the virus.
Health minister Zweli Mkhize had to intervene in the Bay along with Dr Litha Matiwane, deputy director-general at the department of health’s head office, because of the incoherent Covid-19 containment strategy in the city.
Health workers continuously complained of a lack of personal protective equipment (PPE).
Nurses and doctors tested positive, resulting in those left behind overworked as hospitals such as Dora Nginza experienced severe staff shortages.
In some cases, patients were sleeping on hospital floors and pregnant women had to wait up to 14 days to deliver through a caesarean section as the health-care system was overwhelmed to a state of near collapse.
In the initial weeks, known contacts of people who had tested positive for Covid-19 had to literally beg to be tested, such as a Zwide family and villagers in Majola, Port St Johns.
However, experts say premier Oscar Mabuyane — as the head of the Eastern Cape government, was a “man on a mission” when it came to dealing with the spread of the novel virus.
He had often been let down by others, they said.
Former health MEC Dr Bevan Goqwana said greed and selfishness were evident as those in leadership positions wanted to make money out of the pandemic.
However, he said Mabuyane would not have been aware of the greed, such as when Mioca Lodge, a bed and breakfast owned by transport MEC Weziwe Tikana-Gxothiwe’s daughter, was handpicked to be a quarantine facility in Cala.
“As an example, I could advise Mabuyane that we should use a bed and breakfast for quarantining people.
“But that establishment was either mine or there was a close connection to me.
“You wouldn’t know that while sitting at the top.”
Goqwana is part of the provincial coronavirus command council (PCCC) which includes constituency leaders, opposition party leaders, mayors and some ministers and deputy ministers whose portfolios were affected by the pandemic.
Goqwana said the province should have been ready by March for the spread of the virus.
“We moved too slowly and it was like we jumped on a moving bus.”
In its report in June, the PCCC also agreed the Eastern Cape had dismally failed to ready its infrastructure during the hard national lockdown period.
This was despite President Cyril Ramaphosa saying the level-five lockdown was put in place to prepare hospitals and clinics so that they could be revamped and rehabilitated to ensure the health-care system was not overwhelmed.
Goqwana said Mabuyane had personally attended to various issues that cropped up like the use of fake sanitisers in KwaBhaca (formerly Mount Frere).
“He dealt with the Burgersdorp infection spike while numbers were dropping nationally.”
One of the province’s biggest successes was the opening of the Rev Dr Elizabeth Mamisa Chabula-Nxiweni Field Hospital in Port Elizabeth to bolster the province’s Covid-19 response.
It was a public-private partnership with VWSA and the German government.
Economist Derek Zimmerman said Mabuyane had started well in dealing with the virus by reaching out to private sector experts and a joint report had been compiled.
As the implementation of recommendations was due to begin, however, problems started to surface.
All indications were that the report was a good one and it was a big tick to him that he initiated the process
“All indications were that the report was a good one and it was a big tick to him that he initiated the process,” he said.
“After that, however, the problems besetting the ANC nationally arose and the plan was plunged into a deep, dark hole.
“Cadre deployment, nepotism and corruption came to the fore.”
Contributing to the malaise, the perennially weak Eastern Cape civil servant corps saw the lockdown as a chance to embark on a go-slow, and systems and services that had been poor before Covid-19 became utterly dysfunctional, he said.
“Fiduciary malfeasance spread faster than the virus.”
The pandemic showed the world the long-standing failures of the provincial health care system and opened the province up to ridicule with numerous gaffes made by health MEC Sindiswa Gomba.
Health-care workers protested during the pandemic for proper PPE, and controversy about a medical scooter tender saw it being interdicted by the special investigating unit last month.
Political analyst Ongama Mtimka said it appeared that the provincial government had been caught off guard when the virus started spreading in the province.
“They were on the back foot on a number of fronts but mainly with the readiness of major hospitals.”
He said from March it had been clear the virus would spread rapidly and more should have been done earlier on.
In some cases, such as in Nelson Mandela Bay, the municipality reacted faster than the provincial government
“In some cases, such as in Nelson Mandela Bay, the municipality reacted faster than the provincial government,” he said.
He said it had taken a second intervention in the health care system before the provincial government started to wake up.
“It took these national interventions before a coherent response was seen.”
However, Mtimka praised Mabuyane for welcoming the interventions.
“Sometimes politicians have a hostile attitude when intervention comes from another sphere of government.
“However, the province was more receptive and worked with the national stakeholders.”
Former health department boss Dr Siva Pillay said Mabuyane had ticked all the right boxes when dealing with the virus, but had often been let down by those he surrounded himself with.
“You are always only as good as your team,” he said.
Pillay said Mabuyane was often left hamstrung by those about him.
“That created a problem. But he was a man on a mission to prove himself,” he said.
Pillay refused to name anyone specific who had hindered Mabuyane’s efforts, only saying it went beyond Gomba.
He needs a strong team around him made up of competent people and not just those with political clout
“He needs a strong team around him made up of competent people and not just those with political clout.”
On the provincial command which Pillay sits on, he said this was the right move and should be applauded.
The provincial command, Pillay said, had stopped the government from working in a “silo” which often halted service delivery in the Eastern Cape.
Pillay said there were failures such as the lack of appointments to senior positions at Livingstone Hospital.
“There are no permanent people in that hospital’s top five management positions.”
However, he said Mabuyane was let down on these appointments by the health department.
“They would mess up adverts and people would just not be appointed.”
He said credit was due though as Mabuyane had given specific instructions on a range of issues.
“However, the failure by the department to not implement instructions reflects badly on him.”
Public policy expert Dr Hendrik Conradie said the premier’s provincial and municipal oversight role and the hardship incurred by communities as a result of Covid-19 and the ensuring lockdown needed to be considered together.
Poor governance in the Bay had left residents exposed to the pandemic and related economic problems, and Mabuyane needed to tackle this, he said.
“In these Covid times where so many people have lost their already meagre income and the municipality is limping from one disaster to another, the premier is failing to address this situation.
“If he wishes to go down in history as a fair, responsible and accountable leader who promoted good governance, he needs to immediately appeal to President Ramaphosa to stop the current political and administrative nightmare in the metro by calling an early election, so that the majority of citizens can be represented in the council and stop the tail wagging the dog, which is the situation at present.”
DA Eastern Cape MPL and health spokesperson Jane Cowley said Mabuyane had begun well by establishing a provincial command council which sat weekly and presented reports on health and the economy.
“However, this council was more of a talk show with pretty graphics. While the intention was good, it did not reflect what was happening in communities and medical facilities throughout the province.”
Furthermore, despite mounting evidence that Gomba was ill-equipped for her position, Mabuyane had chosen to retain her, Cowley said.
“This demonstrated that political patronage is more important to the premier than effective leadership of a crucial department and the wellbeing of Eastern Cape citizens.”
NMU medical programme director Fikile Nomvete said there had been a “lack of appreciation of the seriousness of the infection” as the response to the pandemic was initially slow in the province.
However, gains had been made once the health department stood up to actively respond to the pandemic.
“Health institutions were renovated, some long-needed equipment was acquired, many nurses were employed in various health institutions, and the matter of personal hygiene and personal protective was amplified.
“Long overdue government-private sector partnerships were realised and the politicians learnt to appreciate the value of consulting with field experts.”
Nomvete warned that some of the gains might be lost in the long run.
‘Recovery rate a sign of province’s performance’
Eastern Cape premier Oscar Mabuyane said he could not rate his performance when it came to managing the Covid-19 pandemic but the province’s recovery rate of 95% was a sign of how the provincial government had performed.
“The fact that a majority of our people complied with the lockdown giving us a high recovery rate, which has been at 95% for a long time, shows that we did a good job,” he said.
He said the response to the pandemic was part of a collective and it did not just rest with him.
“I worked with government structures and social partners in leading this work.
“Any praise is praise for the collective,” he said, in response to being told that most of the experts polled had given him a thumbs-up.
On the allegations of PPE corruption, he said the SIU was invited to investigate any claims by the province.
We have been transparent about our work, we improved the pace of delivering services, we increased capacity of our health resources ...
“We have been transparent about our work, we improved the pace of delivering services, we increased capacity of our health resources, high-care beds with resources like oxygen [and] increased the number of hospital beds.”
He said the government had worked well with social partners, especially companies such as VWSA.
“These were selfless people who teamed up to protect the people of our province and help those infected to recover.”
He said the province had pushed ahead and refurbished existing health facilities. “Go to those facilities now and you will see the good work we are doing.”
Asked about health MEC Sindiswa Gomba being highlighted as a weak link in his team, Mabuyane said he had yet to come across any politician, doctor or even a nurse who had not faced challenges during the height of the pandemic.
“Covid-19 challenged all of us. “The health department has done well in resourcing hospitals.
“With her team she led the department. She ensured testing was done. “When experts proposed changes to our testing strategy, she supported that and allowed the department to change the approach.
“She worked with the public works department to increase the pace of revamping health facilities.
“The challenges she experienced are similar to challenges experienced by other people in her position in other provinces and in other countries.”
He said testing had got off to a slow start due to a shortage of kits.
“We had focused on the boundary points to our province where we did a lot of testing.
“Delays that we saw were resolved because we received more kits.
“Later on, our labs had backlogs because of the high number of people we were testing.
“We needed to get resources for processing of lab tests and we need more personnel, which we received.”
He said the private sector was key to fighting the virus. “Our private sector partners helped a lot.
“We continue thanking VWSA, Isuzu, the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber, Mercedes-Benz, Harry’s Printers, MultiChoice and all companies that contributed to the implementation of our Covid-19 containment and mitigation strategy.
“Philanthropists from the province, individuals like Siya Kolisi, Zozibini Tunzi and many others contributed to the fight against this virus.
“We appreciate their contribution.”
HeraldLIVE
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