KATHARINE CHILD | 04 February, 2013 00:24
Former Eastern Cape head of health Siva Pillay Picture: THEO JEPTHA
Image by: THEO JEPTHA
An ambulance driver with no qualifications is still working for the Eastern Cape health department - despite being fired twice.
The driver, whose name is known to The Times, was fired the first time in 2010 after he allegedly took two months' leave without approval during the World Cup and was found to be transporting patients without a paramedic's licence.
He was reinstated after challenging his firing before MEC Sicelo Gqobana's appeals committee.
He was fired again a few months later when it was found he still did not have the required registration with the Health Professions Council of South Africa.
After a second appeal he was again reinstated.
On January 27, a month after leaving the department, Dr Siva Pillay laid a complaint with the Public Service Commission about Gqobana's conduct.
Pillay, a qualified lawyer and a medical doctor, says he has decided to keep up the battle to rid the department of fraudulent employees because Gqobana's reinstatement of the ambulance driver sets a "legal precedent" - anyone fired for not being professionally registered could successfully appeal against a dismissal.
In two years at the helm of the Eastern Cape health department Pillay fired 622 people for not being legally registered, including doctors, nurses, ambulance drivers and physiotherapists - all without licences.
This number, said Pillay, included staff who knew they were about to be exposed and resigned.
Spokesman for the health department Sizwe Kupelo said the ambulance driver had been reinstated by an appeals committee.
"The MEC's decision depends entirely on the advice of the committee."
Kupelo said the committee is reviewing the appeals of 28 people dismissed between November 2010 and 2012.
Buy a job, and other ways to steal from the state
JUDGING by the experiences of corrupt health department officials, here are the best ways to steal from the state:
Want a job in the health department? Buy one from the human resources people - they hire the highest bidder;
Start a company in a family member's name then ask the relative to submit a quote for a service. It doesn't have to be a real service - fake it;
If your company is bogus, use a real supplier's VAT and vendor number;
Pay your relatives' companies less than R30000 at a time - R29999 is a neat figure - and you'll avoid going through a tender process;
Make sure your company has two or more bank accounts. Submit multiple invoices;
If you are fired for fraud, take the case to the internal appeals committee to get reinstated. Show that when you were dismissed for gross misconduct correct procedure was not followed;
Make sure you are politically aligned with your department's top managers. This will make it easier to get away with fraud; and
Resign but make sure you remain on the payroll by paying off someone in human resources. - Katharine Child
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