Johannesburg – The Democratic Alliance (DA) has welcomed the decision by Judge Mmonoa Teffo that former Gauteng premier David Makhura should testify at the Life Esidimeni inquest into the deaths of 144 mental health patients.
According to the DA’s Jack Bloom, this follows the testimony of former Gauteng health MEC Qedani Mahlangu that Makhura was directly involved in the decision to cancel the Esidimeni contract.
Other new witnesses in the inquest will be Finance MEC Barbara Creecy and Professor Lesley Robertson, of the South African Society of Psychiatrists, who wrote a letter to Mahlangu in October 2015, expressing concern that community mental health services would not be able to cope with discharged Esidimeni patients.
"Makhura has denied that he knew the Esidimeni patients were going to NGOs rather than other state facilities, but this is not credible as I asked questions about this in the Gauteng Legislature and warned that this was a looming disaster," Bloom said.
"It is important that politicians are also held accountable for the Esidimeni disaster instead of the entire blame being placed on officials."
The Star