Medico-legal claims continue to paralyse the Eastern Cape Health Department, draining its coffers and leaving the Department with serious cash flow challenges.
Those were the words of Eastern Cape Finance MEC, Mlungisi Mvoko, during the virtual tabling of 2023/2024 budget totalling more than R91.6 billion rand on Tuesday.
In allocating R28.1 billion to the Eastern Cape Department of Health, MEC Mvoko said the department's turnaround strategy was starting to bear fruit, following a recent judgment in the High Court in Bhisho's favour following a legal claim in the Noyila matter.
"An additional amount of R967.7 million in the 2023/24 financial year and R3 billion over 2023/24 MTEF has been allocated for the compensation of employees and service backlogs, including antiretroviral therapy, TB, medicine, and other goods and services," he said.
"Some of these funds will be ring-fenced to deal with medico-legal aspects in the ruling of the Noyila case," the Finance MEC added.
Mvoko said through the implementation of the turn-around plan, several achievements were made by the Health Department.
The Department of Education received the lion's share of the budget, with Mvoko allocating RR41.1 billion "to improve provincial education outcomes."
"Of that amount, R28.3 billion in 2023/24 and R89.144 billion over the MTEF is set aside to fund the Post Provision Norms, including the appointment of school-based educators for critical subjects, posts for substitutes, special intervention and curriculum and growth," Mvoko said.
MEC Mvoko said that Bhisho could expect to come under more pressure to deliver quality service, with the national elections looming in 2024.
"The 6th term of government administration was a unique one, as the government had to use its resources responding to numerous economic shocks, including the COVID-19 pandemic, July 2022 riots, electricity crisis, recurrent disasters, and labour unrests," Mvoko said.
