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Provincial health chief Dr. Thobile Mbengashe resigned from his post and was appointed special adviser to Prime Minister Oscar Mabuyane.
The announcement was made by Mabuyane during his weekly press conference on Tuesday, when he gave an update on the work the provincial government is doing to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Our HOD will go [his current position] at the end of September and on behalf of the province I want to thank Dr. Mbengashe for his service.
“He has worked in various capacities and has used his skills, wisdom and experience to support the province in developing the HIV / AIDS strategy through the AIDS council,” Mabuyane said.
“His skills and experience will now be used in a different capacity as he will play a strategic role in advising me on how to improve the provincial administration in the future.
“The good job we have done in the fight against Covid-19 is because we had him and his team at the helm.”
Speaking at the briefing, Dr. Mbengashe said that the past five months had been an “extraordinary time” and that the Eastern Cape community had faced many changes.
“I think this is the best time to work with the prime minister now, to understand what is the best way to really build the next capabilities to [prepare for] the next big [coronavirus] wave.
“More importantly, how do we transform the state and really create an agile system,” Mbengashe said.
He said that although the coronavirus had brought challenges, many hospitals that had never had access to oxygen before now have fully functioning ICUs.
“There is still a lot of work to be done and there are many trained people in the department who can take that work forward.
“I will still be about to help where the prime minister tells me.”
Health MEC Sindiswa Gomba said that finding a replacement for Mbengashe would not be easy.
“He is not completely lost to the department, he is just changing offices and will even help us in the process of finding his replacement.
“In its [resignation] In the letter he said that he hopes this measure creates an opportunity for younger generations to come in, ”said Gomba.
The press conference was held in the Alfred Ndzo district municipality, at the Madzikane ka Zulu Memorial Hospital.
The provincial government has invested R332m in building repairs and plumbing at the hospital, which have now been completed.
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