Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge set up?
Some time ago I wrote an article about Deputy Health Minister Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge and how I was so glad that there was someone in the Health Department who was tackling the AIDS/HIV issue intelligently. At the time I also mentioned that it would only be a matter of time before she got fired …. well …..
On Friday Madlala-Routledge confirmed she was dismissed by President Thabo Mbeki for her unannounced visit to East London’s Frere hospital and her unauthorised trip to Madrid. This was after she refused to resign.
People across the political spectrum have come out in support of her and are lamenting the loss to the government.
“She was a key player in the past two years in the creation of a more united and better environment vis-Ã -vis HIV and Aids,” said South African Medical Association chairperson Dr Kgosi Letlape, “We hope that the synergies created by her efforts and the environment of co-operation will not be lost with her departure from the department of health.”
Independent Democrats leader President Patricia de Lille said Madlala-Routledge had “broken the silence” and was an “example to women everywhere”.
” She is a heroine of our new struggle against HIV and Aids” and had unified civil society, government and the nation behind her.”
“She is right when she says that our democracy will deepen if leaders hold each other accountable, learn to admit their mistakes and conduct themselves with the highest moral standards.”
“She said that Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang once told her she would ‘fix her’, but Madlala-Routledge has instead fixed her former boss with the truth. She proved today she is nobody’s handbag”
When she was asked whether she may have been ’set up’, Nozizwe replied “I can’t say. But I will say that when I spoke in the National Council of Provinces two years ago, and this is the time when I was almost sacked, the minister of health had said to me, and had not looked at me: ‘I’ll fix you’, and maybe she has fixed me.”
Democratic Alliance health spokesperson Mike Waters said Madlala-Routledge “was fired for speaking truth to power. To now suddenly take such an extreme stand - ostensibly on a minor issue like a misunderstanding over a trip - can only mean that he and the health minister have been embarrassed by the former deputy minister, who was willing to speak out on government’s failures, and, as a consequence has acted to silence dissent. The former deputy minister understood that she served an office dedicated, first and foremost, to the people of South Africa. For that, she has been dismissed.”
He later said that he would ensure that his party asked Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang to explain her saying that she would ‘fix’ the former deputy health minister. They would also challenge Mbeki on his decision.
This certainly does raise some questions, as other members of the government have been in the same situation with nothing happening to them! Let’s take a look to refresh our minds:
* Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka for her trip to the United Arab Emirates
* The Speaker of Parliament for her trip to Monrovia
* Deputy Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba for his misuse of official flight tickets.
To me this certainly sounds like a set up. After al, she has embarrassed the government by challenging them on some very touchy issues.
I hope this is not the last we see of Nozizwe. I don’t think it is as I feel very sure that she will now do more damage to the Heath Department by being vocal from the outside.
Stupid move Mbeki!
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