Health-e (Cape Town)
Anso Thom
12 May 2009
Many in the health sector have expressed disappointment over the removal of Barbara Hogan as health minister and have adopted a wait-and-see attitude towards her largely unknown replacement Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, Education MEC in Limpopo.
Traumatised by the legacy of former health minister Dr Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, all those contacted for comment said they thought that Hogan had been doing a good job and it would have been in the interest of a health system that is teetering on the brink of collapse to bring some stability into the sector.
However, President Jacob Zuma moved Hogan to the Public Enterprises ministry, which many reluctantly agree is a better fit for the finance boffin, and replaced her with the 50-year-old Limpopo doctor and father of two.
Very little is known about Motsoaledi's recent activities other than his career in the Limpopo legislature where he has largely held the Education portfolio with short stints as health and agriculture MEC in the poverty stricken province.
However doctors who fought the apartheid government in the eighties remember him from their struggle days when the National Medical and Dental Association (NAMDA) was formed.
NAMDA came into existence in 1982, a couple of years after a group of doctors broke away from the then Medical Association of South Africa (MASA) when the Black Consciousness leader, Steve Biko, was killed in police detention.
He had been inadequately cared for by three doctors who belonged to MASA and were never disciplined by the organization.
"I know him from way back during the NAMDA days," confirmed Dr Peter Barron, who has been working as a freelance consultant for the health department.
"I remember him as a very energetic, enthusiastic and competent person," recalled Barron, echoing the sentiments of several other public health specialists contacted for comment.
Motsoaledi is also believed to be close to the widely respected deputy health minister Dr Molefi Sefularo and enjoys the support of KwaZulu-Natal premier Zweli Mkhize, chair of the ANC's health committee.
Member of the Democratic Alliance, Michael Holford battled to produce much criticism of the man he worked with in the Limpopo legislature for the past couple of years, describing him as a "big talker", but "fairly effective, an approachable and likeable chap".
Holford said Motsoaledi would not be afraid to shift incompetent people: "He likes people who can do the job."
A source within the African National Congress who asked to remain anonymous said there was speculation that Hogan had been shifted at the behest of the Congress of South Africa Trade Unions and others who were not happy with her questioning around the National Health Insurance policy which is being thrashed out within the party's health structures.
"Everyone has their own interests at heart and Hogan was determined to ensure there was public consultation and the process is transparent. I think Motsoaledi will have to show strong leadership to manage all the stakeholders," he said.
Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille said her party was relieved that there was no place in the Zuma Cabinet for a number of ministers from the previous administration whose tenures were nothing short of disastrous, including Tshabalala-Msimang.
She said appointments which raised alarm bells included the shifting of the "highly effective Barbara Hogan from Health to Public Enterprises in what appears to be punishment for her outspoken comments on the Dalai Lama".
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