The former head of the Eastern Cape Department of Health, Dr Rolene Wagner, will return to the position on Tuesday as the Office of the Premier stages a major intervention to resuscitate the ailing department.

Listen to this article 6 min Listen to this article 6 min The respected administrator Dr Rolene Wagner will return as the superintendent-general of the Eastern Cape Department of Health on Tuesday. This comes after high-ranking officials from the National Department of Health, National Treasury, Office of the Eastern Cape Premier and Eastern Cape Department of Health met with clinical staff and hospital managers to discuss how to save the beleaguered department.

The Eastern Cape Department of Health declared R6-billion in accruals (unpaid bills) in the previous financial year, almost wiping out its operational budget (excluding the cost of employment).

advertisementDon't want to see this? Remove adsWhile the Office of the Premier ignored requests for confirmation, nine high-ranking sources in the department confirmed that Wagner would return as superintendent-general and clinical staff were also informed of this.

Premier Oscar Mabuyane removed her from her job last year and claimed he was setting up a "special projects" team to deal with problems in the department. Two senior officials were appointed to act in her position, but the upshot was more dysfunction in the department.

The Office of the Premier has ignored all requests to set out what the special projects...