JOHANNESBURG – The Gauteng Department of Health said it had recovered over R1 million of the R3.9 million unlawfully paid to seven absent Cuban doctors.
The doctors were part of a group of 28 Cuban doctors hired for a one-year contract in South Africa to assist at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The doctors, whose contracts were due to end in May 2021, had left the country to return to Cuba but continued receiving salaries until May 2022.
MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko initially disclosed the matter in a written reply to the Democratic Alliance (DA) last week.
Speaking on The Aubrey Masango Show on 702 on Monday night, Nkomo-Ralehoko said that due processes were not followed.
“We have successfully recovered an amount of 1.2 [million rand] from the seven Cuban doctors who were brought in during COVID-19, whose contracts expired in May 2022. There was an overpayment that was done as a result of extending the contracts of those healthcare workers without following the required process.”
She said a probe into the matter was conducted.
“It was as a result of the contracts that were extended. So, they were extended unlawfully. Somebody made a mistake. It can be a crime indeed, but investigations have been conducted, so we’ll definitely act on that.”
EWN
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