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Mbeki stays mum on latest controversy

WARNING: This is Version 1 of my old archive, so Photos will NOT work and many links will NOT work. But you can find articles by searching on the Titles. There is a lot of information in this archive. Use the SEARCH BAR at the top right. Prior to December 2012; I was a pro-Christian type of Conservative. I was unaware of the mass of Jewish lies in history, especially the lies regarding WW2 and Hitler. So in here you will find pro-Jewish and pro-Israel material. I was definitely WRONG about the Boeremag and Janusz Walus. They were for real.

Original Post Date: 2007-08-14 Time: 00:00:00  Posted By: Jan

By Anal Powell

Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang has slammed as “false” media reports that she paid hospital staff to smuggle alcohol and food into her private Medi-Clinic ward during treatment in 2005.

Tshabalala-Msimang said in a brief statement on Sunday she would consult her lawyers about possible legal action against the Sunday Times for publishing the allegations.

The presidency, embroiled in the furore over the dismissal of Tshabalala-Msimang’s deputy, Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge, on Sunday declined to comment, saying an investigation of the health minister’s hospital records could compromise her right to doctor-patient confidentiality.

‘We do not have the information so we cannot comment’

But the DA said, if the allegations were true, Tshabalala-Msimang had abused her position as minister and should be “relieved of her job” immediately.

Mike Waters, MP and DA spokesperson on health, said there was also concern over Tshabalala-Msimang’s apparent abuse of alcohol, given that she had a liver condition.

Waters said this would raise eyebrows about whether she had “jumped” the queue for a liver transplant. Doctors have said she has an auto-immune disease, but Waters noted speculation that the condition was related to alcohol abuse.

The National Democratic Convention has called for an investigation into the allegations, which it said would be a “good reason for getting fired”.

This latest controversy in the national health department comes just days after President Thabo Mbeki axed Madlala-Routledge for “her inability to work as a collective”.

The Sunday Times reported that Tshabalala-Msimang, during two stays of nine days at the Cape Town Medi-Clinic in 2005, paid hospital staff to bend the rules so that she could have alcohol and food from Woolworths brought into her room.

It alleged witnesses saw Tshabalala-Msimang, who had shoulder surgery, drunk on several occasions. Alcohol, including a bottle of whisky from a shebeen, was allegedly smuggled to the minister in Medi-Clinic bags.

It was alleged that according to medical reports, Tshabalala-Msimang was taking an excessive quantity of painkillers that should not have been combined with alcohol.

The report said staff alleged the minister’s behaviour was “appalling” and her screams during a tantrum could be heard throughout the wards.

Sibani Mngadi, Tshabalala-Msimang’s spokesperson, told the Sunday Times that the only alcohol brought into her room had been a gift of wine for surgeon Joe de Beer. De Beer, who was reportedly present when Tshabalala-Msimang allegedly drank wine in her room after her shoulder surgery, could not be reached for comment late on Sunday.

The health ministry said on Sunday in a statement that “the very comments” attributed to Mngadi in the Sunday newspaper’s report “are grossly misrepresented” and that no further media response would be issued.

The Cape Town Medi-Clinic said on Sunday that it would not comment on Tshabalala-Msimang’s stay.

The presidency has said it will not respond immediately to the latest allegations about Tshabalala-Msimang.

“We do not have the information so we cannot comment. The President would need more information,” said presidential spokesperson, Mukoni Ratshitanga.

“It is complicated because one can see from the Sunday Times report that the information was gleaned from the patient’s file. We would first have to establish the right of anyone to look at that file.”

Ratshitanga said there were “a number of factors to consider” before an investigation would be launched.

These included the right of patient-doctor confidentiality and whether the Sunday Times would release the documents about Tshabalala-Msimang’s hospital stay to the presidency or relevant authority.

A heated public debate continues to rage over Mbeki’s controversial decision to fire Madlala-Routledge.


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Health crisis? Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang has slammed as “false” media reports that she paid hospital staff to smuggle alcohol into her private Medi-Clinic ward in Cape Town. Photo: Werner Beukes,

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