The Eastern Cape departments of health & education are facing hundreds of litigation cases, with Eastern Cape Premier Phumulo Masualle admitting last week that the health department had paid over R250m in claims in one year.
“In the last financial year we took out of the health budget around R260m towards paying [medico-legal] claims and it was not budgeted for.
“It impacts on the quality of service if we have such a drain on the health sector,” Masualle told the Daily Dispatch.
And the departments are worried that they will lose millions more due to the provincial state attorney’s inability to handle the caseload.
In a bid to stem the outrush of millions, the two departments have, as a matter of emergency, taken cases from the state attorney’s office and given them to private attorneys.
Already the two departments are believed to have spent some R43m in legal fees to private firms to defend cases, which is said to have led to a decline in the number of lawsuits registered against the two departments this year.
Many of these cases involve health malpractice suits, as well as parents litigating over corporal punishment, fraudulent delivery of learner support material, sexual abuse and financial misconduct.
In the first quarter (Q1) of this year alone health already faces more than 200 cases.
Provincial government spokesman Sonwabo Mbananga confirmed the problems at the state attorney’s offices and lamented its lack of capacity.
“There are a number of vacancies in the three offices.”
In a response to oral questions in the Bhisho legislature last month on the use of private lawyers, education MEC Mandla Makupula said: “Due to very serious challenges experienced with the state attorney’s office ... this resulted in education matters not being dealt with competently and professionally, or at all, resulting in adverse and often punitive cost orders and the department facing judgments by default.
Mbananga said the Eastern Cape had appealed to the national department of justice.
“The DOJ has undertaken to fill vacant posts, increase the professional and clerical staff base and ensure ongoing capacity building of legal professionals,” he said.
Mbananga said the appointment of private attorneys had brought “a small measure of success”.
“There is a 19% decline in the number of medico-legal cases. In education, a 30% decline has been recorded.”
Last month, the Sunday Times reported that the Special Investigating Unit was probing claims that state attorneys deliberately bungled cases and colluded with private lawyers to defraud the state – and, according to the article – this is estimated to have cost the taxpayer R80bn to date.
Provincial health spokesman Lwandile Sicwetsha said: “Yes, the whole conduct on court cases relating to health by the state attorneys office is under investigation.
“The state attorney appoints lawyers or law firms to represent the state in court cases. It’s not done by departments.”
Provincial education spokesman Malibongwe Mtima said: “We have identified challenges with the office of the state attorney, especially in Mthatha.
“By agreement the department of education has outsourced some of its cases to private attorneys. This is only until the state attorney has overcome the challenges in its office and once that has been done, all matters will be returned to that office.”..