HEALTH MINISTER’S STATEMENT ON THE PROF GLENDA GRAY’S PUBLIC ATTACK OF GOVERNMENT

BASED ON INACCURATE INFORMATION

In the past week, my office has been inundated with media requests for comments regarding Prof
Glenda Gray’s public utterances on government’s decision relating to the lockdown.

The article referred to has some of the utterances that have been directly attributed to Prof Gray, as
follows:

- “We are seeing children with malnutrition for the first time (at Chris Hani Baragwanath
Academic Hospital). We have not seen malnutrition for decades and so we are seeing it for
the first time in the hospital”

- “…but the de-escalation, month on month, to various levels is nonsensical and unscientific.

- “We believe, as scientists, that we give and are giving the government good advice and why
they decided not to take the advice or engage readily with the scientists is unknown. Why
have experts if you don’t care what they think?”

- “This strategy is not based on science and is completely unmeasured. Its almost as if
someone is sucking regulations out of their thumb and implementing rubbish, quite frankly.”

- “We punish children and kick them out of school and we deny them education. For what?
Where is the scientific evidence for that?”

For the benefit of the public, it is important to mention that the Ministerial Advisory Committees are
not unusual within the Department of Health. The National Health Act makes provision that advisory
or technical committees may be appointed as may be necessary to achieve the health objectives as
provided for in the Act and its Regulations.

As it stands, the Department continues to benefit from experts who are specialised in various fields
of health through their participation in different Ministerial Advisory Committees. To illustrate this
point, these are some of the committees that are in place: the Ministerial Advisory Group on
Immunisation, the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Organ Transplant, the Ministerial Advisory
Committee on Health Pricing, the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Prevention and Control of
Cancer and the Ministerial Advisory Committee on NHI.

Over the years, the role of the advisory committees has proven to be useful in providing support to
the Health Ministry by offering advice on various matters in line with their terms of reference. These
advices are presented to the Minister who considers them. Thereafter the Minister may elect to
engage other stakeholders or departmental officials on such advice for further research or input.
This advice is then accepted or rejected based on the holistic view that the Minister will consider as
the Member of the Executive responsible for Health.

This has not been any different with the Ministerial Advisory Committee on COVID-19. This
committee was appointed on the 26th March 2020. The terms of reference are very specific: “ the
MAC on COVID-19 is an advisory committee and does not have delegated powers to act on behalf of,
or to commit the Minister or Government to any actions”. They further state that “each member will
act with the highest professional and ethical standard at all times”.

It is important to highlight that to date, the MAC on COVID-19 has provided the Ministry of Health
with 50 (fifty) advisories. Also, all these advisories presented have all been accepted. The Minister
has utilised these in the implementation of the Department of Health’s response to COVID-19. These
advisories have also been included in presentations to various stakeholders and more importantly,
the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC), chaired by President Ramaphosa. Throughout
this period, the NCCC has welcomed these presentations. In fact, the President has consistently
acknowledged and commended the scientific data made available by the Department of Health
through the MAC. This data is taken into account as part of broader consultations and inputs from
other departments, different provinces and various stakeholders including business and labour.

I have seen it fit to give this detailed background in order to highlight that at no point has the
Department of Health or Government as a whole ignored and not responded to the advice of the
Ministerial Advisory Committee on COVID-19. The statement made by Prof Glenda Gray is at the
least devoid of the truth. Having read the article, I have been taken aback by the obvious
inaccuracies it contains which have in my view, caused unnecessary sensationalism and doubt on the
work and effort of the government in dealing with COVID-19.

We will keep emphasizing this, as government we do not claim have it all figured out when it comes
to COVID-19. No country does. The President has constantly and correctly stated that we are in
unchartered waters. But we are committed to doing everything in our powers to protect the lives of
our citizen.

I must pause to mention that I have also been stunned by media queries on why I appointed Prof
Abdool Karim as Chairperson of the COVID-19 and “sidelined” Prof Glenda Gray. Save to state the
obvious that such appointments are a prerogative of the Minister, I find such a question
disingenuous as there is nothing that disqualifies Prof Abdool Karim to chair this MAC. In this regard,
I continue to urge members of the media that during this period we must be made to respond to
issues of substance and not matters that seem to want to sow division within the COVID-19 MAC and
cause mischief.

It is therefore important to publicly place on record that Prof Glenda Gray made factually incorrect
and unfounded statements:

1.

- FALSE: “We are seeing children with malnutrition for the first time (at Chris Hani
Baragwanath Academic Hospital). We have not seen malnutrition for decades and so we are
seeing it for the first time in the hospital”

- FACTS / RESPONSE: There has been a reduction in the number of cases of malnutrition that
have been seen at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital POPD and the total
admissions during the month of March and April 2020, when compared to the previous 4
years. To illustrate this, in April 2019 there were 2885 patients seen and 500 admissions.
However, in April 2020 there were 834 patients seen and 146 admissions. I have been
advised by the Department’s officials that at a subsequent COVID-19 MAC meeting, Prof
Velaphi, the Head of Paediatrics at the hospital, raised this concern and asked why Prof Gray
would mislead the public by giving inaccurate information. In response, Prof Gray merely
stated that she had relied on what she had heard from “other colleagues”. However, these
colleagues were not disclosed. This emphasizes the warning we have been to the media and
public not to just rely on anecdotal evidence. This ends up causing unnecessary anxiety to
our citizens.

2.
 - FALSE: “We believe, as scientists, that we give and are giving the government good advice
and why they decided not to take the advice or engage readily with the scientists is
unknown. Why have experts if you don’t care what they think?”

- FACTS / RESPONSE: Since the establishment of the MAC, 50 advisories have been given to
the Minister of Health, all of which have been accepted. Ironically, last week Prof Gray, as
Chairperson of the Research Subcommittee was part of the team that was preparing an
advisory to the Ministry of Health in relation to the lockdown. This advisory had not been
submitted to the Minister of Health when Prof Gray elected to speak to the media. There
was a platform that had been created but this was overlooked even before making input
through the Department of Health channels. She elected to do so through the media.

- FALSE: “This strategy is not based on science and is completely unmeasured. It’s almost as if
someone is sucking regulations out of their thumb and implementing rubbish, quite frankly.”

- FACTS / RESPONSE: There are existing structures in government that have taken into
account various factors, including scientific, socio economic, etc. The comment that
government thumb sucks its decision not only undermines the joint work and effort that the
NCCC, cabinet and government as a whole has been engaged in. But it is also unprofessional
and unbecoming conduct from a member of the MAC who has direct access to the Ministry
and the Department. In my view it undermines and brings into disrepute the institution that
Prof. Gray works for which is an entity of the Department of Health, the MRC.

- FALSE: “We punish children and kick them out of school and we deny them education. For
what? Where is the scientific evidence for that?”

- FACTS/RESPONSE: The Department of Basic Education has been engaged in various

consultations with its stakeholders on the correct approach to take in the process of opening
schools. The Minister has also presented the Department’s strategy in the correct forums
and is exercising her executive powers based on information and evidence before her to
recommend to government on how to proceed. It can never be Prof Gray’s place to make
such comments without being aware of the details, the advice and the process the
Department of Basic education has followed.

Divergent views by scientists are healthy and welcome. The MAC provides this platform for robust
engagement of these top scientists who are leaders of various respectable institutions and
organisations.

However I must urge all those who are contributing to the thought process and science behind the
decisions ultimately undertaken by Government to desist from potentially destructive behaviour and
continue to engage constructively with Government as they are mandated.

As head of the Medical Research Council, Prof. Gray has access to the Minister and the Department
but never once raised this matter directly with ourselves, yet she has never failed to raise other
issues of concern beforehand.
It must be understood that regulations are influenced by inputs from the public and her views would
have been considered had she made submission in a normal way when public comments were called
for. It is exactly for this reason that government has been bold enough to even make amendments
to some regulations based on public inputs. However, Prof Glenda Gray chose not to use this
platform. 

We may not always agree but we will listen and consider input brought to us. We have said that
government will not fight this pandemic alone. We need partners in our society to assist us with
advice and even mobilizing social behaviour in order to manage the spread of this virus. It is for this
reason that we appreciate various social partners who have pledged their support to this cause. We
will continue to work together until we conquer this coronavirus battle..

Dr Zwelini Mkhize

Minister of Health

Ends….