Allegations regarding GEMS’ Dr Sam Lewatle’s phd qualification
Minister for the Public Service and Administration, Mr Senzo Mchunu, notes the media reports on allegations levelled against Government Employees Medical Scheme’s (GEMS) Corporate Services Chief Officer, Dr Sam Lewatle.
Online news publication, News24, reported on 10 November 2020, that the Government Employees Medical Scheme’s (GEMS) Corporate Services Chief Officer, Dr Sam Lewatle, held a fraudulent PhD qualification.
In a statement responding to the allegations made, GEMS’ Chief Marketing Officer, Dr Phumelela Dhlomo, confirmed that Dr Lewatle did not hold a PhD qualification and clarified that same was not a requirement for the position held by Dr Lewatle. Dr Dhlomo further mentioned that a number of allegations had been made in respect of the qualifications of the Scheme’s Executive Committee members.
In order to investigate the veracity of the allegations made, GEMS has since appointed an independent law firm to verify and confirm the validity of the qualifications held by all the Executive Committee members.
To this end, the Minister welcomes the undertakings by the Scheme in the validation of the qualifications and looks forward to receiving the final legal report with the relevant findings. As no corruption and misrepresentation of any nature will be tolerated in the public service, the Minister commends the Scheme for its transparency and proactivity in ensuring that the integrity of the Scheme is kept intact.
Enquiries:
Kamogelo Mogotsi
Cell: 076 523 0085
E-mail: Kamogelo.Mogotsi@dpsa.gov.za
