The DA in Gauteng is calling for a wide-ranging investigation into what it describes as “systemic rot” within the provincial department of health, after yet another scandal linked to the Tembisa Hospital tender corruption saga that claimed the life of whistleblower Babita Deokaran.
On Thursday DA Gauteng leader Solly Msimanga, shadow MEC for health Jack Bloom and health spokesperson Madeleine Hicklin laid criminal charges against former provincial chief financial officer (CFO) Lerato Madyo, who allegedly failed to act on Deokaran’s report detailing suspicious transactions at Tembisa Hospital.
Msimanga said the charges were necessary to ensure accountability in a department he described as being “treated like a cash cow” by corrupt officials.
“People see the department of health as a cash cow, where they make millions while patients sleep on hospital floors and die because they can’t get basic treatment,” he said.
“Babies are born dead because they can’t be assisted during birth. If the ANC government truly cares, it must launch a full investigation to give South Africans the quality healthcare they deserve.”
The DA’s criminal complaint stems from allegations that Madyo ignored Deokaran’s warnings about questionable payments amounting to hundreds of millions of rand.
In August 2022, then-premier David Makhura placed Madyo and former Tembisa Hospital CEO Ashley Mthunzi on precautionary suspension with full pay after serious allegations emerged regarding irregular procurement and payments to service providers. The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has since been probing dodgy tenders worth more than R850m at the hospital.
Msimanga said Bloom and other shadow cabinet members had long raised concerns about corruption in the department.
“We’ve been calling for her suspension and investigation for a very long time. It’s now clear that she had information she failed to disclose to her HOD. It cannot be that officials implicated in wrongdoing simply resign and walk away with hefty pensions; she received a R3m pension payout. Madyo must account,” he said.
Earlier this month, the SIU revealed that it had uncovered three co-ordinated syndicates allegedly responsible for looting more than R2bn from Tembisa Hospital.
According to the DA, Madyo’s actions, or failure to act, constitute serious breaches of financial and anti-corruption laws, including:
- Failure to report known or suspected corrupt transactions involving R100,000 or more;
- Failure to ensure transparent financial and risk management systems;
- Failure to report unauthorised or irregular expenditure;
- Failure to discipline officials who contravened the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA); and
- Negligence in overseeing fair, transparent and cost-effective procurement processes.
Bloom said the DA wants the police to urgently investigate these alleged crimes and to go beyond low-level arrests.
The SIU said corruption was not confined to executives; however, it was at the lower level, particularly procurement, where the damage was caused. These are employees who have cost Tembisa Hospital significant losses.
According to the SIU report:
- Six hospital managers and their relatives received payments linked to syndicates worth more than R110m;
- An assistant nurse is under investigation for receiving R7.3m;
- Five clerks are linked to payments exceeding R140m; and
- A medical staff member received R750,000.
“The department is rotten, and too much money is being stolen. They go after lower-level officials while the masterminds and kingpins remain untouched,” Bloom said.
Our focus is on Madyo, who, as CFO, must explain what she knows. But ultimately we need to find out who gave the order to kill Babita Deokaran,” he said.
The latest criminal case comes just two days after Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi suspended the province’s health HOD, Dr Lesiba Malotana, in a separate corruption-related matter, intensifying scrutiny over a department plagued by scandal and mismanagement.
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