Cyril Ramaphosa urged to sign off probe into fraud, corruption at Gauteng hospitals

The DA in Gauteng has vowed to put pressure on President Cyril Ramaphosa to sign a proclamation ordering an intense investigation into tender fraud and corruption allegedly committed in the province’s hospitals.

This comes after Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi announced in December that the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) had written to Ramaphosa asking him to sign a proclamation. The SIU found various people, including ANC-linked people, benefited from tenders at Tembisa Hospital. At the time, Lesufi said the SIU would motivate a proclamation based on findings of possible syndicate activity, corruption, fraud, and the irregular appointment of service providers.

He said it was done in honour of Babita Deokaran, slain outside her house in the south Joburg, on August 23, 2021, for blowing the whistle on fraud and corruption at Tembisa Hospital. Deokaran, who was assassinated, had tried to stop R100 million in “possibly fraudulent” payments and had flagged other transactions valued at R850 million at the hospital, reports said. Three weeks before Deokaran was killed, she reported the transactions to suspended department CFO Lerato Madyo, and called for a forensic probe.

Yesterday, the DA expressed its dismay by the delay in the presidential proclamation needed to expand the probe into the Tembisa Hospital payments scandal. DA Gauteng health spokesperson Jack Bloom said the SIU report found massive maladministration, fraud and corruption in the awarding of contracts by Tembisa Hospital to fishy companies. This involved about R1 billion over a three-year period.

The SIU has applied for a Presidential Proclamation to extend its probe into the contracts, but there is no indication of this happening. Bloom said a presidential proclamation was still expected to be signed, but revelations continue about people living the high life after scoring fat contracts for overcharged goods at the hospital. “The delay in expanding the probe fuels suspicions this is because politically protected people benefit.

“This includes Hangwani Morgan Maumela, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s nephew from his first marriage. Companies linked to him got R356 million from Tembisa Hospital in the past three years, as well as R22 million from Mamelodi Hospital, and R2.4 million from other hospitals. “The three companies owned by ANC bigwig Sello Sekhokho got 225 contracts worth R84 million in the past three years from Gauteng hospitals. This was in addition to R14.5 million from 55 Tembisa Hospital contracts.”

Bloom said that showed fishy contracts were also at other hospitals, so the presidential proclamation should cover this as well. “I suspect high-level officials at Gauteng Health’s head office collude in these hospital payment scams. “They need to be exposed and prosecuted. The DA will put pressure on President Ramaphosa to expedite a broad investigation so criminal charges are brought against those who got rich while patients suffered.”