Africa-Press – South-Africa. The DA has raised concerns about the delayed disciplinary cases against Tembisa Hospital CEO Dr Ashley Mthunzi and suspended CFO Lerato Madyo.
It has been nine months since Mthunzi was placed on precautionary suspension after News 24 investigations revealed that murdered whistleblower Babita Deokaran tried to stop R100 million worth of contracts that were “possibly corrupt” at the hospital and flagged other transactions worth R850 million.
Madyo was also suspended in August.
During a house sitting in the Gauteng legislature on Tuesday, DA’s health spokesperson Jack Bloom asked Health MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko why the officials had not been suspended and disciplinary charges implemented against them.
Bloom also asked what accounted for the delays and what steps were taken to ensure the officials were properly investigated and held to account.
Nkomo-Ralehoko said the Special Investigative Unit (SIU) had asked the provincial Department of Health to place its version on the record against the allegations.
“To date, the department is still awaiting the report from SIU and Hawks,” she said.
Bloom further asked what progress had been made in the disciplinary action against the officials and what they had been charged with. He asked what accounted for any delays and why the criminal actions were not laid against the officials.
Nkomo-Ralehoko said the disciplinary hearing would be heard in August.
She said: “The CEO was charged with authorisation of purchase orders’ requests… There are no specific charges for the CFO; however, she was doing approvals, and as the department, we feel that she has a case to answer.”
Nkomo-Ralehoko said the SIU had recommended that service providers that got tenders on the basis of false information be referred to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
“An established criminal task team would inform any criminal referral,” she said.
When asked if the resignation of the provincial department’s HOD, Dr Nomonde Nolutshungu, would affect the disciplinary hearing, Nkomo-Ralehoko said she had resigned in March after raising health issues.
“However, she will come back when she is needed to account for some of the things that happened during her era,” the MEC said.
Bloom said he was concerned that the matter had taken so long for the disciplinary cases against Mthunzi and Madyo to proceed.
He said: “According to the SIU investigation report released in December last year, Dr Mthunzi was responsible for “authorising purchase order request forms, which led to the irregular appointment of 13 service providers. The finding was based on the 27 payment documents received and analysed by the SIU”
Bloom said Deokaran requested Madyo to do a forensic audit of the suspicious payments at Tembisa Hospital, but she failed to do so.
Bloom said the disciplinary action against Mthunzi and Madyo needed to be concluded as soon as possible to ensure accountability, and that should assist in laying criminal charges and finding out who else was involved in this matter.
“Their positions are currently filled with acting people who need more authority to fix the deep rot that hinders decent care to hospital patients,” he said.
He added that President Cyril Ramaphosa had not issued a proclamation to expand the SIU probe into the Tembisa Hospital payments.
“The delay fuels suspicions because politically protected people benefit from the contracts, including Hangwani Morgan Maumela, Ramaphosa’s nephew from his first marriage. Companies linked to him got R356 million from Tembisa Hospital in the last three years, R22 million from Mamelodi Hospital and R2.4 million from other hospitals,” he said.
He said three companies owned by ANC bigwig Sello Sekhokho got R14.5 million from 55 Tembisa Hospital contracts and R84 million from 225 contracts from other Gauteng hospitals in three years.
In November last year, Ramaphosa denied knowing Maumela.Responding to DA leader John Steenhuisen, he said: “You keep saying, my nephew. I don’t even know this gentleman. So, let’s not even get there. I don’t know him.”
In response to questions by News24 late last year, attorney Nabeela Moola, who represents the Maumela family, said: “We do not wish to compromise the integrity of any investigations that may be under way in relation to our client, nor do we intend to litigate by way of media.”
Sekhokho previously said the claims were “rubbish” and “nonsense”.
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