Former Gauteng Health MEC and former health officials in court for allegedly defrauding the department
7 December 2021
Brian Hlongwa, former Gauteng Health MEC appeared at the Johannesburg Magistrates’ Court alongside seven individuals and six entities, facing 258 charges ranging from fraud, corruption, money laundering and racketeering.
All accused were released on bail ranging from R20 000 to R50 000 each, with conditions attached to their release, amongst them, that they handover their travelling documents and that they should not leave the Republic of South Africa without permission from the investigating officer.
The case stems from a Special Investigating Unit report into the affairs of the Department of Health at the time Hlongwa was MEC responsible for the Department of Health (between 2006 to 2009). The report detailed alleged corruption in the awarding of tenders to his acquittances, amongst them, Richard John Payne (accused 7).
Payne and Hlongwa were acquittances and business partners who knew one another from the time when Hlongwa was a councillor in the City of Johannesburg (CoJ). 3P Consulting (Pty) Ltd (accused 10), a company in which Payne held joint ownership and directorship together with Kingdom Lolwane (accused 6), was contracted to do work for the CoJ.
3P Consulting followed Hlongwa from its municipal business to provincial business operations, mainly in the Department of Health where Hlongwa was a political head. It was awarded the tenders/contracts in the Gauteng Department of Health for the turn around strategy, the preparation and compilation of the Gauteng DoH 2007/2008 budget, the Project Management Unit (PMU) and the extension of the PMU contract.
At the time when the tender/contracts were awarded to 3P Consulting, Sybil Ngcobo (accused 2) was the Head of Department, Obakeng Stephen Mookeletsi (accused 1) was the Deputy Director General: Executive Support Programme Management, Valdis Ntsieni Ramaano (accused 3) was the Chief Director: Supply Chain Management and Abdul Kalam Mohammed Mahmudur Rahman (accused 4) was the special advisor to the MEC.
The Project Management Unit which was initially awarded a tender for a two-year term at a total value of R68 million ended up being extended for a further three years with a contract value of over R273 million. The Department of Health paid over R347 million for the PMU tender/contract before the expiration of the five-year term.
3P Consulting (Pty) Ltd charged the Gauteng Department of Health an extra surcharge of 5% administrative fee on each and every invoice that was submitted to the Department of the PMU, despite the fact that such administrative fee was not part of the bid included in the Service Level Agreement.
The state further alleges that the accused benefitted through travel expenses, home purchases, home refurbishments, goods and services paid for by entities listed as accused 10 to 16 of the indictment, despite some of those entities being service providers to the Department of Health.
The case was remanded to 22 April 2022 to secure the attendance of Payne and his company.
Issued by Phindi Mjonondwane, NPA Regional Spokesperson: Gauteng Local Division, 7 December 2021
