Belated response by Gauteng Premier to Tembisa hospital payments scandal

16 August 2022

The Democratic Alliance notes the announcement that Gauteng Premier David Makhura is going to appoint an Independent Forensic Investigator to investigate “the allegations that have surfaced“ concerning murdered whistle-blower Babita Deokaran.

It has taken three weeks for the Premier to react to the explosive revelation of the News24 investigation that Babita feared for her life after she tried to stop “possibly fraudulent” payments by the Tembisa Hospital.

Even more damning, why is a forensic investigation only being done a full year after she was murdered?

We now know that Babita had requested a forensic investigation but this was not acted on by the Chief Financial Officer Lerato Madyo.

The first step in any investigation should be the suspension of Madyo and the Tembisa Hospital CEO Ashley Mthunzi. It is deplorable that this has not yet happened.

This provincial government is notorious for long-running investigations which are never made public.

I suspect this investigation will be used to squash embarrassing questions in the Legislature on the spurious grounds that they are sub judice.

They will keep a lid on any information that shows senior ANC officials benefited from the Tembisa Hospital payments.

Justice for Babita means full accountability and criminal charges for anyone implicated in the corruption that she tried to stop.

The DA will insist on interim reports every three months instead of stretching out the investigation until after the next election which is probably the plan.

Issued by Jack Bloom, DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Health, 16 August 2022