GAUTENG FACES R13.2 BILLION LEGAL CLAIMS

The Gauteng Provincial Government faces 1036 law suits claiming R13.2 billion in damages.

This astounding figure was revealed yesterday at a meeting of the Gauteng Legislature's Oversight Committee on the Premier's Office.

Officials from the Premier's Office attributed this to "operational and management deficiencies as well as lapses in systems and controls". They expressed concern about an "unprecedented volume of litigation" and "the high costs that ensue from these disputes and the slow rate at which the disputes are resolved."

Details were not provided except that most of the claims are against the Roads and Transport Department and the Health Department.

I am aware that the Gauteng Health Department faces R1.4 billion medical negligence claims, and the Baoki consortium is claiming R2.5 billion because of the cancellation of its health information system contract.

The Roads and Transport Department faces multi-billion rand claims from the Bombela Consortium on the Gautrain project.

I have requested a full breakdown of all the claims which amount to about a fifth of Gauteng's entire budget this year.

These claims are a direct result of bad management that needs to be improved speedily before more legal claims bankrupt the provincial government.

Statement issued by Jack Bloom MPL, DA Gauteng Caucus Leader, November 8 2012

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