Summary extract of speech by Jack Bloom MPL delivered by DA Chief Whip Glenda Steyn in debate today on the Gauteng Health Annual Report

Corruption in the Gauteng Health Department is so severe that the Special Investigations Unit should be brought in to bring criminal charges against implicated officials.

The former Head of Department Sybil Ngcobo should be charged under section 86 of the Public Finance Management Act for willful and grossly negligent financial misconduct. This offence can lead to a fine or imprisonment not exceeding five years.

Corruption flourishes when there is an absence of financial controls. This is why the Auditor General's report on this department has a disclaimer that recordkeeping was so bad that he is unable to express an audit opinion.

This is why unauthorised expenditure was an astounding R1.07 billion.

This is why 13 contracts worth R39 million were awarded without following the competitive bidding process.

This is why the Health Smart Card is going nowhere.

This is why hospitals and clinics are built late and way over budget.

This is why we are grossly overpaying R141 million in hospital security.

This is why our hospital services are deteriorating and people have to wait in long queues.

There has to be accountability for all this, and not just for officials.

Who presided over all this? Who protected officials who should have been fired long ago?

It was the former Health MEC Brian Hlongwa. He should have appeared before the Health Committee to explain all this. It is unbelievable that he still holds high office as Chief Whip in the ruling party.

The damage done by his favourite consultant company 3P has been considerable, and we still need to find out why their contract grew from R60 million to R229 million, and then was awarded a R273 million contract for three years.

If this provincial government is truly serious about fighting corruption, then it must stop protecting the political heads and blaming officials only.

The truth about corruption in the Gauteng Health Department is coming out. In my view, the perpetrators must all go to jail. They have caused immense damage and an example must be set, otherwise new corruption networks will spring up.

As you know, there are certain things that I will not apologise for, but there is an apology that I do need to make.

I need to apologise for not being critical enough.

I am sorry that I did not probe deeper. I did not ask enough questions. I did not apply enough pressure through the media.

The reality is that even I underestimated the wholesale looting that went on in this department under the former MEC.

I was just not cynical enough. I could not conceive how people could divert money for their own benefit when every penny is needed to improve medical care in this province.

This department overspent by R771 million in the last financial year, but the tragedy is that this amount and more was probably wasted through inefficiency and corruption.

Statement issued by Jack Bloom, MPL (Suspended), Democratic Alliance Gauteng corruption spokesman, November 19 2009

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