NO-ONE DISCIPLINED AFTER DAMNING TEMBISA HOSPITAL AUDIT

Not a single person was disciplined at the Tembisa Hospital last year despite a damning audit that found a complete lack of controls in the award of tenders.

This is revealed by Gauteng Health MEC Nomathemba Mokgethi in a written reply to my questions in the Gauteng Legidlature.

According to Mokgethi: “This random audit was conducted per the CFO‘s request to ensure that compliance on SCM and Financial Management policies were adhered to and ultimately to advice on best practices to improve on financial management performance also to ensure that value for money was achieved.”

The audit started on 17 August last year and the team was withdrawn from the hospital on 23 August, which was the date on which whistleblower Babita Deokaran was murdered.

Controls were found to be ineffective in all of the areas investigated, and given a high risk rating as follows:

1. There was no Demand Management section

2. Central Supplier Database was not utilised as prescribed by National Treasury

3. Request for quotations should not have been received by a Supply Chain Management official

4. Treasury regulations not adhered to in acquisitions

5. Irregular expenditure 

6. Budget overspending 

7. Payments not made within 30 days

It was noted that a Price Check was not done and could have resulted in additional findings.

Mokgethi says that the report was shared with the hospital CEO and management and “the resultant action plan with progress made, challenges experienced with implementation and alternative actions to be taken was considered in entity exco meetings.”

I am astounded that no staff at the hospital were disciplined after this damning report, and there was no further investigation as requested by Babita Deokaran who flagged hundreds of payments amounting to R850 million as “possibly fraudulent”.

A forensic audit is only being done now after a News24 investigation unearthed fishy companies, gross overcharging, and purchases of luxury armchairs and skinny jeans.

If it wasn’t for diligent journalists, the CFO Lerato Madyo and hospital CEO Ashley Mthunzi would not have been suspended.

There should surely have been a rigorous follow-up after this “random audit” was done at the very time that Babita was murdered. 

This smacks of a cover-up at the highest levels.

The Health MEC is politically accountable and should be fired immediately. 

Her own role in this matter should also be investigated by the Special Investigating Unit.

Statement issued by Jack Bloom MPL, DA Gauteng Shadow Health MEC, 8 September 2022