The DA in Gauteng has called for a review of ballooning hospital security costs, with MPL Jack Bloom saying the exorbitant amounts could rather be diverted to improve patient care, and that cartels could be involved in the awarding of the inflated and highly lucrative contracts.
In a written reply to questions from Bloom in the Gauteng legislature, Health MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko admitted that costs for security services at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital had rocketed to R77m a year compared with a more modest R22m 10 years ago.
Calvin and Family Security Services was awarded a three-year contract worth R232m to provide 275 security staff, including 248 low-paid grade C officers, but Bloom said this amounts to about R23 000 per worker a month – while most grade C security officers only usually earn about R6 000 a month.
He questioned why the costs had increased so much, also citing the R72m a year spent on security at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Hospital, up from R35m three years ago.
TimesLIVE reports that he also disclosed that Bara CEO Dr Nthabiseng Makgana, who was appointed last year, is paying for extra guards and security vehicles.
The department defended this, saying she “has elected, at her own expense, to secure additional protection based on her personal risk assessment and security needs”.
Cartel
Talking to Radio 702, Bloom said it was likely that the security guards were not actually being paid as much as R23 000 per month and questioned the accuracy of the hospital’s guard count.
He said that while security should be a high priority, the surging costs were a concern and cannot be justified.
“There has been a rotation of security companies, but it’s the same companies just doing different hospitals,” he pointed out.
“I think there’s a cartel here, and they manage the process so they all get very lucrative contracts at the expense of patients.
“If you’re spending close to a billion rands a year on hospital security, something’s very wrong because that money should rather go to treating patients.”
The DA called this a wasteful expenditure, saying it was particularly concerning when considering the financial crisis faced by Gauteng Health, reports BusinessTech
The department is the biggest beneficiary in the province’s 2025/26 financial year budget, receiving R67bn. However, this budget is 3.7% lower than the previous year – during which it failed to spend R1.1bn due to issues with financial controls and poor planning.
Bloom described the regional health system as being in crisis. Apart from previous underspending, patients are still enduring delays in oncology treatment.
The current dire situation was anticipated to continue as the department struggles to maintain health facilities and secure goods and services, he added.
Bloom said the situation was exacerbated because the budget did not account for 1 180 vacant critical positions or the 7 131 professional nurses required to provide quality healthcare.
“Also, no extra funds have been allocated to repair deteriorating hospitals, none of which meets fire and safety standards.”
BusinessTech article – Battle over security guards being paid R23,000 per month (Open access)
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