A proclamation issued by President Cyril Ramaphosa last month has been gazetted, paving the way for the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) to probe Tembisa Hospital regarding the numerous allegations of corruption and maladministration.
In a statement, the SIU said it would “investigate procurement of or contracting for goods and services by or on behalf of the Health Department for/by the hospital and payments made … in a manner that was not fair, competitive, transparent, equitable or cost-effective or violating guidelines by issued by the National Treasury …”
It would focus on “unauthorised, irregular, or fruitless and wasteful expenditure incurred by the Gauteng Department of Health, Tembisa Hospital, or the state” while also investigating any unlawful or improper conduct by “officials or employees of the department or the hospital, the applicable suppliers or service providers or any other person …”, reports News24.
Last year, after the assassination of whistle-blower Babita Deokaran, then-Gauteng Premier David Makhura had asked the SIU to investigate discrepancies she had uncovered at the hospital.
The SIU had examined a small fraction of the more than 1 200 transactions Deokaran flagged as “possibly fraudulent”.
It found hospital officials overlooked a litany of discrepancies in bid documents, all of which were either missed or ignored to ensure the contracts were awarded.
The SIU confirmed maladministration and possible fraud and corruption related to the supply chain management process, and that fraudulent suppliers and/or service providers were conducting business with the hospital, and that possible fraudulent payments were made to those service providers.
The CEO at Tembisa Hospital at the time was responsible for authorising purchase orders and requests linked to the irregular appointment of 13 service providers.
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
SIU gets Presidency nod for Tembisa Hospital probe
Tembisa staff linked to R1bn fraud still at work
Gauteng health boss ignored Deokaran’s plea for probe, claims acting HoD