After yet another massive copper cable theft from the beleaguered Charlotte Maxeke Hospital, the DA in Gauteng has called for the institution’s security company to be fired, saying it suspected “inside collusion”.
Gauteng DA health spokesperson Jack Bloom said copper piping worth R3m was stolen from above an operating theatre over the weekend of 7 January, while last year, copper cables worth R30m and equipment worth R200 000 was stolen from the hospital.
He said these high-value thefts occurred despite more than R30m spent every year at the hospital, which was supposed to have functioning security cameras at key locations as well, reports News24.
"The security company has to be held accountable,” he said, adding that all Gauteng hospital security contracts were supposed to be advertised more than six years ago after the expiry of the previous two-year contracts, but had been irregularly extended on a month-by-month basis.
After a fire at the hospital in April 2021, Gauteng Health MEC Nomathemba Mokgethi said the work to complete the casualty section had suffered a major setback due to theft.
Bloom said there was an urgent need for new security contracts at all Gauteng public hospitals to ensure cost-effective and efficient security to stop theft and protect staff and patients.
Health Department spokesperson Motalatale Modiba said Charlotte Maxeke’s day-to-day management of security had been outsourced to private company Mafoko Security Patrols.
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