The Gauteng Department of Health has received Treasury approval to roll over only R530m of the R1.1bn it failed to spend in 2023/24, which means R570m will be returned to the fiscus.
The department had asked for a rollover of R780m. DA provincial health spokesperson Jack Bloom, who told BusinessLIVE this was disclosed at a meeting of the legislature’s Health Committee last week, said it was appalling “that so much money has been lost that should have been used to improve healthcare”.
Additionally, he said, according to accrual figures given at the meeting, R3.45bn was owed to suppliers for more than 30 days.
Bloom said a “wholesale” change of top management in the department was needed to fix the “dire inefficiency and corruption” affecting service delivery in the province.
Previously, he had said the unspent R1.1bn could have been used for urgent cancer treatment to save lives, or to employ 3 000 more nurses for a year or build 10 clinics.
Bloom also previously noted most of the R250m budgeted in 2023 for urgent cancer treatment was not spent, saying this was “yet another example of poor financial management that plagues this department.”
The Cancer Alliance has brought an urgent court application against Gauteng Health to compel it to spend the more than three-quarters of a billion rands set aside by the provincial Treasury in 2023 to address its radiation oncology and surgical backlog.
The department had been allocated an extra R784m in the 2023/24 financial year but has yet to provide backlog patients with the care they need.
The Cancer Alliance has asked the High Court to declare the failure to implement a plan to provide radiation therapy to patients at Charlotte Maxeke and Steve Biko hospitals as unlawful and unconstitutional.
It asked the court to direct the department to take “all necessary steps” to provide these services to patients on its backlog list within 45 days at either public or private facilities.
Cancer Alliance also asked the court to interdict the department from paying R250m it had set aside for outsourcing radiation oncology services.
There are about 3 000 cancer patients on the provincial department’s backlog list for radiation therapy.
The department said that it would oppose the Cancer Alliance in court.
BusinessLIVE article – Treasury limits Gauteng health department’s rollover (Restricted access)
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
Gauteng Health fails to spend budget millions – again
Gauteng Health fails to spend its budget, despite service backlogs
Gauteng Health accuses Cancer Alliance of interference as case postponed
Gauteng Health sued over unspent cancer millions
Activists march for unused R784m to be spent on cancer patients