The Democratic Alliance (DA) is demanding swifter action against those responsible for looting roughly R2 billion from Tembisa Hospital.
Party representatives were outside Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi’s office on Thursday to stage a picket and hand over a memorandum outlining their demands.
The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) in September identified three syndicates that had used 41 service providers to siphon millions using fraudulent procurement orders.
DA memorandum for Lesufi
DA spokesperson for health, Jack Bloom, led the picket alongside Tembisa constituency heads Refiloe Ntšekhe and Khathutshelo Rasilingwane.
Standing outside Lesufi’s Johannesburg offices, Bloom read the contents of the memorandum to the gathered crowd.
“This money was stolen from the poor, the sick and the vulnerable. It needs to be recovered from the syndicate kingpins who bought flashy cars and luxury property while patients suffer in dingy, under‑staffed, and under‑equipped hospitals,” an excerpt of the memorandum reads.
The DA’s memorandum requested the prioritisation of the sale of seized assets and criminal charges against those identified by the SIU.
The fraud was identified by the murdered whistleblower Babita Deokaran, and the DA wish to see her killers urgently identified and arrested.
Gauteng health reforms
The DA also wants investigations extended to include all Gauteng hospitals, as well as an overhaul of the provincial Department of Health’s procurement process.
“The corruption is far wider than Tembisa Hospital, and it needs to be rooted out. The reality is that people die when health money is misappropriated on such a massive scale,” stated Bloom.
The removal of Gauteng Health MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko is another item on the DA’s list.
“She allowed former chief financial officer Lerato Madyo to resign with her pension money instead of being disciplined for suppressing Babita’s exposure of suspicious contracts at Tembisa Hospital,” states the memorandum.
“We need a new MEC who will effectively break up the corruption networks and replace all the cronies with competent and ethical people.”
Lesufi defiant
The DA has targeted Lesufi with several accusations in recent weeks, blaming the premier for the province’s unemployment rate and a decline in school safety, among other issues.
The party this week, via a Promotion of Access to Information Act, linked Lesufi’s administration to a R104 million municipal bill for 41 vacant government buildings.
Efforts to remove Lesufi were widely rejected when eight of the 11 parties in the provincial legislature voted against the DA’s motion of confidence last week.
Following the DA’s failed motion, Lesufi claimed it had backfired against the party.
“What has happened here? You have started a new revolution. All political parties that represent the aspirations of our people came together.
“All political parties that represent the future came together to defeat racists,” said Lesufi.
NOW READ: ‘Mad man’ Lesufi survives motion of no confidence
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