The Gauteng Department of Health says it’s not in a position to give more details on matters relating to transactions that form part of ongoing investigations into the Tembisa Hospital matter.
This comes amid media reports that Tembisa Hospital in Ekurhuleni east of Johannesburg paid R9 600 for a household plastic bucket, which actually costs R50.
Tembisa hospital CEO Ashley Mthunzi and CFO Lerato Madyo have been suspended following allegations of improper procurement and payment of service providers at the hospital.
This after Mthunzi allegedly signed contracts that went to companies that had no experience in health.
This allegedly happened during a time when the rate of coronavirus infections was high.
Gauteng Premier David Makhura announces investigation into the spending of money at Tembisa Hospital:
Half a million rand was apparently spent on a consignment of skinny jeans for young girls. Mthunzi argued that the skinny jeans were purchased erroneously instead of procuring surgical equipment.
These developments follow the gunning down of the department’s senior official and whistleblower Babita Deokaran last year.
The Gauteng Premier’s spokesperson, Vuyo Mhaga says, ” We needed to make sure that whatever the decision that we take is legally binding and sound. Because you can rush it only to find out you have no case out of technicalities and then you don’t get the results that you need. We believe that we now have grounds to take action, that’s how we are operating.”
“We don’t necessarily shoot from the hip. We must always be guided by the law, so that in the long run, we don’t bungle it up, on the basis that we wanted to rush,” adds Mhaga.
In a statement, the Gauteng Department of Health says the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has been appointed to assist with forensic investigations into the matter.
Tembisa Hospital pins ‘skinny jeans’ invoice to a typing error:
