Whistleblower death: DA charges former Tembisa Hospital CFO in R2 billion corruption scandal

The office of Gauteng Provincial Premier, Panyaza Lesufi, has accused the Democratic Alliance (DA) in the province of being reckless in their demands for the Premier to 'prematurely and publicly' name and shame officials involved in the Tembisa Hospital corruption allegations.

This comes as the party has confirmed that it has formally laid seven criminal charges against former Tembisa Hospital CFO, Lerato Madyo, over her alleged role in the corruption and possible collusion with those involved in the death of whistleblower,  Babita Deokaran, in August 2021.

On Thursday, DA provincial chairperson, Solly Msimanga, accused Lesufi of acting against now-suspended Gauteng Department of Health HOD, Lesiba Arnold Malotana, only because of mounting pressure following the recent Special Investigative Unit (SIU) investigation.

This, after the investigation uncovered the extent of the R2 billion corruption, which involves low-level and high-level provincial and departmental officials.

"Madyo is central to the Tembisa corruption. If this government really cares about ending corruption, they will get to the bottom of this and they will launch a full-scale investigation on what is happening at the Gauteng Department of Health so that we can ensure quality health for the people....We asked about the lifestyle audits on Lesiba Malotana...The public should not be fooled by Lesufi, because he is behaving in the way that he was behaving when he was still the spokesperson of the department. We need a Premier who takes action at the time when something is happening and not when there is pressure for him to act," said Msimanga.

DA shadow MEC of health, Jack Bloom, said it was on Madyo's watch that most of the corruption with tender systems happened at the hospital.

"Shortly before her death, Babita sent her this WhatsApp message: 'Morning, CFO, I am just worried that the guys in Tembisa are going to realise we are onto something. Our lives could be in danger.

"Madyo initially froze the R104 million in payments to suspicious companies that Babita flagged, but later allowed them to be paid. After telling Babita she would act on her recommendation for a forensic investigation of transactions worth R850 million, she only did a small sample audit at the hospital, and even this report was suppressed," Bloom added.

However, responding to calls for the Premier to act tough on other syndicates and provincial officials who have not been held accountable for the corruption, Elijah Mhlanga accused the DA of wanting to force the Premier to act recklessly and without following protocol.

"The Premier will not be as reckless as the DA wants him to be. While speed is needed, accuracy is also most important. There are several reports that the Premier has had to consider before taking action. We fully understand the eagerness to see action; however, it must be done responsibly in terms of procedure to avoid an undesirable outcome at the end," Mhlanga said.

"The Gauteng Health Department dragged out its disciplinary enquiry on 13 misconduct charges for two years. Scandalously, they allowed her to resign shortly before a finding was to be made, so she walked off with her pension and R3 million paid to her while she was suspended," Bloom added.

The DA's seven charges include Contravention of Section 34 of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act (PRECCA),  contravening Section 18 of the Criminal Procedure Act which deals with attempting or conspiring to commit an offence such as fraud; Violations of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) including the following sections and failure by Madyo to ensure effective, efficient, and transparent systems of financial and risk management and internal controls.

Gauteng police spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Mavela Masondo, committed to check with the Johannesburg Central Police Station on the status of the case but had not responded by deadline.

siyabonga.sithole@inl.co.za