Health minister pledges to hold Tembisa Hospital's late CEO accountable for corruption

Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi has sworn that, despite being late, Tembisa Hospital chief executive officer, Dr Ashley Mthunzi, is not off the hook for his alleged participation in looting the state of over R2 billion through the hospital’s irregular tenders.  

Mthunzi was fingered in the interim report, which the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) released last month, more than a year after he passed away on April 24, 2024.

The SIU is continuing to investigate allegations of corruption and maladministration involving criminal syndicates led by businessmen Vusi “Cat” Matlala, Hangwani Maumela, and Rudolph Mazibuko, with the assistance of hospital staff. 

The report revealed that Mthunzi authorised appointments of non-compliant bidders, and that the purchase orders sent to the Gauteng Health Department contained irregular certificates that were never questioned by provincial employees despite having inflated prices. 

Mthunzi passed away after a short illness. 

Talking to SAFM on Saturday morning, Motsoaledi said Mthunzi left behind a property that will be confiscated. 

“You are aware that the CEO in Tembisa who has been fingered is late, but he has an estate. 

“So the fact that he is late does not mean that the case is over, is closed,” said Motsoaledi. 

Mthunzi’s wife, Lerato Mthunzi, the secretary general of the Health and Allied Workers Indaba Trade Union (HAITU), who has been claiming that her husband was a scapegoat, did not respond to a request sent to her on Saturday midday to respond to the minister’s statement.

Motsoaledi described health officials who participated in wrongdoing at the hospital as “dead meat”, as they would suffer the same consequences as Maumela, who is President Cyril Ramaphosa’s nephew from a previous marriage.

The SIU pounced on Maumela’s state-of-the-art house in Sandton early this month and confiscated expensive property, including three Lamborghinis. 

The minister said the hospital mid-level manager who was mentioned in the SIU report as having benefited R30 million from the syndicate's dealings would face the full might of the SIU. 

“What has he done with that money? Obviously, he has bought a house and cars. All those things, the SIU will have to legally retrieve.

“What you have seen last week by the SIU confiscating properties of Maumela is going to happen to all these government officials, as the SIU is going to look at their properties. 

“I can clearly tell you that what you have seen happening to Maumela is just the tip of an iceberg; it is just the beginning,” he said.

When asked why former Gauteng Provincial Health Department chief financial officer, Lerato Madyo, was allowed to resign while facing allegations of not acting on the report submitted by murdered whistle-blower Babita Deokaran, on possible fraudulent transactions at Tembisa Hospital, Motsoaledi said the government does not have a policy that stops its employees from resigning while facing allegations.

However, he stated that Madyo would still be held criminally accountable.

He said when he was the Home Affairs minister, an employee of the South African embassy in Namibia was caught selling fraudulent visas to Pakistani nationals, and she was disciplined and fired, but the Hawks continued to investigate her conduct.

“They took two years to confront her criminally, but the night before they could arrest her, she died,” he said without mentioning the cause of her death.

The SIU can only confiscate movable and immovable assets obtained through shoddy dealings with State money, but it does not have the power to institute criminal actions against the alleged perpetrators. 

He said normally, government employees who committed corruption at the provincial level would face disciplinary actions at the provincial level, but concerning the Tembisa Hospital matter, the national department would handle the disciplinary actions because some of the implicated officials work for the provincial department. 

Motsoaledi said the National Health Council met with health MECs, the SA Military Health Services, and metros, as they are running health clinics, and had discussed the issue of corruption in the health sector. 

He added that CEOs of all major hospitals have been invited to a workshop where the SIU will educate them, step-by-step, on the methods employed by health officials collaborating with syndicates and cartels, to prevent such activities.

bongani.hans@inl.co.za