Outa urges more SIU funding to capacitate Tembisa Hospital investigation

The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) on Tuesday called for more funding to be directed to the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), to capacitate its investigation into the Tembisa Hospital syndicate and to ensure prosecutions.

On Monday, the SIU released the interim report on the Tembisa Hospital investigation, in which it revealed devastating plunder of the public purse, uncovering three coordinated syndicates responsible for the looting of over R2-billion.

The SIU found nine syndicates operating out of Tembisa Hospital, who were collectively behind the looting of at least R2.043-billion over a few years, from a hospital with a yearly budget of only R1.6-billion at the time.

Outa said it wanted implicated hospital and Gauteng Department of Health staff immediately suspended, and disciplinary and criminal cases pursued against them.

SIU spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago revealed that the SIU had identified at least 15 current and former officials involved in activities such as corruption, money laundering, collusion, and bid rigging with improperly appointed service providers at Tembisa Hospital.

To date, the SIU has prepared 116 disciplinary referrals against 13 officials, of which 108 were delivered to the Gauteng Department of Health (GDOH) relating to maladministration, as well as the irregular appointment of service providers at Tembisa Hospital.

Outa CEO Wayne Duvenage said his organisation did not trust the health department and wanted the referrals to be taken over by an independent third party, and all those implicated staff suspended immediately.

Outa also called on the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to prioritise the prosecutions the SIU had already forwarded, plus any more to come, urging "real, determined efforts" in prosecution.

"Furthermore, we believe it is imperative that implicated staff who have resigned to avoid disciplinary action, must be pursued by the SIU and NPA, and prosecuted. Every effort should be made to seize assets from those implicated to recover as much looted funds as possible," said Duvenage.

Outa now wants a full audit of all 37 Gauteng hospitals, in light of the Tembisa Hospital investigation.

"Gauteng has 37 State-funded hospitals, and one wonders how many others are being brazenly looted in a similar manner.

"It is clear to us that more needs to be done in implementing changes to the law, when it comes to the protection of whistleblowers and the investigators who challenge such organised, heartless corruption," he said.

Meanwhile, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) is demanding justice for Babita Deokaran and other whistleblowers in the case, noting that disclosures by the SIU confirm that the collapse of public health infrastructure is the result of a criminal alliance between politicians, senior officials, and syndicates, not foreign nationals.

The EFF claimed that corruption in South African healthcare is systemic and protected by those in power, and said it was outraged that Deokaran was allegedly killed for exposing, among others, one of President Cyril Ramaphosa's family members implicated in the looting.

The syndicates implicated in the coordinated looting of hospital funds include the Maumela Syndicate, which is linked to Hangwani Morgan Maumela, who is the nephew of Ramaphosa, through a previous marriage.

"What remains unclear is how much of these stolen funds have been channelled into the CR17 sealed envelope and used to bankroll the election budgets of the ANC. Until this question is answered, the looting of hospitals cannot be seen in isolation from the political machinery that sustains the ruling party's grip on power," said the EFF.