25 Corruption cases at Charlotte Maxeke hospital
24 March 2022
The Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Hospital has had 25 corruption-related disciplinary cases in the last five years, six of which involved procurement irregularities.
This is revealed by Gauteng Health MEC Nomathemba Mokgethi in a written reply to my questions in the Gauteng Legislature.
The cases include the following:
- Two cases of forged medical certificates - the one employee was dismissed and the other one resigned while facing a disciplinary hearing.
- Selling of jobs - the employee resigned before the disciplinary hearing.
- A bribery case in December 2021 which is still ongoing.
- Fraudulent identity document - this happened in January 2012 but management only became aware of it in January this year, and the employee has absconded.
- Falsification of records - the employee got a final written warning.
I am concerned that disciplinary action has not been concluded in two cases involving procurement irregularities that date back to February and March 2020. According to Mokgethi, these cases “were put on hold subject to the Covid-19 status in the country.”
How can it be that a disciplinary hearing on a critical corruption matter drags on for two years?
In the four other cases of procurement irregularities, one was closed for lack of evidence, one employee absconded, one died, and one resigned before the hearing.
I suspect these cases are the tip of the iceberg. Lackadaisical action against all forms of corruption hurts patients the most as they suffer when money is misappropriated that should be used to provide better treatment.
Issued by Jack Bloom, DA Gauteng Shadow Health MEC, 24 March 2022
