The DA welcomes the appearance in court today of four former officials of the Gauteng Health Department who were arrested in connection with alleged corruption in the award of a R1.2 billion tender to the Baoki Consortium in 2007.
The suspects include Sybil Ngcobo, former Gauteng health department head and accounting officer; Mmakgosi Mosupi, former chief director of Information and Communications Technology; Valdis Romaano, former director of Supply Chain Management; and former deputy director general Obakeng Mookeletsi.
This all happened when Brian Hlongwa was the MEC for Health and he is also implicated in the irregular award of the Baoki and other contracts.
The evidence includes the role of an Austrian citizen Mr Heinz Smidek, whose companies were part of the Baoki Consortium, in purchasing Hlongwa’s former home in Bryanston for R4.6 million as well as other gratifications to him in order for him to allegedly improperly influence the award of the tender to Baoki.
We need to know why Hlongwa has not been arrested and charged together with the officials who appeared in court today.
I have long suspected that the long delay in bringing this case to trial has been because Hlongwa had political protection.
The Gauteng Health Department has still not recovered from his disastrous tenure when financial controls dissolved and service delivery suffered.
There should be no fear or favour in ensuring that Hlongwa is also held to account along with others in this matter.