The DA welcomes the conclusion of disciplinary hearings against 9 Gauteng Department of Health and Infrastructure Development officials who were suspended for their involvement in irregular contracts worth R500 million for the refurbishment of the Anglo Ashanti Hospital.
They were charged with misconduct, fraud and corruption – five were dismissed, two got written warnings, one was acquitted, and one got off because he was no longer employed with the department.
Unfortunately, the disciplinary case took three years to conclude, costing more than R20 million for salaries of the suspended officials.
Criminal charges should be laid against the implicated officials as well as those in the companies that benefitted from the irregular contracts.
There should also be political accountability for the extremely poor decision to refurbish this hospital in the Far West Rand that was not even owned by the provincial government. It was supposed to be used for Covid-19 patients in 2020, but only a hundred patients were treated there and the hospital is now abandoned and vandalised.
There should be no cover-up as I suspect the disciplinary process was deliberately delayed to protect certain people.
The DA will closely monitor further action in this matter, which should include recovery of the wasted state money.