Note to Editors: Below speech was delivered by DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Health, Dr Jack Bloom MPL on DA’s motion to pay tribute to Babita Deokaran and proposal to honour her memory
Madam Speaker, this motion seeks to pay tribute to the late Babita Deokaran and honour her memory.
Her family are unable to attend this sitting, but they are watching it live on the YouTube link.
At her memorial service, her niece Reola Haripersadh, said the following:
“Babita was a mother, daughter, sister, aunt, a cousin … She was an exemplary civil servant who diligently served the people of South Africa for more than 30 years. Her integrity and courage to stand up for what was right was second to none.”
The late Pravin Gordhan, then Minister of Public Enterprises, said she was a hero who should be commended and celebrated.
We should all agree that these are fine sentiments for a truly worthy person.
It should be noted, however, that then Gauteng Health MEC Nomathemba Mokgethi, did not attend the memorial but sent a message. Jeff Wicks describes it as “a stilted, plodding tribute that sounded more like a workplace performance appraisal.”
I am quoting from his excellent book “The Shadow State – Why Babita Deokaran had to die.”
I have spoken to Babita’s family. They tell me that she was passionately devoted to education. In her own life, she worked to improve her skills over a long period, and to use those skills for the public good.
We need to ask ourselves why people like Babita are not promoted and valued in government departments.
Why was Babita seen as a threat and not an asset in the Gauteng Health Department?
Jeff Wicks reveals in his book that Babita was at one stage suspended on false charges for six months.
She did not want her family to worry, so for six months she pretended to leave her house to go to work.
This is the truth of how Babita was side-lined by the Gauteng Health Department even before she picked up the suspicious transactions at the Tembisa Hospital.
Twelve days before her death, Babita sent the following message:
“Morning CFO, I am just worried that the guys in Tembisa are going to realise we are onto something. Our lives could be in danger.”
Babita was loyal to her employer, so she trusted her Chief Financial Officer. She blew the whistle internally, but someone from the department must have communicated with the person who ordered her murder. How else would they have known?
We know now that the then CFO, Lerato Madyo, initially froze R104 million in payments by Tembisa Hospital that were flagged by Babita, but shortly after she was murdered, she released those payments. She also did not do a proper forensic audit of R850 million suspicious payments as she had promised Babita.
This entire matter would have been successfully covered up if it were not for the efforts of the journalist Jeff Wicks, who analysed her cellphone and laptop after the Hawks did nothing with them.
We need to ask why the disciplinary enquiry against Lerato Madyo was delayed for two years. Shortly before it concluded, she was allowed to resign with her pension and R3 million she got while suspended on full pay.
I am pointing this out because the best tribute and legacy for Babita would be a completely transformed Gauteng Health Department. Can we honestly say that this is a department where competence, honesty, and integrity are ingrained practices?
The motion before us is more limited. It provides some options to honour her, but whatever is decided must be done in consultation with the family. It could be the naming of a facility, or a department. It may be a personnel service award, or it could be a bursary fund, or something else.
I am told that Babita was particularly affected by the plight of the mental patients in the Life Esidimeni tragedy, so it could relate to vulnerable groups in our health system.
The family have stressed to me that honesty and integrity must always be associated with anything that bears Babita’s name.
There is a six-month deadline for a report back to this House on what is agreed on.
I urge this House to adopt this motion, and for the department to engage with the family on how to take it forward.
MOTION: TRIBUTE TO BABITA DEOKARAN AND PROPOSAL TO HONOUR HER MEMORY
NOTING:
1. That Babita Deokaran, a senior official in the Gauteng Department of Health, was brutally murdered on 23 August 2021 in what is widely believed to have been a targeted assassination linked to her role as a whistleblower against corruption;
2. That she has become a national symbol of integrity and an inspiration for ethical and selfless public service;
BELIEVING:
1. That the Gauteng Provincial Legislature should formally express its deep appreciation for Babita Deokaran’s exemplary public service, for which she paid the ultimate price;
2. That a permanent commemoration of her legacy within the public health sector is both fitting and necessary;
THEREFORE RESOLVES:
1. That the Gauteng Provincial Legislature pays tribute to the life, service, and legacy of Babita Deokaran;
2. That the Gauteng Department of Health, in consultation with the family of Babita Deokaran, identify an appropriate way to honour her memory – such as the naming of a new facility, department, or a personnel service award;
3. That the department report back to this House on progress in this regard within six months.
Proposed: Jack Bloom MPL
Seconder: Sergio Dos Santos MPL