Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson. Picture: Gallo Images / Frennie Shivambu The Department of Public Works & Infrastructure terminated a lease agreement with Medicare 24 Tshwane District on Friday morning, following serious allegations about the award of the contract to a company linked to Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala. Public Works & Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson on Friday confirmed the termination of the lease for a hospital facility in Pretoria West after an internal investigation revealed critical legal irregularities.
According to Macpherson’s department, the probe found that the hospital facility was never declared surplus by the South African Police Service, which remains the designated user of the property. The allegations came to light through testimony in the Parliamentary Ad hoc Committee and an investigation by a South African media company, which detailed how Medicare 24 Tshwane District allegedly circumvented standard procurement processes to secure the lease. Matlala was reportedly the company’s owner and was formerly listed as a director.
The investigation determined that the lease agreement, which was entered into with Medicare 24 Tshwane District in December 2023, could not lawfully come into operation due to a fundamental procedural failure. “Departmental records indicate that SAPS requires the hospital facility for service delivery purposes. The formal declaration of the hospital facility as surplus is a necessary precondition for any lease to take lawful effect,” the department stated.
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Under the Government Immovable Asset Management Act of 2007, SAPS remains the designated user of the facility. The formal declaration of the hospital facility as surplus is a necessary precondition for any lease to take lawful effect, and without this declaration, the agreement could not be legally implemented. Given these findings, the department issued a notice of termination of the lease agreement with immediate effect on Friday morning to ensure legal certainty and compliance with applicable legislation and governance frameworks.
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