Helen Joseph Hospital in Johannesburg. Picture: Refilwe Modise/The Citizen South African hospitals have made several headlines this year with a series of damaging scandals, from a staggering R2 billion corruption scheme at Tembisa Hospital to persistent linen shortages leaving patients without basic bedding. The controversies have exposed systemic failures across the country’s public healthcare system, raising serious questions about management, accountability, and patient dignity.
The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) released an interim report in September detailing one of the most devastating cases of public sector corruption in recent memory. The probe revealed three coordinated syndicates responsible for siphoning over R2 billion from Tembisa Hospital, funds intended for healthcare services to vulnerable communities. The investigation was prompted by whistleblower Babita Deokaran, who flagged irregular tenders at the hospital in 2021.
Tragically, Deokaran was assassinated outside her home in Winchester Hills, Johannesburg in August that year. The investigation currently involves 207 service providers who conducted business with the hospital under 4,501 purchase orders, with total irregularities under investigation exceeding R2 billion. “Key officials from the Gauteng Department of Health (GDOH) and Tembisa Hospital are accused of benefiting from corrupt payments that facilitated the irregular appointment of service providers, involving money laundering and fraud through fronting and the use of false Supply Chain Management documentation,” the investigative unit stated.
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It revealed that the largest operation, the Maumela Syndicate linked to Hangwani Morgan Maumela, involves procurement bundles worth more than R816 million. The SIU traced 41 suppliers connected to Maumela, with his identified assets totaling around R520 million, including multiple Lamborghini vehicles, a Bentley Continental GT, and properties worth R293 million, including a R75 million Bantry Bay property. Two other major syndicates, the Mazibuko Syndicate and Syndicate X, involved procurement valued at R283 million and R596 million, respectively.
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