Note to editors: Please find attached English soundbite by Madeleine Hicklin MPL.
- Recovering R42.4 million is only the beginning, accountability must follow.
- The entire corruption network involved in the Tembisa scandal must be investigated.
- A DA-led Gauteng would strengthen procurement and consequence management.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) backs the Special Investigating Unit’s (SIU) recovery of R42.4 million linked to the Tembisa Hospital corruption scandal. However, recovering stolen money is not enough. The Gauteng Department of Health must ensure that officials implicated in wrongdoing face appropriate disciplinary action, enhance procurement controls, and pursue every cent unlawfully taken from the state.
The R42.4 million recovery is noteworthy; however, it does not prove that the system has been fixed. Instead, it demonstrates the scale of the alleged corruption at Tembisa Hospital and underscores the enormous task ahead to ensure accountability.
Asset recovery does not equate to justice. Those against whom sufficient evidence exists must be investigated and, where appropriate, prosecuted. This must include officials who allegedly facilitated irregular procurement, businesses that benefited, those who allegedly paid bribes, and anyone found to have enabled or protected the network.
The concerns raised by murdered whistleblower Babita Deokaran cannot be allowed to fade from public memory. Her report identified 224 service providers implicated in malfeasance associated with the Tembisa procurement scandal. Yet the department has issued only 116 disciplinary referrals involving 13 officials, and as of December 2025, no criminal charges had been filed.
Current estimates indicate that at least 15 Gauteng Health/Tembisa officials are allegedly involved in corruption, money laundering, or bid rigging, and number is expected to rise. The then Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Lerato Madyo was suspended with full pay and later retired with a golden handshake and full pension. Former Head of Department (HOD) Arnold Lesiba Malotana allegedly received R1.3 million in ATM deposits into various accounts. Despite this, he was placed on suspension with full pay while an investigation whose findings remain undisclosed was underway.
Justice will only be served when the full network is dismantled, the masterminds behind both the alleged corruption and Babita’s killing are brought before court, stolen public money is recovered, and the procurement systems that allowed this to happen are permanently strengthened.
The DA’s position is clear: follow the money, follow the officials, and follow the decision-makers. Where evidence shows that public servants accepted bribes, manipulated procurement processes, or facilitated corruption, they must face criminal investigation and appropriate disciplinary consequences.
A DA-led Gauteng Provincial Government would ensure the Gauteng Department of Health continues disciplinary proceedings even after resignations, creates a permanent misconduct record, and protects public money. This must happen while cases are resolved and makes consequence management for misconduct enforceable. Our citizens deserve nothing less. Corruption must be eliminated in all Gauteng Provincial Government departments and entities, as it steals money from delivering services and infrastructure that grow the economy and create jobs.