Pretoria - New details have emerged that ANC Ekurhuleni regional treasurer Sello Sekhokho scored more than R80 million in tenders from other hospitals in Gauteng despite having no valid certificate to sell medical products.
This evidence was revealed by Gauteng Health and Wellness MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko in a written reply to questions from DA health spokesperson Jack Bloom in the provincial legislature.
In the past months, Nkomo-Ralehoko revealed that Sekhokho’s three companies, Kaizen Projects, Nokhokhoko Medical Supplies and Bollanoto Security, had received R14.5m from 55 contracts from Tembisa Hospital alone in the past years.
The latest replies were related to other hospitals in Gauteng in which Nkomo-Ralehoko confirmed that Sekhokho had also benefited and the amounts were higher compared to Tembisa Hospital.
Nkomo-Ralehoko said a total of 225 contracts were awarded in the last three years to Kaizen Projects, Nokhokhoko Medical Supplies and Bollanoto Security. They amounted to about R84m.
“These payments were to hospitals other than Tembisa Hospital, whereas in a previous reply to my questions it was disclosed that the three companies got R14.5m in 55 contracts from Tembisa Hospital in the last three years.
“Adding them together, there are a total of 280 contracts worth about R98.5m awarded to Sekhokho’s three companies.”
Reacting to the revelations, Bloom said it was poignant that this bombshell information was revealed on Wednesday, when the family of murdered Gauteng health official Babita Deokaran commemorated what would have been her 54th birthday.
She raised the alarm over suspicious payments to Sekhokho’s companies by Tembisa Hospital, but according to news reports, she was allegedly instructed by then health chief financial officer Lerato Madyo to pay the companies and keep it secret.
Madyo is now suspended along with the Tembisa Hospital CEO Ashley Mthunzi, and the SIU is investigating the R850m payments to fishy companies that Deokaran flagged as “possibly fraudulent”.
Bloom said Nkomo-Ralehoko gave a table in her reply that indicated only R4.6m paid to the companies, but that was contradicted by the appendices which indicate a far higher amount.
“All the payments are under R500 000, which allows the hospital CEO to sign off the contracts instead of going out to tender.”
Nkomo-Ralehoko said that none of the companies had SA Health Products Regulatory Authority approval for the sale of medical products, and “a number of irregularities were noted after the audit/assessment of internal controls”.
“A quick perusal of the payments shows blatant overcharging and fishy purchases,” Bloom said.
“Bollanoto Security provided no security services, but sold a wide variety of goods and even food supplies. This includes 108 rainsuits of various sizes for men and women, at a total cost of R1.88m. This is R17 000 for each rainsuit.
“R196 000 was apparently spent on 17 V-neck jerseys – this is R11 500 per jersey,” he said. Bloom also asked “why on earth was R294 000 spent on socks for Tokyo Sexwale Primary School?”
According to Bloom, the food was similarly overpriced – R937 000 was spent on 1 920kg of 6mm boerewors, which amounted to R488 a kg, as opposed to boerewors that can be bought for R100 a kg at a supermarket.
“Gross overcharging abounds in the purchase orders of all three companies, eg, R2.5m for 40 T-shirts provided by Nokhokhoko, and R280 000 for 27 men’s parabellum brown leather shoes from Kaizen.
“Overpriced goods were still being bought from the companies in July this year,” he said.
“It is outrageous! It looks like a giant scam to fleece hospitals which desperately need money for decent care to patients who suffer terribly when machines are broken, staff are short, and buildings are falling apart,” he said.
Bloom said he would ask further questions about which hospitals awarded the contracts as the CEOs and supply chain management officials in these hospitals should be held to account.
“We also need to know whether any of the money from Sekhokho’s contracts found its way to the ANC, especially now with all the ANC conferences. The SA National Civic Organisation (Sanco) claimed in June this year that inflated payments for contracts at Tembisa Hospital were intended for vote rigging and bribery by senior ANC officials in Gauteng.
“I have always suspected that there was high-level political protection for rotten officials in the Gauteng Health Department which is embroiled in an endless scandal,” Bloom said.
He said his party was demanding that an immediate freeze be put on all further payments to Sekhokho’s companies.
Pretoria News