By Akani Nkuna
The Public Protector South Africa (PPSA), led by Kholeka Gcaleka, has found that budget underspending, poor planning and weak coordination among state entities contributed to delays in critical repairs at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital following the devastating 2021 fire.
“It is apparent that the causes of the delays in this project are largely attributed to broader underlying administrative and systemic circumstances, such as delayed regulatory approvals, disagreements concerning project scope, transfer of custodianship of the hospital, failure to adhere to project plans, poor planning, poor project management, lack of proper coordination, and budget underspending,” Gcaleka said.
“The investigation has further shown a recurring pattern of lack of coordination and inefficient use of public resources.”
Gcaleka was briefing the media in Pretoria on Friday on findings into allegations of undue delays by the Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development (GDID) and the Gauteng Department of Health (GDoH) relating to structural repairs at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital.
The investigation follows a devastating fire that broke out at the hospital in April 2021.
The blaze, which started in a parking area, spread rapidly through the building, forcing the emergency evacuation of hundreds of patients and causing extensive damage to hospital infrastructure.
The Public Protector found that more than R666 million had been allocated to the provincial health department for repairs between 2021 and 2024, but only R324 million had been spent by the end of March 2024 — amounting to 51.3% budget utilisation.
Gcaleka said the persistent underspending created opportunities for corruption and weakened accountability, particularly as the Gauteng health department was already plagued by allegations of irregularities and financial mismanagement during the 2022/24 financial years.
She said the delays had escalated the overall project cost from R1.1 billion to R1.7 billion, reinforcing findings of maladministration.
“The evidence before the Public Protector indicates persistent budget underspending by the Department of Health despite available ring-fenced funding. This is inconsistent with the requirements of the Public Finance Management Act and Treasury regulations, and remains inadequately accounted for,” Gcaleka said.
As part of the binding remedial action, Gcaleka recommended that Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi authorise skills assessments and performance reviews for officials involved in procurement and capital infrastructure projects.
“I further recommend that the premier consider subjecting all officials at GDID and GDoH responsible for supply chain and financial management functions to the ongoing risk-based lifestyle audits currently being conducted by his office in collaboration with the SIU,” she said.
Gcaleka also recommended that the premier institute consequence management within 30 days of receiving the report against officials implicated in the hospital fire remedial works.
In addition, the Public Protector directed the Gauteng Department of Health to disclose details of budget underspending between 2021 and 2024 to the Auditor-General and Gauteng Treasury to enable the preparation of consolidated financial statements in line with the Public Finance Management Act.
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