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ISSUE 57 – 30 August 2022 Email: olifants@papashamedia.co.za Tel: 010 023 1845 www.theolifants.co.za Find us on
Tembisa Hospital blows half a million on skinny jeans By Dumisani Hlatswayo
T
embisa Hospital bosses spent R500 000 on a shipment of girls’ skinny jeans. This revelation came to light following a forensic report by the late chief financial officer at the Gauteng Provincial Government Department of Health, Deokaran Babita. Babita’s death was linked to a corrupt COVID-19 PPE procurement scandal that cost the state R332 million. Besides skinny jeans, it is alleged that the hospital spent money on luxury armchairs and hand towels. With the hospital buying 2000 handtowels that cost R230 each, Deokaran’s report revealed 200 suspicious payments by the Tembisa Hospital. Her investigation uncovered 217 companies doing business with the hospital that scored thousands of “possibly fraudulent” contracts. In 2020, the SA Human Rights Commission was informed of numerous challenges faced by the hospital that led to the death of babies. “If you look at the resources, there is a disparity in terms of the allocation of resources and the demand
for services, so we are calling on the [health] department to look at resource allocation, particularly for Tembisa Hospital,” the SAHRC’s acting legal head, Buang Jones, said. A few months later, Shonisani Lethole was admitted with breathing complications. His family claimed that two days after his admission, the 35-year-old asked for food but wasn’t given any food. “I wish you guys could see how bad things are at Tembisa hospital. The casualty wards are full of people with stab wounds sitting unattended with older adults. The ICU only consists of 4 beds. The maternity ward has no showers & no blankets for both mother & baby. Kubi,” said one of the residents. “Corpses are left in a white container behind the ER. That’s where loved ones pick them up. Ill and heavily pregnant women sleep on the cold floors, and if you’re lucky, you’ll find a stretcher if it’s not occupied by what seems to either be another ill patient or a corpse,” she added. The DA has called for the suspension of the department’s chief financial officer and Dr. Ashley Mthunzi, the CEO of Tembisa Hospital. On Thursday, Mthunzi broke his
silence on the skinny jeans scandal, saying it was a typing error. Mthunzi claimed that the money was actually for sutures required by surgeons, but the wrong material code had been
punched in. The Gauteng provincial government has placed Tembisa Hospital CEO Ashley Mthunzi on precautionary suspension following his
explanation of why the hospital reportedly spent R500,000 on skinny jeans. All questions sent by The Olifants News to Tembisa Hospital were not answered.