ActionSA Gauteng notes with cautious optimism the suspension of Mr Lesiba Arnold Malotana, Head of the Gauteng Department of Health and Wellness, by Premier Panyaza Lesufi amid the mounting pressure over ongoing investigations into Tembisa Hospital corruption and tender irregularities.
Whilst this step signals acknowledgment of the severity of the crisis, we view it as a beginning of a journey that is far from complete. This suspension must not become a symbolic gesture, where officials are perpetually suspended, only to return to work later. This must be a turning point towards meaningful accountability, justice and structural reform in Gauteng’s broken health system.
ActionSA urges the Premier to institute the following:
Transparent investigation and criminal referrals
The suspension must be accompanied by a full, independent investigation into Malotana’s role in the procurement and administrative failures at the hospital. Should evidence emerge, criminal charges must follow. The public deserves to see the names, evidence, prosecutions and sentencing.
Responsibility must extend to all implicated officials
This is not just about one individual. The SIU report has implicated many service providers, hospital staff and health department officials across different levels. All those complicit – through action or omission – must face disciplinary and criminal consequences.
Interim appointment must not create further lapses
The appointment of Dr Darion Barclay as acting head, whilst welcome, must be accompanied by a mandate to immediately stabilise the department, ensure continuity of critical services and protect whistleblowers and data. ActionSA will monitor whether he is empowered rather than handcuffed.
Public release of performance agreements and lifestyle audits
Lesufi has promised that performance agreements of MECs would be published on Thursday, 16 October. That transparency must extend to departmental leadership. Lifestyle audits should be applied not only to SCM officials but all senior staff in the Health Department to help rebuild public trust.
Full restoration of Tembisa Hospital’s services
Whilst the focus is on corruption, patients are still suffering. The partially destroyed Accident and Emergency unit and other damaged sections must be fully restored, urgent maintenance must commence, and staffing gaps filled immediately.
Procurement overhaul across Gauteng Health
This suspension should kick off a wholesale review of the procurement systems that enabled the looting of R2 billion from Tembisa Hospital. Digital procurement, real-time audit controls and independent oversight must become standard. This will enable the early detection and prohibition of irregularities.
The looting of Tembisa Hospital is a symptom of a deeper rot in Gauteng Health – corruption, weak controls and impunity. The public must see more than headline gestures. They must see courts, accountability, reform and, ultimately, improved services. Otherwise, this suspension will be yet another hollow promise served to placate fed-up Gauteng residents. ActionSA will hold this administration accountable at every turn.
ActionSA remains committed to ensuring that this scandal does not fade into obscurity as another unpunished memory. We will closely monitor these developments; where they are not implemented, ActionSA will ask uncomfortable, but necessary questions, use legislative tools, public oversight, grassroots pressure and, if need be, courts to demand that the people of Gauteng see results, not rhetoric.