DA cries foul over lack of consequence management at Tembisa Hospital
|Published
Tembisa Hospital. Picture: Dimpho Maja/African News Agency(ANA)
SIYABONGA SITHOLE
Johannesburg - The DA has decried the lack of consequence management following an internal audit report into supply chain failures at Tembisa Hospital, which Health MEC Dr Nomathemba Mokgethi said was conducted by the suspended Tembisa Hospital CFO Lerato Madyo.
On Wednesday, Mokgethi confirmed that the outcomes of the random report had recommended strengthening of internal processes.
"Not a single person was disciplined at the Tembisa Hospital last year despite a damning audit that found a complete lack of controls in the award of tenders," the DA’s Gauteng health spokesperson Jack Bloom said in a statement on Thursday.
“The random audit was conducted per the CFO‘s request to ensure that compliance with SCM and Financial Management policies were adhered to and ultimately to advise on best practices to improve financial management performance also to ensure that value for money was achieved", Bloom said.
The audit started on 17 August last year, and the team was withdrawn from the hospital on 23 August, which was the date on which whistle-blower Babita Deokaran was murdered.
Mokgethi said that the report was shared with the hospital CEO and management, and the resultant action plan with progress made, challenges experienced with implementation and alternative actions to be taken was considered in entity exco meetings.
“I am astounded that no staff at the hospital were disciplined after this damning report, and there was no further investigation as requested by Babita Deokaran, who flagged hundreds of payments amounting to R850 million as “possibly fraudulent, " said Bloom.
On Wednesday, Mokgethi confirmed that Tembisa Hospital had suffered irregularities which were unveiled by a year-long internal audit report launched in 2021 by the hospital's suspected CFO Madyo.
Mokgethi said the random audit report was launched in August 2021, the same time, whistle-blower Babita Doekaran flagged irregularities at the embattled hospital.
The MEC was responding during a Gauteng Legislature sitting this week, adding that the report will help improve supply chain policies at the hospital.
"The aim of the random audit report was to advise on the best practices on how to improve financial management and performance and also to ensure that the hospital gets value for money when procurement when procuring goods and services," she said.
She also said the scope of the audit covered a range of outcomes procurement was made using database systems, orders were placed in line with supply chain practices, that delivery notes were aligned and checking whether there was no irregular expenditure, among many other outcomes.
The MEC said following the recommendations, the hospital has put measures in place to improve the situation.
"It should be noted that the department's internal audit controls measures were not a forensic audit, and as such, it is important to allow the Special Investigative Unit (SIU), which has been appointed by the Gauteng Provincial government, to conduct a forensic investigation into procurement at the Tembisa Hospital to conclude its work in this regard," Mokgethi said.
The Star