A written reply to the provincial legislature by Gauteng Health MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko has revealed that companies with links to the sons of Deputy President Paul Mashatile have been paid tens of millions of rands to ensure hospitals comply with the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
This disclosure comes amid reports of two separate fires this year at Tembisa Hospital, highlighting critical safety failures. According to the MEC’s reply and an investigative report by News24, an estimated R46.66 million has already been paid to these companies for services related to fire alarms and sprinkler systems.
Democratic Alliance (DA) health spokesperson in Gauteng, Jack Bloom, has sharply criticized the payments, stating that the companies are claiming an additional R44 million from the health department. This is despite the fact that all 37 public hospitals in the province remain non-compliant with occupational health and safety legislation.
“The companies are still claiming an additional R44 million rand because they claim for services the department says they’re doing. I want to know what they are doing. They certainly didn’t do anything at the Tembisa hospital,” Bloom stated.
The original contract, awarded approximately three years ago, was for R49 million. The total claims from the companies have now exceeded R90 million, a figure Bloom calls “very suspicious.”
He has raised serious concerns about the procurement process, noting the companies were appointed as “panel providers” rather than through a clear, individual tender process. Bloom has committed to submitting follow-up questions to the legislature, demanding a detailed breakdown of which hospitals were supposedly serviced and what specific work was completed.
The situation at Tembisa Hospital was cited as a critical example of the failure. Following two devastating fires, the hospital remains non-operational in sections, forcing patients to be diverted to already overcrowded neighboring facilities.
“The fact that we’re paying out so much money to companies that don’t appear to be doing their jobs needs further investigation,” Bloom said. He also pointed to a potential conflict of interest, given the companies’ links to the deputy president’s sons, and called for an expedited investigation.
This latest controversy is set against a backdrop of widespread corruption within the Gauteng Health Department. Bloom referenced a Special Investigating Unit (SIU) probe that uncovered over R2 billion in “fishy contracts and irregular spending” at Tembisa Hospital alone, for which official Babita Deokaran was assassinated after attempting to stop the fraudulent flow of funds.
Over the past decade, the DA estimates that Gauteng Health has lost approximately R20 billion to corruption—funds that Bloom says could have transformed public healthcare in the province.
“The health department is absolutely notorious for corrupt contracts,” Bloom said, calling for the dismissal of the current Health MEC and the Head of Department, who is himself under investigation by the SIU for allegedly participating in multi-million rand bribes. “That department needs a complete clean out.”
