Esidimeni MEC owes the state

She used tax money to upgrade her home

Former health MEC Qedani Mahlangu, who was behind the Life Esidimeni saga‚ owes the Gauteng government for security upgrades on her private Bedfordview home.

DA provincial spokesman on health Jack Bloom has discovered that Mahlangu used taxpayers’ money for the upgrades, totalling R356558, since 2009. Between 2009 and 2014 she spent R104 000.

In 2014 she claimed more than R252 558 for security upgrades‚ but was only allowed to spend R200 000 in terms of legislation.

She is now required to pay back the R52 558 difference.

The legislature’s response sent to Bloom states that “all the MECs and former MECs whose security upgrades exceeded the R200 000 limit – Mahlangu‚ Molebatsi Bopape and Nandi Mayathula-Khoza – have been notified in writing by the premier about how much they have to pay back within a specified time frame.”

But some of these people queried the amounts they need to pay back and this is being verified by auditors‚ a process that ended last month.

Mahlangu is still waiting for the outcome of the verification process by the auditors, according to the legislature.

TimesLIVE has visited Mahlangu’s home multiple times in the past week, noticing that there were two security guards working on the property. One occupied the guard’s hut while the other was spot- ted patrolling in the street.

Mahlangu, who is studying in London, was recently suspended from Global Banking School‚ according to a letter by the vice-chancellor of the University of Bedfordshire‚ Bill Rammell. The suspension is due to the severity of the Esidimeni allegations against her.

Her lawyer, Angelo Christophorou, said Mahlangu had not misled anyone about her whereabouts and was not “evading her responsibilities, and has at all material times tendered to attend the [Esidimeni] arbitration”.