‘Mafia’ looted Gauteng hospitals

Ashley Mthunzi, the suspended Tembisa Tertiary Hospital chief executive, signed off on R3-million in purchases that were not vetted

The Gauteng hospital “corruption mafia”, allegedly led by suspended Tembisa hospital chief executive Ashley Mthunzi, approved purchases of about R3-million in five months without proper vetting.

The Gauteng government knew that Mthunzi moved around with the same supply-chain management support staff members at three provincial hospitals to allegedly hijack the procurement departments to “manipulate” tender processes.

Despite the provincial government being made aware of the alleged hijacking, and the “instability” this causes at public hospitals, Mthunzi was still appointed as the chief executive of Tembisa Tertiary Hospital in June last year.

Two weeks ago, the Mail & Guardian reported that Mthunzi took the same executive management team to Pholosong Hospital, Far East Rand Hospital and Tembisa Tertiary Hospital — all of which are in Gauteng’s Ekurhuleni metro — where the team allegedly partook in corrupt and frivolous purchases.

Others alleged to be part of the corruption mafia are Rose Mashiyane and Joshua Fernandes, both of whom arrived at Far East Rand Hospital from Pholosong Hospital after November 2020, when Mthunzi was the acting chief executive at both hospitals, before heading to Tembisa hospital in May last year, initially in an acting capacity.

The M&G traced invoices dated 2021 that were signed by Fernandes, as the chairperson of the “vetting committees” that evaluated the feasibility of the purchases.

But Fernandes’ name does not appear in any of the vetting committee attendance registers. Sources in the department say this was the “brazen” manner in which supply-chain regulations were circumvented.

The vetting committee attendance registers were attached to official Gauteng health department purchase request forms, which were all signed by Mthunzi approving the procurement.

One allegedly frivolous procurement was for a ride-on scrubbing machine for the Far East Rand Hospital, unused since it was bought in January last year.

All the purchases — valued at R498 075, R489 000, R498 000,

R489000, R490000 and R491000 — were below the R500000 threshold that is required by the treasury for procurement to be advertised for competitive bids. The total spend in the five months was more than R2.9-million.

Mashiyane, who was seconded to Far East Rand Hospital from Pholosong Hospital as an assistant director in charge of projects and finances — despite there being someone employed in that position at Far East Rand — would sign all invoices as the “end user” of the procurement.

This drew the ire of Jackson Mabuza, a National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union leader, who, at a meeting on 3 June last year, told the Gauteng health department’s Terrance Magoro about the alleged shenanigans of Mthunzi, Fernandes and Mashiyane.

Magoro is the health department’s chief director for Ekurhuleni.

Mabuza, according to minutes from the June 2021 meeting, told the health department’s chief director that all tenders at Far East Rand Hospital were initiated by Mthunzi, Fernandes and Mashiyane without the involvement of anyone else.

“People from Pholosong [Mthunzi, Fernandes and Mashiyane] came with a mandate to rule. Far East Rand Hospital’s [financial management unit] has staff, but a clerk from Pholosong has been brought to the institution,” Mabuza is quoted as saying in the minutes.

Mabuza added that Mthunzi “made sure” that Fernandes and Mashiyane avoided the labour unions “at all costs” for their alleged irregular appointments and purchases to be processed without any obstructions.

“Mr Fernandes and Ms Mashiyane, as far as the labour [unions are] concerned; they are unknown people. Management does not respect labour.”

At another meeting, the minutes of which are dated 15 July last year, an official from former health MEC Nomathemba Mokgethi’s office was present in a meeting with board members of Far East Rand Hospital, where the MEC’S representatives were informed of the alleged irregularities committed by Mthunzi and his clique.

The official from Mokgethi’s office was Fanele Caiya, the former technical adviser to the MEC.

At the July 2021 meeting, the board members informed Caiya, who was representing Mokgethi, that there was “instability” with the manner in which Mthunzi operated.

“One chief executive [Mthunzi] was stretched between the two facilities and Far East Rand was overlooked over Pholosong Hospital. In the process the [supporting] staff [Fernandes and Mashiyane] was also stretched between the two facilities.

“Now the same chief executive and supporting staff are stretched to Tembisa, meaning that they are now responsible for three facilities,” said Malizo Magangane, the board chair at Far East Rand Hospital.

Magangane added that there was a “fear of who is going to be held accountable should anything go wrong”.

Caiya acknowledged the issues, and said these would be raised with the provincial government.

But, according to a written reply to Jack Bloom, the Democratic Alliance’s health spokesperson in the Gauteng legislature, Mokgethi admitted that Mthunzi was hired as Tembisa Hospital’s chief executive while facing misconduct charges, which could have led to his expulsion.

“On 15 September 2021, the acting head of department, Dr Sibongile Zungu, approved recommendations that Dr [Ashley] Mthunzi should be disciplined for contravening the recruitment and selection policy. The labour relations directorate was supposed to implement the said recommendations,” said Mokgethi, in response to Bloom.

On Monday the M&G sent detailed questions to the provincial department, which said it would respond on behalf of its employees, but failed to do so by the time of going to print.