Klerksdorp Record, Mahikeng - The Hawks arrested eight senior officials from the Department of Health on charges of fraud, corruption, and violations of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA).
Former Heads of the Department (HOD) Lydia Kenelilwe Sebego, Dr Thabo Andrew Lekalakala, and Vuyo Sipho Welsley Mbulawa, as well as the former Chief Director, Kabelo Elliot, Director Andrew Motene, Deputy Director Ntebaleng Florence Matlapeng, and two directors of private companies, Joseph Mojoji Leshaba of Raliform Investment Holdings and Roulgh Lotwane Mabe of MR Property were arrested.
Hendriëtte van Huyssteen, DA Spokesperson on Health in the NW Provincial Legislature, welcomed these arrests and called on the MEC of Health, Sello Lehari, to provide a full account of interim measures to be taken against any implicated officials who remain employed by the Department of Health.
“Former HOD Lydia Kenelilwe Sebego is accused of bypassing standard procurement regulations when the Department entered into Service Level Agreements (SLA) with MR Property and Raliform Investment Holdings for supplying medical supplies to hospitals in Ledig and Vryburg.
“Further SLAs were signed with these service providers in 2015 and 2016, raising additional concerns over irregular expenditure. To add further petrol to the already blazing corruption claims, reports suggest that Sebego and Lekalakala received unlawful gratifications in return for awarding these contracts. There are also allegations of payments made for services that were never rendered, with an estimated R86 million in fruitless expenditure, only further highlighting concerns over mismanagement and financial misconduct within the department.”
The DA further demands that MEC Lehari explain how he intends to recover all fruitless and wasteful expenditure.
The DA will also refer the matter to the Public Service Commission (PSC) for further investigation into the extent of financial mismanagement.
