Gauteng govt completes investigation into nearly R600m spent refurbishing a private hospital

JOHANNESBURG - The Gauteng government has completed its investigation into the nearly R600 million irregularly spent on refurbishing a private hospital.

In 2022, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Gauteng government sanctioned the expenditure of R588 million to upgrade the Anglo Gold Ashanti Hospital in the West Rand.

At the time, the department said the 181-bed facility was donated to the government as a COVID-19 healthcare facility.

However a year after the multimillion-rand refurbishment, the mining company cancelled the lease for the government to use the hospital

The Auditor General (AG) listed the R588 million spent by the Gauteng government as a material irregularity.

This is the strongest notice the AG can issue.

It's issued in cases where there is a clear case of non-compliance with financial legislation, resulting in a loss for the public purse.

On Tuesday, the Gauteng government said it completed its investigation into the matter.

It says out of the nine implicated officials at the provincial Department of Health and Infrastructure - five have been dismissed, two received written warnings, one was acquitted and the other is no longer a government employee.

The provincial government says some of the officials have also been charged with fraud and corruption.