JOHANNESBURG - "To be honest, I feel vindicated," says Prof Adam Mahomed.
Mahomed is the Clinical Head of Internal Medicine at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital and previously blew the whistle on the rot at the facility.
The Public Protector has released a scathing report on the handling of repairs at the hospital, which remains in a disastrous state years after the 2021 fire.
The report points to delays, maladministration, poor planning, and weak oversight. This has cost taxpayers billions and left healthcare workers and patients frustrated.
Mahomed says he and other staff feel vindicated, as the prolonged delays confirmed their concerns that something was wrong.
"We just could not put our hands on it because we are not part of the conversations," he says.
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Public Protector Adv. Kholeka Gcaleka on Friday released findings detailing allegations of delays by the Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development and the Gauteng Department of Health in repairing the hospital’s structural damage.
According to the report, the root causes of the delays are systemic and administrative.
These include disagreements over the hospital’s custodianship, failure to adhere to project plans, poor project management, and a persistent lack of coordination between the two departments.
Tensions between the departments became so severe that former Premier David Makhura intervened.
He transferred the hospital’s custodianship from the Department of Infrastructure Development back to the Health Department in 2022.
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Although the report’s scope ends in 2024, Mahomed says the challenges have continued into 2025 and 2026.
"It is the same thing," he says.
"We are not moving forward, we are moving backwards," he says.