PRETORIA - Health and infrastructure contracts awarded to refurbish the AngloGold Ashanti Hospital have been declared unlawful, unconstitutional, and invalid after an investigation by the SIU.
Government departments were awarded contracts amounting to R600 million during the COVID-19 pandemic.
SIU spokesperson, Kaizer Kganyago said this was part of the investigation that they conducted during COVID-19 involving all the government departments.
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Allegations were made in 2022 that the facility was not used for extra beds during the third wave of COVID-19 as initially intended.
In June 2021, Gauteng Premier David Makhura's office released a statement saying, "the hospital would alleviate pressure as the province prepares for the imminent third wave."
The SIU found during investigations what was budgeted as minor renovations, initially planned to cost about R50 million ballooned into R600 million.
The unit is in the process of recovering those funds.
Kganyago explained that the Office of the Gauteng Premier had to finalise the referral in relations to a disciplinary hearing for officials implicated in misconduct and the people involved were dismissed a month ago.
The SIU spokesperson explained the next steps to the process will involve cancelling about 16 contracts, recouping funds, and returning the money to the Gauteng departments of Health and Infrastructure.
"The hospital is no more under ownership AngloGold. There is nothing relates to them anymore in this particular instance," he said.