ActionSA has called for the Hawks to launch a criminal investigation into Gauteng government officials linked to the failed repair project at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital, following explosive findings by Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka that exposed maladministration, financial irregularities and serious failures in project management after the devastating hospital fire.
The Public Protector’s investigation found that maladministration, poor planning, budget underspending and weak coordination between the Gauteng Department of Health and the Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development contributed to years of delays in repairing the fire-damaged hospital.
Gcaleka found that only R324 million of the more than R666 million allocated for repairs between 2021 and 2024 had been spent by March 2024, amounting to just over 51% budget utilisation. The report linked persistent underspending, procurement delays and poor project management to escalating repair costs and prolonged disruptions to healthcare services at the hospital.
The Public Protector further identified repeated disputes, poor coordination and bureaucratic conflict between the two departments as major contributors to delays in restoring the facility, concluding that the conduct of the departments amounted to maladministration and resulted in undue prejudice to patients and healthcare workers who rely on the hospital.
