The Special Tribunal has ruled that lease and refurbishment contracts worth over R600 million, awarded by the Gauteng Department of Health (GDOH) and the Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development (GDID)during the COVID-19 pandemic, were unlawful, unconstitutional, and invalid.
Special Tribunal reveals shockers about AngloGold Ashanti Hospital contracts
The decision follows an application by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), which sought to have the contracts overturned and to recover financial losses suffered by the state.
The ruling, issued on Tuesday, 18 February 2025, sets aside agreements made between the GDOH, GDID, AngloGold Ashanti Limited, and Golden Core Trade and Invest (Pty) Ltd for the lease and refurbishment of the Western Levels Deep Mine Hospital, which was intended to provide additional healthcare capacity during the pandemic.
However, investigations found serious procurement irregularities, non-compliance with financial regulations, and wasteful expenditure.
According to the SIU investigation, the procurement process failed to adhere to proper bidding procedures, violating the Public Finance Management Act and National Treasury regulations.
Service providers were appointed without contracts, and work commenced before agreements were finalized. The investigation also found that no feasibility study was conducted to assess the hospital’s suitability for treating COVID-19 patients.
The initial renovation estimate was R50 million but inexplicably ballooned to over R600 million. The hospital was never operational during the first three waves of the pandemic, rendering the entire expenditure wasteful.
The Special Tribunal has now set aside all related contracts and ruled that funds lost through irregular spending should be recovered.
The SIU identified six companies that were unlawfully awarded large portions of the R494 million in refurbishment contracts:
- Diphatse Trading & Projects CC – R132 million
- Makhado Project Management (Pty) Ltd – R118 million
- Yikusasa Building Contractors (Pty) Ltd – R89 million
- NJR Projects (Pty) Ltd – R56 million
- Thenga Holdings (Pty) Ltd – R49 million
- Mvusuludzo Projects (Pty) Ltd – R48 million
In addition, invalid contracts worth R12 million and Professional Service Providers (PSPs) contracts worth R94 million were also flagged. The tribunal has deferred a decision on the exact amount to be recovered, which will be determined in further proceedings.
The case is part of a broader anti-corruption effort by the SIU, which was tasked under Proclamation No. R. 23 of 2020 to investigate COVID-19 procurement irregularities across South Africa.