The R600 million lease and refurbishment contracts relating to the AngloGold Ashanti Hospital during COVID-19 pandemic awarded by the two Gauteng government departments have been declared unlawful, unconstitutional, and invalid.
The declaration order comes after the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) applied to the Special Tribunal to set aside these contracts and recover the state losses.
The SIU’s spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago said that the Special Tribunal order reviewed and set aside multiple decisions made by the Gauteng Department of Health and Infrastructure Development respectively.
These includes lease agreements entered into with AngloGold Ashanti Limited and Golden Core Trade and Invest (Pty) Ltd for the use of the hospital and residential premises.
“The order comes after an SIU investigation found that during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, both departments sought to expand healthcare capacity and entered into a lease agreement for Western Levels Deep Mine Hospital, formerly owned by AngloGold Ashanti.
The hospital was intended to provide additional beds for COVID-19 patients, but the procurement processes were riddled with irregularities,” said Kganyago
Furthermore, Kganyago said the lease agreement extensions or amendments were found to be unconstitutional and illegal.
“The appointment of 11 Professional Service Providers for the hospital renovation was deemed unlawful due to non-compliance with procurement requirements.
Consequently, all contracts for this work have been set aside between the two departments and the service providers,” explained Kganyago.
Kganyago said that the Special Tribunal found that several constructions or companies benefited from the contracts that were irregularly awarded and must be set aside.
The SIU investigation revealed that the procurement process was unlawful as it failed to adhere to the required transparent and competitive bidding procedures.
The order continues implementing the SIU investigation outcomes and consequence management to recover assets and financial losses suffered by state institutions and/or prevent further losses.
