The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) says the damning Special Investigating Unit (SIU) interim report on widespread looting at Tembisa Hospital confirms that the collapse of public health infrastructure is a result of a criminal alliance between politicians, senior officials, and syndicates.

The SIU on Monday revealed that more than R2 billion was siphoned from Tembisa Provincial Tertiary Hospital through coordinated syndicates working with officials in the Gauteng Department of Health.

In a statement, the EFF said the findings expose how corruption has hollowed out healthcare and left hospitals understaffed, under-resourced, and unable to deliver quality care. The party insisted that the collapse of public hospitals has nothing to do with foreign nationals seeking healthcare, but rather with systemic corruption.

The EFF’s response comes against the backdrop of mounting campaigns by anti-immigrant groups such as Operation Dudula and March and March, who have repeatedly staged marches at hospitals and clinics, demanding the exclusion of foreign nationals from accessing public healthcare. 

These civic groups have argued that foreign nationals are a burden on already struggling healthcare facilities across South Africa.

IOL has previously reported on several demonstrations at health centres in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, where protesters blocked non-South Africans from receiving care. In some cases, healthcare workers and civil society organisations pushed back, warning that such actions were unlawful and risked inflaming xenophobic violence.

The EFF said the SIU’s interim report confirms that corruption, not the presence of foreign nationals, is responsible for the deterioration of South Africa’s health system.

“The picture is, therefore, clear that corruption in healthcare is systemic and protected by those in power,” said EFF national spokesperson Sinawo Thambo.

“Patients are dying in overcrowded and under-resourced hospitals not because of foreign nationals, but because the money meant to buy beds, medicines, and equipment is looted by politicians and their criminal partners. 

“What happened at Tembisa is happening across South Africa’s health system, where mafias have captured supply chains while government leaders benefit directly,” said Thambo.

Earlier this month, IOL reported that an investigation by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), driven by a report compiled by the late chief director of financial accounting at the Gauteng Department of Health, Babita Deokaran, has implicated President Cyril Ramaphosa’s nephew.

Maumela is Ramaphosa’s nephew from a previous marriage.

However, the president has previously distanced himself from Maumela in Parliament, saying he did not know him.

jonisayi.maromo@iol.co.za

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