Charges laid against health boss over Gupta contract
The North West legislature has laid criminal charges against the head of the province's Health Department, Dr Thabo Lekalakala, following a marathon interrogation over a contract given to a Gupta-linked company, which also paid for his junket to India in 2017.
A News24 report says this follows claims that a healthcare organisation called Mediosa was awarded a R30m, three-year contract by the province's Department of Health, in advance and without it going out to tender. Lekalakala admitted that a delegation from the department was taken to India just seven days after the health group received the payment.
Committee chairperson Madoda Samabatha told News24 that the HOD was facing numerous charges, which include fraud and corruption, contravening the Public Financial Management Act as well as being in contempt of the legislature. Samabatha said Lekalakala first claimed he had the service agreement documents. But, when pressed to fetch them, he eventually said they had been removed from the department. ‘Our issue is that the documents do not exist,’ said Samabatha.
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
