A PARTY OF HYENAS SQUANDERED R3 BILLION IN GAUTENG DEPT OF HEALTH_
The South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) is displeased by the reports that the police have not made any progress in arresting the masterminds behind Babita Deokaran’s murder.
At the time of the sentencing of the six assassins, we welcomed the plea bargain and remarked that this is drawing us closer to arresting the masterminds as they named a recruiter and two men who are said to have been the ones who pulled the trigger. The recruiter was unfortunately killed, seemingly frustrating the endeavours to get to the mastermind(s). As reported, the endeavour to bring the mastermind(s) to book by the police has come to naught.
SAFTU calls on the police to find the two people who pulled the trigger and the mastermind who paid them to assassinate Babita. Leaving these murderers and their mastermind(s) roaming is not a disincentive to other murderers out there. Many could venture into killing people because they can get away with it.
The statistics that the police have a murder detection rate of 14% provide context for why these murderers and their masterminds have not been found and worry us that they may never be found and held accountable. Despite this, SAFTU demands from the police services positive results in arresting the culprits.
SAFTU further applauds the Special Investing Unit (SIU) for expanding the scope of investigating the graft at the Gauteng Department of Health (GDOH), including 5 500 transactions covering money to R3 billion from 1 203 previously identified transaction worth R2 billion. In what was certainly a party of Hyenas, R3 billion was squandered in irregular tenders that benefitted connected individuals through shell companies set up solely to launder this money.
SAFTU reiterates its call for all the directors who established these companies to help launder and loot money meant to deliver health services for the residents of Gauteng to be arrested, be ordered to pay the money and sentenced. Unlike in other cases, we do not want repayments and fines to substitute for actual imprisonment. We demand imprisonment of all the people who were part of this looting web that milked resources out of GDOH, whilst hospitals lack beds, medicine, and infrastructure.
