by Jack Bloom MPL – DA Gauteng Shadow Health MEC
It is now more than 100 days since the damning Special Investigating Unit (SIU) report was made public which implicated Brian Hlongwa, the ANC Chief Whip in the Gauteng Legislature, in R1.2 billion of corrupt activities when he was Health MEC from 2006 to 2009.
This has been tracked every day by the DA’s “Hlongwa Monitor” which today recorded that 101 days have passed but Gauteng Premier David Makhura has still not fired Hlongwa from his senior position in the Legislature.
See today’s Hlongwa Monitor here.
It was reported on 28 July 2014 that the allegations against Hlongwa were referred to the ANC’s provincial integrity commission, but nothing happened.
This year, ANC Provincial Secretary Jacob Khawe has said that Hlongwa would appear before the ANC’s Provincial Integrity Commission headed by Trevor Fowler from 11 to 15 August.
Meanwhile, Hlongwa was re-elected as a member of the ANC’s Provincial Executive Committee, together with disgraced former Health MEC Qedani Mahlangu who was also supposed to appear before the Integrity Commission in connection with the Esidimeni tragedy.
The SIU report shows how “state capture” occurred when 3P, a private company, took over management functions within the Gauteng Department of Health and awarded fishy tenders worth more than R1.2 billion, with alleged kickbacks to Hlongwa.
The Department has never recovered from this dark period which precipitated the current public health crisis in Gauteng.
It is a disgrace that the ANC fails to act against Hlongwa, who earns R1.4 million a year as Chief Whip.
How many more days before Hlongwa is fired and appears in court for his misdeeds?
- The Hlongwa Monitor can be found at #HlongwaMustGo on Twitter and is updated every day on my @JackBloomDA Twitter account.