Today we reveal shocking details of a longstanding dispute between the Coega Development Corporation and the Eastern Cape health department.
The internal documents contain allegations of bribery and corruption which are said to have been behind the breakdown in relations between the two government entities. Coega has pointed to the department’s infrastructure boss, Mlamli Tuswa, as the man behind an alleged scheme to siphon money from the department via Coega.
The claim is that Tuswa used his power as the client’s representative to pressure Coega to appoint his preferred companies to build or maintain healthcare facilities in the province.
It is further claimed that he would then benefit from kickbacks supposedly paid by those companies in exchange for work.
At least one company CEO, Nkoliso Flatela, of Zamazondo Construction, has stated in a sworn statement that he had been approached and ultimately paid a bribe in exchange for work.
For this allegation, Tuswa is undergoing a disciplinary hearing. Indeed these are all allegations that must be tested and if true, proven beyond reasonable doubt through legal means.
However, at the very least they suggest the potential abuse of power by those whose job is to deliver healthcare facilities in our province.
Perhaps most disturbing is that despite the seriousness of these allegations, there appeared to be no urgency or will from the health department to ensure all these claims were thoroughly probed and dealt with.
We must, therefore, ask why?
If indeed Tuswa acted as a law unto himself, why did his bosses allow such?
Was their behaviour a result of negligence or complicity? These are the questions that must ultimately be answered, if we are truly committed to the principles of transparency and accountability.