ActionSA has taken note of the recent eNCA CheckPoint feature on 26 October 2025, which tracks individuals implicated in serious governance failures within the Gauteng health department.
The revelations laid bare in this piece underscore why credible accountability in government remains elusive – especially when parties that claim to champion oversight, such as the DA, fail to hold their own to the same standard.
The DA’s Double Standard on Accountability
The DA positions itself as a party committed to transparent governance and holding other parties’ officials to task. Yet, when the spotlight turns inward, the same party too often retreats into silence. This contradiction is glaring in the current context.
The DA has repeatedly demanded tough action when opposition-led municipalities have faced scandal, correctly so. Under those circumstances it has loudly called for resignations, forensic investigations and oversight committee hearings.
In this instance, however, some of the officials now under scrutiny in the Gauteng health portfolio have served in structures overseen by DA-led administrations or coalitions at local level – and yet the DA’s silence has been too loud.
ActionSA is adamant: one cannot credibly demand rigorous accountability when one refuses to apply it impartially to one’s own party structures or government it leads. The public sees this as hypocrisy rather than principle.
ActionSA demands of the DA what the DA demands of every governing party:
- Unflinching transparency: publicly disclose any internal investigations the DA has initiated into its own office-bearers or coalition partners implicated in these scandals.
- Consistent application of standards: if the DA demands resignations and prosecution elsewhere, it must demand the same of its own officials caught in wrongdoing, or those so implicated.
- Support proper processes: call for independent investigations rather than merely deflecting blame; the DA should back the work of oversight bodies and law enforcement without party shielding.
The citizenry of Gauteng and South Africa at large expects fairness and the upholding of the rule of law, not selective application. When a political party claims to be the standard-bearer of accountability on others but applies different rules to its own, it betrays public trust, thereby further entrenching voter apathy. Just as the ANC has done for over three decades.
ActionSA believes that governance should be institutionalised rather than be partisan and will continue to push for institutions that deliver justice and transparency across the board, regardless of who holds office.
The eNCA show is a timely reminder of how deep the rot in our governance systems is, when scandal after scandal emerges with minimal to no consequences. If the DA truly stands for accountability, the test now is not merely what it says in opposition, but how it behaves when its own house is under scrutiny. Let the party take action against Midvaal officials implicated in the Tembisa hospital scandal.
ActionSA remains committed to holding all officials – from every party – to the highest standard. We welcome the DA stepping up to its declared role rather than hiding behind spotlights shining on others.
ActionSA Calls for Accountability in Individuals Fingered for Tembisa Hospital Failures Mushrooming in the Midvaal Municipality
ActionSA has taken note of the recent eNCA CheckPoint feature on 26 October 2025, which tracks individuals implicated in serious governance failures within the Gauteng health department.
The revelations laid bare in this piece underscore why credible accountability in government remains elusive – especially when parties that claim to champion oversight, such as the DA, fail to hold their own to the same standard.
The DA’s Double Standard on Accountability
The DA positions itself as a party committed to transparent governance and holding other parties’ officials to task. Yet, when the spotlight turns inward, the same party too often retreats into silence. This contradiction is glaring in the current context.
The DA has repeatedly demanded tough action when opposition-led municipalities have faced scandal, correctly so. Under those circumstances it has loudly called for resignations, forensic investigations and oversight committee hearings.
In this instance, however, some of the officials now under scrutiny in the Gauteng health portfolio have served in structures overseen by DA-led administrations or coalitions at local level – and yet the DA’s silence has been too loud.
ActionSA is adamant: one cannot credibly demand rigorous accountability when one refuses to apply it impartially to one’s own party structures or government it leads. The public sees this as hypocrisy rather than principle.
ActionSA demands of the DA what the DA demands of every governing party:
The citizenry of Gauteng and South Africa at large expects fairness and the upholding of the rule of law, not selective application. When a political party claims to be the standard-bearer of accountability on others but applies different rules to its own, it betrays public trust, thereby further entrenching voter apathy. Just as the ANC has done for over three decades.
ActionSA believes that governance should be institutionalised rather than be partisan and will continue to push for institutions that deliver justice and transparency across the board, regardless of who holds office.
The eNCA show is a timely reminder of how deep the rot in our governance systems is, when scandal after scandal emerges with minimal to no consequences. If the DA truly stands for accountability, the test now is not merely what it says in opposition, but how it behaves when its own house is under scrutiny. Let the party take action against Midvaal officials implicated in the Tembisa hospital scandal.
ActionSA remains committed to holding all officials – from every party – to the highest standard. We welcome the DA stepping up to its declared role rather than hiding behind spotlights shining on others.