ActionSA welcomes the Special Tribunal’s damning ruling ordering four ambulance companies operated by Thapelo Buthelezi to repay over R532 million in unlawful, unprocedural and unconstitutional payments made by the Free State Department of Health.
As someone who has consistently raised red flags about these corrupt contracts during my time as Shadow Minister of Health, this moment represents long-overdue accountability for one of the most brazen abuses of public healthcare resources in our democracy.
The Tribunal’s order confirms what many of us have known for years, that these contracts were never about saving lives but enriching cronies through inflated billing, overloaded ambulances, and questionable procurement processes. In 2018, I submitted a complaint to the Public Protector highlighting the Free State Department of Health’s irregular outsourcing of ambulance services to Buthelezi’s companies at an enormous cost to the taxpayer. These were companies that cashed in millions every month while our public ambulances gathered dust. This ruling vindicates our calls, but it is not enough.
We call on the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to urgently pursue criminal charges against Thapelo Buthelezi, the executives of these companies, and the senior officials in the Free State Department of Health who authorised these unlawful payments. Public servants and private beneficiaries must be held equally accountable under the law.
Furthermore, ActionSA will write to the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) to request the publication of a comprehensive report detailing who benefited, what oversight was bypassed, and why internal controls failed so catastrophically. The people of the Free State deserve the truth, not silence, appeals, or scapegoats.
This is not just about ambulance contracts. It is about the lives lost due to corruption in healthcare. It is about the dignity stripped from the people who waited for medical help that never came, while politically connected entities lined their pockets.
ActionSA stands maintains that those who rob the sick and the vulnerable must be exposed, pursued, and prosecuted, without fear or favour.
ActionSA Welcomes Special Tribunal Ruling Against Buthelezi EMS: Calls for Prosecution of All Those Involved
ActionSA welcomes the Special Tribunal’s damning ruling ordering four ambulance companies operated by Thapelo Buthelezi to repay over R532 million in unlawful, unprocedural and unconstitutional payments made by the Free State Department of Health.
As someone who has consistently raised red flags about these corrupt contracts during my time as Shadow Minister of Health, this moment represents long-overdue accountability for one of the most brazen abuses of public healthcare resources in our democracy.
The Tribunal’s order confirms what many of us have known for years, that these contracts were never about saving lives but enriching cronies through inflated billing, overloaded ambulances, and questionable procurement processes. In 2018, I submitted a complaint to the Public Protector highlighting the Free State Department of Health’s irregular outsourcing of ambulance services to Buthelezi’s companies at an enormous cost to the taxpayer. These were companies that cashed in millions every month while our public ambulances gathered dust. This ruling vindicates our calls, but it is not enough.
We call on the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to urgently pursue criminal charges against Thapelo Buthelezi, the executives of these companies, and the senior officials in the Free State Department of Health who authorised these unlawful payments. Public servants and private beneficiaries must be held equally accountable under the law.
Furthermore, ActionSA will write to the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) to request the publication of a comprehensive report detailing who benefited, what oversight was bypassed, and why internal controls failed so catastrophically. The people of the Free State deserve the truth, not silence, appeals, or scapegoats.
This is not just about ambulance contracts. It is about the lives lost due to corruption in healthcare. It is about the dignity stripped from the people who waited for medical help that never came, while politically connected entities lined their pockets.
ActionSA stands maintains that those who rob the sick and the vulnerable must be exposed, pursued, and prosecuted, without fear or favour.