WEBVTT - Why such a big increase in Gauteng Health’s security budget

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<v Speaker 1>Sixteen past four. Let's turn into that story about the

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<v Speaker 1>security bills that have been budgeted for by the Karting

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<v Speaker 1>Department of Health. The story is an excellent one. You

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<v Speaker 1>freeda Hoe wrote it for Spotlight, printed on or reproduced

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<v Speaker 1>on the Daily Maverick site. I recommend you read it.

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<v Speaker 1>I'll read you the first sentence. In just two years,

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<v Speaker 1>the Karting Health department spending on security has more than tripled.

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<v Speaker 1>Moving into the story, they project to spend two point

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<v Speaker 1>five to four billion RAND on security contracts for the

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<v Speaker 1>twenty five twenty six financial year. It's received a thumbs

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<v Speaker 1>up from everybody who has to approve it. And she

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<v Speaker 1>adds quote it comes as the department claims to lack

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<v Speaker 1>the funds to fill vacancies, pay all suppliers on time,

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<v Speaker 1>or continuing or continue fulfilling doctors overtime contracts. And then

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<v Speaker 1>there are all the things missing at hospital's cancer equipment,

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<v Speaker 1>for example at Charlotte Matleke. To just mention one, Professor

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<v Speaker 1>Alex Vondanhieffer joins us now from the vis School of

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<v Speaker 1>Governance for his thoughts. Prof welcome and thanks for your time.

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<v Speaker 1>You look very closely, for example at the abuse of

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<v Speaker 1>spending at Tenbisa Hospital and other instances. What's actually going

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<v Speaker 1>on here is this inefficiency or is there something darker?

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<v Speaker 2>Well? The history of expenditure an irregular expenditure within the

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<v Speaker 2>Houting Department of Health suggests that we should look very

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<v Speaker 2>very closely at this, this kind of escalation and to

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<v Speaker 2>these kind of contractors and where what the contract goes

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<v Speaker 2>to politically connected individuals and their families suggest that this

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<v Speaker 2>isn't because it's needed for the Houting Department of Health.

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<v Speaker 2>So they've had a history of irregular expenditure which ranges

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<v Speaker 2>from around about sort of four to five percent of

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<v Speaker 2>the overall budget every year and it doesn't change, which

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<v Speaker 2>means that they are appear to be immune in terms

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<v Speaker 2>of the Public Finance Management Act to any kind of

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<v Speaker 2>consequence management right, which suggests that this potentially will fall

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<v Speaker 2>into that if properly investigated, but they don't appear to care.

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<v Speaker 2>They also have about five billion rands worth on average

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<v Speaker 2>five billion rands worth of a cruels or basically unpaid

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<v Speaker 2>debts during every year, so they're in financial difficulties always.

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<v Speaker 2>They have massive irregular expenditure and they also don't spend

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<v Speaker 2>all their budgets, such as on the cancer equipment which

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<v Speaker 2>they were meant to spend on. So their priorities are

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<v Speaker 2>all over the place and this doesn't appear to make sense.

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<v Speaker 1>So in youw Freida's articles, she quotes Jack Bloom, who's

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<v Speaker 1>the DAS spokesperson on or not spokesperson but the pers

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<v Speaker 1>shadow NEC I think is the correct title on health matters.

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<v Speaker 1>And the example given that really jumped out for me.

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<v Speaker 1>Tara Hospital. There's a new security contract fourteen million Rand

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<v Speaker 1>a year. Last year it was four point two million round.

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<v Speaker 1>The argument justifying this is that they've now increased the

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<v Speaker 1>number of gods from twenty one to forty six, this

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<v Speaker 1>despite the department's own assessment saying they only needed five

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<v Speaker 1>additional guards. And then they also talk about how Tarra

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<v Speaker 1>Hospital actually can't use fifty of its one hundred and

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<v Speaker 1>thirty seven beds because it doesn't have enough nurses. I

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<v Speaker 1>get that hospitals need to be secure profit, but they're

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<v Speaker 1>not in battle zones, are they?

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<v Speaker 2>No? You'd want so security assessments for hospitals will look

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<v Speaker 2>at entrances, exits, you know, sort of perimeter protection and security,

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<v Speaker 2>et cetera. So you should have a proper evaluation of

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<v Speaker 2>your security requirements before you lay out funds, and you

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<v Speaker 2>shouldn't be contracting with politically connected individuals, which they are

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<v Speaker 2>doing in this particular case. And so all of that

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<v Speaker 2>suggests that they might this might not be required in

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<v Speaker 2>a hospital like Tyra. It's a psychiatric hospital with yes,

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<v Speaker 2>very sort of low volumes of patients overall, on very

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<v Speaker 2>very large grounds, very easy establishment to manage from a

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<v Speaker 2>security perspective, So it looks like massive overkill for that hospital.

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<v Speaker 2>That's if any of these people actually pitch up to

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<v Speaker 2>provide security. So it doesn't look as if this is

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<v Speaker 2>based on any kind of proper security evaluation, and is

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<v Speaker 2>clearly not the highest priority at the moment in the

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<v Speaker 2>provincial Health department.

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<v Speaker 1>So what are those priorities? I mean, what is money

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<v Speaker 1>not being spent on spent on profit? If you were

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<v Speaker 1>to draw up a priority list, clearly this is not

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<v Speaker 1>anywhere in the top ten, I would think, But what's

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<v Speaker 1>your top three?

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<v Speaker 2>Well, first of all, I'd be trying to make savings

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<v Speaker 2>within the department, but the priority would be making sure

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<v Speaker 2>that the services, the critical posts are filled within the department,

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<v Speaker 2>that the equipment is properly maintained, so that which is

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<v Speaker 2>crucial in the case of cancer treatment, but not only

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<v Speaker 2>cancer treatment, everything else, all the idiological equipment needs to

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<v Speaker 2>be properly maintained and secured. So the whole the asset

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<v Speaker 2>themselves needs to be managed. And then there's the actual

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<v Speaker 2>facilities themselves. A lot of that is just squandered. It

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<v Speaker 2>doesn't it just seems to vaporize. It goes to the

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<v Speaker 2>Department of Infrastructural Development kind of top slice to them

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<v Speaker 2>and then doesn't appear to end up in lifts. And

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<v Speaker 2>then maintaining the physical facilities at all within these thirty

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<v Speaker 2>six hospitals and clinics, so the facilities must be maintained,

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<v Speaker 2>the staff must be there, the critical if if you've

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<v Speaker 2>got some austerity that you're dealing with, you must still

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<v Speaker 2>maintain your critical posts and so those become your priorities.

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<v Speaker 2>Security is important, but you've also got to manage security efficiently.

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<v Speaker 2>If you've got providers who are there because of dodgy tenders,

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<v Speaker 2>they're not going to secure your facilities. They're going to

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<v Speaker 2>probably allow quite a lot of theft to occur within

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<v Speaker 2>those facilities. So it's the random security con tracks don't

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<v Speaker 2>protect the facilities, proper security arrangements do. It doesn't appear

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<v Speaker 2>as if that's what this is about.

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<v Speaker 1>Alex funding here for joining us from the vis School

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<v Speaker 1>of Governance