The Charlotte Maxeke fire which gutted parts of the hospital and forced the evacuation of at least 700 patients has been declared an act of arson.
This comes after a police forensic investigation which revealed that the fire was not caused by accident, but was a deliberate act of arson.
According to a statement by the DA, the Gauteng provincial government has called in the State Security Agency (SSA) to probe the circumstances leading up to the fire which gutted the hospital in April 2021, in order to ascertain findings made by the police forensic investigation.
When the Charlotte Maxeke fire caused the evacuation of 700 patients and the destruction of an estimated R40m in hospital supplies, Gauteng Health denied reports that the hospital did not meet fire regulations.
In a statement DA Gauteng shadow MEC of health Jack Bloom revealed that details of the forensic investigations were confirmed by Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi in a written reply to the party’s questions in the Gauteng Legislature.
He said according to to Lesufi, the province has requested the help of the SSA to embark on an investigation of incidents of theft and vandalism at the hospital:
“The Office of the Premier and Gauteng Department of Health requested the State Security Agency (SSA) to embark on an investigation of incidents of theft and vandalism at the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital (CMJAH). The SSA subsequently submitted its investigation report to the Office of the Premier,” Lesufi as quoted as saying in a written reply.
Bloom says the SSA has made several recommendations, including effective management of Service Level Agreements and enforcement of punitive measures to ensure fair application of powers; risk assessment and security management reports to be directly reported to the accounting officer (HOD) in line with the King IV Report.
Another recommendation made is that the hospital’s vetting plan needs to be developed and implemented in line with the SSA vetting strategy, while hospital management should prioritise the implementation of the OHS regulations to counter the recurrence of fire incidents within the hospital.
Bloom said the Premier’s office has directed the Gauteng Health Department to implement these recommendations.
“While these recommendations are sensible, the big question is why there is no effort to find the arsonists who caused terrible damage to the hospital, with so much suffering to hundreds of patients.
“Furthermore, why are there no consequences for those who failed to prevent the fire in the first place?” Bloom asked.
The DA has also called for the hospital CEO Gladys Bogoshi to face disciplinary charges for the deficiencies identified in this report which should be made public.
“There should be no protection of incompetent staff who should be replaced with capable people who mitigate risks and provide decent treatment to patients,” Bloom added.
Speaking to The Star, Department of health spokesperson Motaletale Modiba said the department was unable to comment on a report that was not within the department’s purview.
“The department has not seen the report as this is the matter that is with the Premier’s office. Please check with the Premier’s office or even with the SSA and the police, as they are the ones who are responsible for this report,” he said.