By Thapelo Molefe
Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson has terminated a lease agreement with Medicare 24 Tshwane District, a company linked to controversial businessman Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala, after an internal investigation found that the deal could not legally take effect and may have bypassed basic governance requirements.
The lease, concluded in December 2023, relates to a hospital facility in Pretoria West and was cancelled with immediate effect on Friday, following mounting allegations aired in Parliament and detailed by a South African media investigation.
At the centre of the matter is a critical procedural failure: the property was never declared surplus by the South African Police Service (SAPS), which remains the lawful designated user of the facility under the Government Immovable Asset Management Act of 2007.
Without such a declaration, any lease agreement is legally invalid.
“The lease agreement could not lawfully come into operation,” the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) said, confirming that SAPS still requires the facility for service delivery purposes.
Macpherson said he ordered an urgent internal investigation after becoming aware of “serious allegations” that Medicare 24 Tshwane District had allegedly bypassed standard procurement processes to secure the lease.
The company has been linked to Matlala, who was previously listed as a director and is reportedly an owner.
“As soon as I learnt of the serious allegations raised, I requested a thorough investigation by the Department of Public Works & Infrastructure, which found that the property had not been declared surplus by SAPS and that the lease agreement could therefore not be implemented,” Macpherson said.
“In line with my commitment to ensure that public assets are used for the public good, I instructed that a termination of the lease be issued to prevent any wastage of public funds. As a Department, we can never tolerate the abuse of state resources.”
Departmental records show that SAPS remains the designated user of the Pretoria West hospital facility and that a formal surplus declaration, a legal prerequisite for leasing state property, was never issued.
Despite this, the lease was signed, prompting concerns about governance failures and possible misconduct by officials involved in authorising the agreement.
Macpherson said the termination was necessary to ensure legal certainty and compliance with applicable legislation and governance frameworks.
The Minister has now escalated the matter, announcing a wider internal investigation aimed at identifying officials who played a role in approving the lease.
“We will now embark on an extensive internal investigation to ensure that any officials who played a role in authorising this lease are held accountable,” he said.
He added that the department would cooperate fully with law-enforcement agencies and would hand over any information pointing to possible criminal conduct.
“We will also work closely with law-enforcement agencies and hand over any information relating to possible criminality to ensure that those responsible face the full might of the law,” Macpherson said.
The cancellation of the lease comes amid increased scrutiny of state property transactions and renewed political focus on individuals and networks accused of exploiting government contracts and assets for private gain.
Macpherson said the decision signalled a broader clean-up within the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure.
“We are working decisively to rid the Department of Public Works & Infrastructure of corruption and abuse, and to ensure that it delivers meaningfully for the South African people,” he said.
The Department has not indicated whether any financial losses were incurred as a result of the unlawful lease, nor whether civil recovery processes may follow pending the outcome of investigations.
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