Johnathan Paoli
THE Gauteng Department of Health (GDoH) on Friday dismissed allegations from the DA that it was deliberately delaying the awarding of a tender for the outsourcing of oncology radiation services for breast and prostate cancer patients.
This follows a statement by DA shadow MEC for health in the province, Jack Bloom which questioned the process surrounding the tender and inquired as to its status.
The tender was to address the backlog in surgical and radiation oncology services, with an allocation of R784 million in May last year.
GDoH spokesperson Motalatale Modiba said R534 million of the amount had been invested in oncology medical and allied equipment such cutting-edge linear accelerator machines and the building of bunkers for some of the machines within this financial year.
“In addition, R250 million has been allocated for the outsourcing of the radiation oncology tender, which is at an advanced stage of finalisation,” Modiba said.
Modiba said the department commenced with the evaluation of the tender on 21 November and concluded it on 16 January. This followed the issuing of the tender for the outsourcing of radiation services for cancer patients from October to the beginning of November last year.
However, the shadow MEC said he has doubts about the successful handling of the transaction and said that the department failed to provide regular updates.
“This raises suspicions about whether the tender has been botched, instead of getting the best deal from the best supplier,” Bloom said.
Bloom said the delays risked the lives of hundreds of cancer patients who required treatment as soon as possible and called on the department to make use of the budget before the end of the financial year.
The department said that while it understood the urgency and importance of finalising the procurement process in order to ensure that patients received the necessary care, it remained imperative to note that government supply chain processes must be followed as outlined by the PFMA and that the department could attest to the fact that the evaluation process had been thorough and meticulous to ensure the best possible service provider was selected.
“The GDoH dismisses any false and misleading claims reported on the alleged delays and assures the public that provision of high-quality healthcare services for all patients in Gauteng remains our utmost priority,” the department said.
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