{"id":97973,"date":"2025-05-27T13:45:44","date_gmt":"2025-05-27T11:45:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/?p=97973"},"modified":"2025-05-27T13:45:44","modified_gmt":"2025-05-27T11:45:44","slug":"gauteng-healths-soaring-security-spend-raises-alarms-amid-budgetary-strain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/gauteng-healths-soaring-security-spend-raises-alarms-amid-budgetary-strain\/","title":{"rendered":"Gauteng Health\u2019s Soaring Security Spend Raises Alarms Amid Budgetary Strain"},"content":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za<\/a>
\n3-minute read
\n27 May 2025 | 10:45 CAT<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"

Gauteng hospitals\u2019 soaring security costs raise alarm \u2014 from R655 million to R2.5 billion in three years, prompting urgent calls for transparency and accountability.<\/p><\/div>\n

The Gauteng Health Department is facing tough questions following the revelation that its hospital security costs have surged from R655 million in 2022 to an eye-watering R2.5 billion in 2025.<\/p>\n

This drastic spike has ignited outrage, with the DA\u2019s Jack Bloom calling for urgent scrutiny. \u201cThere is simply no way a six-fold increase in security spending can be justified by inflation or rising wages alone,\u201d Bloom said in an interview. \u201cWe\u2019re now paying R25,000 per guard, but many are taking home just R6,000. That gap raises red flags.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Department attributes the hike to a reassessment of hospital security needs and rising industry rates, but Bloom remains unconvinced. \u201cThe annual increase in security guard wages is around 7.6%. That does not explain a R1.9 billion jump in three years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even more disturbing are reports of security companies failing to pay workers\u2019 salaries and pension contributions. \u201cThere\u2019s been a court ruling against one company for not paying over pension funds. Others haven\u2019t paid workers in months,\u201d Bloom revealed, citing protests at Tembisa Hospital.<\/p>\n

Security contracts, originally signed in 2016 for two years, were irregularly extended month-to-month for nearly eight years\u2014a practice the Auditor General repeatedly flagged. \u201cWe\u2019re dealing with expired contracts, renewed unlawfully for years, and questionable companies profiting enormously while workers suffer,\u201d said Bloom.<\/p>\n

One such contract involved a R240 million deal to guard Charlotte Maxeke Hospital over three years. \u201cThat\u2019s over R70 million a year for one hospital,\u201d Bloom said. \u201cWe need to know: is this really securing our hospitals or lining pockets?\u201d<\/p>\n

Calls are growing for a comprehensive audit of the tender process and contract beneficiaries. \u201cThe same companies keep cropping up across different hospitals. It smells of corruption. We need the Auditor General to intervene and investigate thoroughly.\u201d<\/p>\n

While acknowledging the need for improved hospital security\u2014particularly in high-risk areas like casualty departments and psychiatric wards\u2014Bloom insists spending must be proportionate and transparent. \u201cGauteng\u2019s R66 billion health budget is already under pressure. Every cent should go toward quality care, not dodgy contracts.\u201d<\/p>\n

With billions at stake, citizens and oversight bodies alike are demanding answers\u2014and accountability.<\/p>\n

Listen<\/strong> to the full interview on The Daily Round-Up<\/a> with Annisa Essack and Jack Bloom.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za 3-minute read 27 May 2025 | 10:45 CAT The Gauteng Health Department is facing tough questions following the revelation that its hospital security costs have surged from R655 million in 2022 to an eye-watering R2.5 billion in 2025. This drastic spike has ignited outrage, with the DA\u2019s Jack Bloom calling for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":97974,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[28,4995],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-97973","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","category-south-africa"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Security1.png?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc0QIf-pud","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-22 23:20:47","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97973","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=97973"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97973\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/97974"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=97973"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=97973"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=97973"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}