DA says Gauteng health department was ripped off for R13k beds at Nasrec field hospital

The DA in Gauteng has said the Gauteng department of health was ripped off after it paid R13 000 each for the beds at the Nasrec field hospital.

The DA’s Jack Bloom said the department “could easily have bought” each bed “for less than half the price from other suppliers”.

“According to a presentation to the Gauteng Legislature’s Health Committee, 1 000 beds with mattresses were bought for R13 million, with each bed costing R13 000.

“I have established that a fair price for this type of bed together with a mattress is about R5 000.

“This highlights yet again how the department is being ripped off by a poor and possibly corrupt choice of supplier, probably a middleman with an outrageous markup,” Bloom said.

He said the total cost of equipment for the Nasrec field hospital was R24.1 million, “which is also likely to be about double what it should have cost”.

Bloom said the total cost included R18 000 spent on 40 wall clocks for R450 each.

“I hope that the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) is investigating these contracts and the Competition Commission should also probe these prices and attempt to recover money from over-priced items.”

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