While the resolve of the Special Investigating Unit pursuing fraud at Tembisa Hospital (The Mercury, May 29) is commendable, it bears contrasting with the pursuit of fraud by the Trump administration in the US.
Since the story broke last October of the R2,3 billion looting at Tembisa Hospital, the process of tracking down those responsible and recovering assets has not resulted in a single conviction, the recovery of only R13,5 million and 116 disciplinary referrals. The likely reason for the slow-walking of justice is that there are politically connected syndicates involved, which have discouraged the process.
In contrast, following the Trump administration’s appointment of a special task force headed by Vice President JD Vance working in tandem with the Department of Justice, in just 51 days, they have posted 450 convictions in nationwide busts and uncovered $165 billion in fraud ranging from post-COVID theft, small business loans to bogus Medicaid payments.
As the Attorney-General of Indiana has remarked, the initiative of the White House to establish a special task force to pursue the disbursement of federal funds in partnership with states has provided the impetus and the muscle to root out waste and abuse. Under the Biden administration, no such task force existed.
Unfortunately, the Trump-Vance initiative cannot be replicated in South Africa for the simple reason that we have a government that is largely a criminal syndicate. Criminals look after their own, which is why the pursuit of justice is limited to token convictions, redeployment or suspension. In the case of Judge Nikola Motata’s suspension, it lasted 11 years on full pay following a drunk driving incident in 2007.
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