Tribute to Gauteng Department of Health senior official

Premier David Makhura, accompanied by the MEC’s for Health and Community Safety, Dr Nomathemba Mokgethi and Faith Mazibuko, respectively, visited the family of the late Babita Deokaran (53), who was gunned down outside her home on August 23.

Deokaran was the chief director: financial accounting in the Gauteng Department of Health. She was appointed acting CFO in August 2020 in the aftermath of the irregular and unlawful PPE procurement that rocked Gauteng.

She was a distinguished and exemplary public servant who served the people of Gauteng and the Department of Health with exceptional professionalism, unswerving dedication and high ethical standards.

During her tenure as the acting CFO, Deokaran uncovered corruption and stopped payments of irregular contracts in the department at different levels, including in hospitals. She took to heart the call to bring perpetrators of corruption and looting of public resources to book.

As a result of her conscientious and courageous leadership, Deokaran provided crucial evidence to the disciplinary processes conducted by the office of the premier and the SIU investigations. The result of her good deeds led to successful dismissals within the department and saw the institution of civil claims to recover public funds from businesses and government officials responsible for corruption.

“On behalf of the provincial government, I wish to extend my heartfelt condolences to the Deokaran family and her colleagues in the Gauteng Department of Health. The perpetrators of this brutal murder of an outstanding public servant must know that we have put in place all the necessary resources to find them and bring them to justice.

“In honour of Babita Deokaran we will do everything in our power to ensure that the perpetrators of corrupt tender processes and the callous killing of officials face the full might of the law,” Makhura said.

“We will not be cowed down by criminal gangs who want to loot state resources. We are taking steps to protect officials who have become targets of threats, intimidation and wanton murder,” said Makhura.

A dedicated SAPS Provincial Task Team has been established to hunt down the perpetrators of the murder.
The Gauteng government continues to work with SIU and other state institutions to uncover acts of corruption and ensure that public funds looted from the state are recovered.

The provincial government is also working with civil society, organised labour, professional bodies, and business organisations to strengthen prevention, detection, and consequence management.

“We will not rest until our province is declared a corruption-free zone as well as a safe and ethical environment to live, work and do business in,” concluded Makhura.

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