Former deputy chief justice, Dikgang Moseneke, during the Life Esidimeni arbitration hearing at Emoyeni Conference Centre, Parktown on 9 October 2017 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Picture: Gallo Images/Sowetan/Veli Nhlapo
Gauteng Premier David Makhura’s office has dismissed claims that some family members of the victims of the Life Esidimeni tragedy still haven’t been compensated by the provincial government.
This comes after 81 verified claimants have allegedly not been paid, according to the DA MPL Jack Bloom.
Bloom said the matter had been revealed during a meeting of the Gauteng legislature’s oversight committee last Thursday.
He said that out of the R120 million budgeted for compensation of claimants, only R6.5 million had been spent.
“According to the Premier’s Office, the underspending is due to lockdown restrictions which resulted in delays in the verification process of claimants.
“There were 451 claims received, of which 352 were verified, but 81 of these claimants have still not been paid,” he said.
Meanwhile, Makhura’s spokesperson Thabo Masebe has argued that payments due were outstanding for some patients who were not part of the initial arbitration process.
“All claimants of Life Esidimeni were paid in full. For the other people, who were not part of the arbitration process, we’ve started administering the claims.
“The rest of the amount will be spent when the trust is set up by the master of the court for the 50% of the payout that is earmarked for the patients, while the other 50% is supposed to go to the families of the patients.”
Background
The Life Esidimeni tragedy, which came about due to a contract ending between the Gauteng health department and Life Esidimeni, saw mentally ill patients being transferred to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) incapable of providing the level of care required.
As a result, 144 patients died, and 1418 were exposed to severe trauma.
The provincial government was ordered to pay R1 million to each claimant by no later than 19 June 2018, but not all of the victims’ families were present during the initial legal processes.
Additional reporting Nica Richards
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