75 court cases for Gauteng Department of Health
JOBURG - The Gauteng Department of Health has been involved in 75 court cases since 2012 by companies suing for non-payment of goods and services, as revealed by the department as it finalised 13 of these cases.
According to Jack Bloom, the DA Shadow MEC on Health in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature, the department has had to pay R4.5 million to companies which won their court cases over the past four years, with interest for late payments which amounted to R245 000.
Meanwhile, the department’s spokesperson, Steve Mabona said, “This is to confirm that we have finalised 13 cases. We have about 62 cases not yet finalised, however, the same will be resolved in due course, where parties are not agreeable, an outcome shall be dictated by the courts. We are optimistic these cases will be finalised.”
However, Bloom had this to say, “One of the outstanding cases is by Krumhold Foods and Commodities (Pty) Ltd which has instituted a claim for R1 516 482 for alleged non-payment of goods from August 2009 to August 2011.
“Mahlangu says in her reply that the department will avoid being sued for non-payment by paying invoices within 30 days. This is the legal norm which is not adhered to in many cases.”
Bloom added that it is shameful that so many companies have to sue the department to get payment. “Some smaller firms have, unfortunately, gone bankrupt because of late payments, which need to be eliminated altogether by the department.
“Companies should not have to go to court or beg for money that is due to them from a government department.”
But Mabona said the department adheres to the 30-day period, however, the period is interrupted by disputes, and the nature thereof may emanate from, inter alia, duplication of payment or incorrect invoicing, the supply of incorrect equipment as per specification, and the unauthorised exceeding of the scope of the mandate.
Mabona also said, “The department has a dedicated team which is responsible to fast track the payments of service providers, and to make sure we adhere to the 30-day period. We continue to call upon service providers to submit invoices to the central office for easy capturing.”
