The contracts issued by the provincial Department of Health, worth R532,789,770.12, were awarded to companies linked to controversial businessman Thapelo Buthelezi for inter-facility emergency medical services – despite the absence of valid contracts.

The ruling, handed down on 5 May 2025, declared the contracts invalid and marked a major legal breakthrough in exposing entrenched corruption in the province’s public health sector. 

Following this, ActionSA is urging the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to press criminal charges against all implicated parties – including senior officials, Buthelezi EMS executives, and associated contractors.

ActionSA Free State chairperson Patricia Kopane welcomed the ruling, calling it a victory in the long-standing battle against healthcare corruption.

“As someone who repeatedly raised concerns about these contracts during my time as Shadow Minister of Health, this is long-overdue accountability for one of the most blatant abuses of public healthcare resources in our democracy,” she said.

Kopane stressed that the tribunal’s findings revealed how political connections were prioritised over patients’ lives.

“The ruling confirms what many of us have long believed – these contracts weren’t about saving lives, but about enriching cronies through inflated billing, overloaded ambulances, and dubious procurement processes,” she added.

“In 2018, I lodged a complaint with the Public Protector over the Free State Health Department’s irregular outsourcing of ambulance services to Buthelezi’s companies, at enormous cost to the taxpayer. These companies made millions monthly while government ambulances stood idle. This ruling vindicates our calls – but it is not enough.”

She urged the NPA to act swiftly, saying this is not only about ambulance contracts, but about lives lost due to corruption, and the dignity denied to people who waited for help that never came – while politically connected businesses profited.

Kopane added that ActionSA will write to the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), requesting the public release of its full report.

OFM News/Kekeletso Mosebetsi cg