Tebogo Malaka’s suspension as Independent Development Trust chief executive marks a new development in the fallout from a R836-million oxygen plant project.
The Independent Development Trust (IDT) has placed its chief executive, Tebogo Malaka, on precautionary suspension, effective Friday, 1 August 2025.
This follows the finalisation of a forensic investigation into the botched R836-million PSA oxygen plant project. While no formal finding of misconduct has been made against Malaka, her suspension is aimed at ensuring an “independent and unhindered” continuation of the investigation, the IDT said.
Read more: R836m state hospital oxygen tender fraud confirmed, IDT CEO faces suspension
The PwC forensics report, commissioned in January 2025 and released by Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson on 29 July, called for disciplinary action against Malaka for failing to prevent or act on violations that may have cost the state hundreds of millions of rands.
Public Works and Infrastructure deputy director-general Carmen-Joy Abrahams, seconded by Macpherson, will hold the reins as acting CEO while investigations continue.
A brief timeline
This is a case already well known to Daily Maverick readers. The IDT, acting as an implementing agent for the Department of Health, was tasked with rolling out pressure swing adsorption (PSA) oxygen plants to 55 public hospitals.
Read more: ‘Ghost company’ bags R428m oxygen plants tender for state hospitals
What was meant to be a life-saving infrastructure programme quickly turned into a textbook case of public-sector malfeasance. The PwC forensic report delivered to the IDT board in January confirmed much of what our investigative journalists had long suspected.
According to Macpherson, the report “lays bare the depth of the procedural failings and regulatory breaches uncovered during the investigation”. It found that a shell company, Bulkeng (Pty) Ltd, with no premises, staff or track record, was awarded a R428-million contract for the project.
The company submitted forged documents, falsely claimed a joint venture with a fictitious entity, and was not accredited by the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra).
Read more: Alleged tender fraud, shock ‘death’ of contractor cloud R836m hospital oxygen plants project
In addition to these red flags, the PwC report found that key procurement safeguards were ignored, including the acceptance of Bulkeng’s bid documents after deadlines had passed and the appointment of Department of Health officials, who were supposed to be observers, as voting members of the bid evaluation committee.
Minister Dean Macpherson briefs the media on the outcomes of the final PwC forensic investigation into the oxygen plant tender awarded by the Independent Development Trust, at the Ronnie Mamoepa Media Centre in Pretoria on 29 July 2025. (Photo: Gallo Images / Frennie Shivambu)
The cost of the project, originally capped at R216-million by the Global Fund, ballooned to more than R836-million. Not a single oxygen plant had been commissioned by December 2024.
Malaka in the firing line
The PwC report recommends disciplinary action against Malaka for a number of failures: signing off on irregular procurement procedures, failing to ensure compliance with Sahpra regulations and allowing the Department of Health undue influence over IDT tender committees.
She is also faulted, in the report, for not acting on concerns raised by her own supply chain management team and by Department of Health infrastructure officials.
In his address on the release of the report, Macpherson quotes the report: “Ms Malaka [confirmed] the procurement process followed in the RFQ process was correct whereas there were irregularities identified. [She did not ensure] the proper establishment, composition and functioning of the Bid Specification Committee and Bid Evaluation Committee.”
Institutional breakdown
While the oxygen plant saga may have triggered Malaka’s suspension, it’s only the latest chapter in the IDT’s troubling history. A R1.6-billion fencing contract debacle in 2012, repeated audit disclaimers and serious procurement lapses have dogged its operations for more than a decade.
In its 2023/24 annual performance report, presented to the National Council of Provinces in May, the IDT disclosed a R600-million debt burden, largely due to non-payment by client departments. The IDT’s chief financial officer, Londoloza Songwevu, confirmed during this presentation that despite earning R280-million in management fees, the entity recorded a R7.7-million deficit.
Read more: PwC launches forensic investigation into IDT’s troubling R836-million oxygen plants project
“Incomplete projects, tender irregularities, and consistent audit disclaimers had tarnished the entity’s credibility and shaken confidence across government and civil society,” Macpherson said in a press briefing on Tuesday, 29 July.
It’s against this backdrop that the minister’s interventions have taken place, following Daily Maverick’s alarming exposés in October 2024 regarding the oxygen plant tender.
Reset or repeat?
A new full-term IDT board was appointed by Cabinet on 5 July. According to Macpherson, the goal is “restoring governance and compliance frameworks” and “rebuilding the reputation of the IDT”.
The Select Committee on Public Infrastructure welcomed the move, noting that the “reappointment of a functional board, the initiation of a forensic probe and the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure’s insistence on consequence management reflects a shift towards stability and accountability”.
With the Department of Health now preparing to re-tender the oxygen plant project, the consequences of past failures continue to cascade forward. Precious time has been lost, and patients in underresourced public hospitals are still waiting for the life-saving infrastructure they were promised. DM
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