• Health commentary

    The Cancer of Corruption in Health

    Corruption is a word that has become all too familiar in the lexicon of the ordinary South African. Billions rands of government funds have ended up in the hands of corrupt individuals many of whom by virtue of their positions should have been people with integrity and above reproach. Transparency International reports that the Corruption Perceptions Index places the country at 71 out of the 180 countries. The 2017 Corruption Watch annual report quotes the then Economic Development Minister as estimating that corruption costs the public sector at least R27 billion annually. During my initial experience heading the Free State health Department in the late 1990’s I uncovered corruption at…