The Government Employees Medical Scheme (GEMS), which is positioning itself to administer the National Health Insurance (NHI) fund, has been rocked by allegations of tender rigging, fraud, maladministration and corruption totalling more than R300 million.
The accusations of graft at GEMS are detailed in a series of 10 explosive forensic reports which show that over a period of five years the scheme had appointed and paid more than R300 million to companies in which some of its executives had direct financial interests.
This comes at a time when South Africans are expressing concerns that the NHI will crash under the weight of corruption, like many other state-owned entities. GEMS has emerged as one of the frontrunners likely to be appointed by the government to administer the NHI.
