MoH debt balloons
Fifty-three (53) private businesses are owed payments for goods and services supplied as of the end of July 2025, Assistant Minister of Health, Lawrance Ookeditse, has revealed.
Debts span from as little as P1,100 to a staggering P155.7 million.
In some cases, he admitted that procurement was undertaken before funds were secured. “In certain instances, purchases were made without guaranteed availability of funds.”
Ookeditse was responding to Kgatleng West Legislator Unity Dow, who had asked when the ministry would be able to pay private businesses within agreed timelines.
Dow also wanted to know how many businesses were affected, the smallest and largest amounts owed, and why procurement was conducted without funds in place.
Ookeditse stated that his Ministry is committed to upholding the fundamentals of prudent financial management, which includes paying all suppliers on time for the goods and services they provide.
'We still intend to pay all confirmed invoices within the deadlines specified by law or by the terms of the contract.
But, because of the nation's present financial crisis, my Ministry, like other Ministries, experienced a setback in the form of postponed payments to service providers,' he said.
He said the Ministry of Health, with backing from the Ministry of Finance, is examining every possible way to pay the undertaking providers.
Since the Ministry relies on the availability of funds and/or the state of the nation's liquidity, Ookeditse was unable to commit on when all outstanding payments will be impacted.
He said that numerous factors have contributed to this, among others, immediate service delivery needs that necessitate prompt action, urgent repairs to infrastructure and medical equipment, essential medication procurement, and health-related services.
Others include weaknesses in internal planning and contract management procedures, which the Ministry is actively attempting to resolve through better financial oversight and procurement planning.
In addition to putting in place the measures to improve spending control, the Ministry is actively prioritising the settlement of overdue payments over beginning new procurement.
The money that is available at any given time is used to settle the outstanding debts.