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Doctor in R3,8m State grant fraud scam Herald Reporter AN Eastern Cape hospital superintendent appeared in court yesterday in connection with an estimated R3,8-million fraud and corruption allegation involving a nationwide racket in falsified medical certificates for disability grant applicants. Dr Leod Zondo, medical superintendent of the Empilisweni Hospital in Sterkspruit, near Aliwal North, was released on R10 000 bail. He was arrested on Wednesday night. Preliminary investigations by the Joint Anti-Corruption Task Team estimate that Dr Zondo may have made up to R24 000 a day by issuing falsified medical certificates to disability grant applicants. Although he works for the Eastern Cape health department, Dr Zondo had the department’s permission to run a private practice. It is claimed that people seeking medical certificates in support of their disability grant applications were refused assistance at the hospital, instead being referred to his private practice where they were charged R250 for medical certificates – many of which are alleged to be false. It is understood he was seeing up to 96 patients a day. Taking this figure into account, it would mean that in a normal eight hour working day Dr Zondo would only have had five minutes to spend with a patient without taking any breaks. This excludes the time he would have had to spend at the hospital as medical superintendent. “Patients throughout South Africa are believed to have obtained their medical certificates from Dr Zondo in support of their disability grant applications,” task team spokesman Mzukifi Fatyela said. Commenting on the 36-year-old doctor’s arrest, Mr Fatyela said: “It will take us several weeks to complete our investigations as patients came from all over South Africa to see him. We believe there are several people out there who have fraudulently obtained disability grants they are not entitled to.” He said all files related to the investigation were confiscated after the task team raided Dr Zondo’s private practice. Dr Zondo appeared in the town’s magistrate’s court yesterday and was released on R10 000 bail. He was ordered to report to the police three times a day and is not allowed to leave the magisterial district of Sterkspruit, which is close to the Eastern Cape border with the Free State. Eastern Cape Health MEC Dr Bevan Goqwana has expressed his shock at Dr Zondo’s arrest, saying that the law will have to take its course. He said his department would hold its own internal investigation which would lead to a decision on whether to suspend Dr Zondo or not.
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