JOHANNESBURG – Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi issued a public apology to cancer patients on Tuesday for years-long treatment delays at provincial hospitals, amid revelations that the Health Department underspent its 2024/25 budget by more than R720 million.
“I want to take this opportunity to apologise to all cancer patients. It was not our wish to put them through these difficulties,” Lesufi told the Gauteng legislature at 14:30 local time (12:30 GMT).
The Premier acknowledged government shortcomings in managing the crisis but expressed confidence in plans to eliminate the treatment backlog affecting approximately 3,000 patients, some waiting up to three years for radiation oncology services.
His statement follows a scathing Gauteng High Court ruling in March that declared the provincial Department of Health’s failure to provide radiation oncology treatment “unconstitutional and unlawful.”
Acting Judge Stephen van Nieuwenhuizen found that health officials had done “nothing meaningful” since March 2023 when R784 million was specifically allocated by Gauteng Treasury to address the cancer treatment backlog.
The court ordered the department to “take all steps necessary” to provide radiation services to patients at Charlotte Maxeke and Steve Biko Academic Hospitals.
Provincial authorities obtained leave to appeal the ruling in April, claiming compliance could compromise overall oncology care standards – a move Jack Bloom, Democratic Alliance health spokesperson, called “further delay tactics.”
“Hundreds of cancer patients have died because they didn’t receive radiation treatment within the required 90 days,” Bloom said in response to Lesufi’s apology. “In my view, this is as bad as the Life Esidimeni disaster.”
Controversy intensified after Monday’s Treasury revelation that the Health Department had underspent its 2024/25 budget by more than R720 million, despite the ongoing crisis.
Civil society organizations including SECTION27, Cancer Alliance and the Treatment Action Campaign have been battling since 2020 to force the department to address the backlog, culminating in court action earlier this year.
Medical guidelines specify radiation therapy should be provided within 60-90 days of surgery to effectively destroy remaining cancer cells, but many Gauteng patients have waited years, with some dying before receiving treatment.
The provincial government now faces mounting pressure to implement immediate solutions while justifying its appeal against the court’s intervention timeline.
