Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital is one of the country's largest teaching hospitals. On 16 April 2021 a fire gutted parts of it; outpatient numbers fell from 80,000 a month to 30,000 and stayed there for years.
The Public Protector's report, released by Advocate Kholeka Gcaleka on 22 May 2026, sets out why. The Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development, as implementing agent, and the Department of Health, as client, spent months disputing custodianship of the site; approvals were delayed; as-built drawings could not be found; execution plans were non-compliant. Together this added 15 to 18 months. Of the R666–667 million allocated for repairs between 2021 and 2024, R324.2 million — 51.3% — was spent, while the estimated cost rose from R1.1 billion to R1.7 billion. In the same period the Development Bank of Southern Africa, Gift of the Givers and the Solidarity Fund rebuilt the sections they had taken on, on time and on budget. The Public Protector found maladministration, referred the matter to the Auditor-General, directed consequence management within 30 days and lifestyle audits of the officials involved. The two departments had blamed each other.