Service providers have decided to drag Ts’epong hospital to court for debts.

According to a court application where Netcare Hospitals (Pty, Ltd), Netcare Hospitals Lesotho Pty, Ltd, Botle Facilities Management Pty Ltd, Netcare Hospital Group Proprietary Limited are the first to the fourth applicants respectively Ts’epong is indebted to the first to third applicants in the aggregate amount of more than two hundred million maloti arising from a default judgement obtained against Ts’epong on May 21 this year.

The application seeks that Ts’epong be liquidated in terms of section 125 of the Companies Act, because it is unable to pay its debts as contemplated by section 125 (2) (b) of the Companies Act.

The applicants also seek an order to appoint Mr. Chavonnes Badehorst St. Claire Cooper as the liquidator.

They further note that Netcare is owed a significant amount of money by Ts’epong and it is also indebted to other subcontractors and supplies, and has failed to pay the amounts as it cannot do so.

In May this year, the applicants got a default judgement against Ts’epong for payment in the amount of, but due to its insolvency it could not make any payment pursuant to this order.

In 2017, Ts’epong’s audited financial statement showed the indebtedness of the government to more than two hundred million maloti. The agreement between Ts’epong and the government of Lesotho includes amongst others that Ts’epong would provide clinical and operational services to the government.

The government of Lesotho and Netcare entered into an agreement in 2008. The capital cost for the initial project was over a billion Maluti. The agreement was that Ts’epong would operate for a period of 16 years through maintenance of the facilities and management of all hospital services.

Among other things, it was agreed that since a lot of services were to be free for the patients, most costs would be incurred by the Ministry of Health, which along the way became the burden to the government that ended up deciding to terminate the agreement in 2021, and now Netcare demands a whopping M1.6 billion.