Note to Editors: Please find attached English and Sesotho soundbites by David Masoeu MPL and Afrikaans soundbite by Cllr Jose Coetzee.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) will submit questions to the Free State MEC for Health, Monyatso Mahlatsi, and the MEC for Public Works, Dibolelo Mance, and will also bring the matter to the attention of the MEC for Provincial Treasury, Ketso Makume, to request urgent intervention in the failed building project at Newberry Hospital in Clocolan.
This follows an oversight visit to Newberry Hospital conducted by myself, Dulandi Leech, and Jose Coetzee. During the visit, we found that a building project intended to be completed within 18 months remains incomplete more than two years later.
As a result, the hospital is struggling to provide efficient medical services to the residents of Clocolan. Due to the delay of the building project, the hospital can attend to a limited number of patients a day, thereby significantly reducing the hospital’s ability to provide medical services. Further exacerbating the issue is the inadequate support from the Provincial Department of Health and insufficient funding from the Provincial Treasury.
In 2023, the Free State Department of Health appointed a contractor to erect a building intended to increase the hospital’s bed capacity. The project has already cost taxpayers R15 million, yet the delays in completing the project are allegedly due to the non-payment of invoices submitted by the contractor to the Department of Health.
Furthermore, the hospital cannot accommodate male patients due to a shortage of wards, forcing male patients to be transferred to either Mantsopa Hospital or Dihlabeng Hospital, both of which are approximately 40 kilometres from Clocolan.
The most recent Auditor-General’s Report identifies the Department of Health as one of the main offenders in failing to comply with stipulated timeframes for paying service providers. This persistent non-compliance often results in contracts not being honoured and ultimately being terminated.
The DA remains resolute in ensuring that all residents of Clocolan have equal access to quality medical services and will continue to hold the Newberry Hospital and all relevant departments accountable for upholding residents’ basic human rights.