R700 million Gauteng Hospital will become a ghost hospital as staff leave

15 March 2022

About R700 million has been spent on the Anglo Ashanti Hospital in the Far West Rand, but there is no decision on its future use after staff leave at the end of this month, so it will become a ghost hospital.

This information is revealed in written and oral replies to my questions to Gauteng Health MEC Nomathemba Mokgethi in the Gauteng Legislature.

According to Mokgethi, only 147 Covid-19 patients have been treated at the hospital since it was partially opened in May last year.

The hospital was supposed to have 181 ICU beds to treat Covid-19 patients, but only 56 ordinary beds are available for patients.

Not a single bed has been completed or is available for High Care or ICU treatment.

As contractors have not finished their work, 125 beds have not yet been completed.

About R6 million has been spent on staff for this hospital, but they were appointed on Covid-19 contracts which end on 31 March 2022.

Mokgethi says that no decision has yet been taken on the future use of the hospital but her department is working on a strategy to retain the staff.

But only 34 patients have been treated there since the beginning of this year.

It is no use pumping more money into this white elephant hospital which is likely to become a ghost hospital without staff or adequate medical equipment. The provincial government does not even own the building as the donation by the Anglo Ashanti mining company has not been finalised.

Meanwhile, the Special Investigating Unit (ICU) is probing corruption as costs escalated from a renovation budget of R50 million to more than R500 million.

According to the SIU, six of the contractors were irregularly appointed by the Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development without a contract amount, no bill of quantities and no scope of work.

It is a major scandal that so much money was wasted on this hospital far from major population centres when existing hospitals need to be refurbished and are desperate for more staff and equipment to treat patients.

The Democratic Alliance will continue to push for full accountability for this disaster, including criminal charges for those who stole public funds instead of alleviating the suffering of sick people.

Issued by Jack Bloom, DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Health, 15 March 2022