Long waiting times and long queues at Gauteng health facilities will continue to be the order of the day. The Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development and Property Management, which is responsible for the building and maintenance of health facilities, is failing dismally in delivering on its core mandate and is unable to complete many clinics.
This also means that our residents who are in dire need of medical attention will not get treatment on time which could prove to be fatal.
For the second quarter of the 2022/2023 financial year, GDID was meant to complete five healthcare facilities but none of these has been completed. This information was revealed in the second quarterly report for GDID.
According to the report the following facilities were meant to be completed:
· Sebokeng Clinic
· Kekanastad Clinic
· Finetown Clinic
· Mandisa Shiceka CDC
· Boikhutsong Clinic CDC
Construction work has stopped at most of these facilities because of issues with poorly performing contractors as well as a lack of coordination with local government in dealing with regulatory requirements.
The construction at Finetown Clinic is overdue as a result of the stalling of the town planning application and the lack of power of attorney. In the case of Mandisa Shiceka CDC, the project was not completed because the contractor is waiting for the wayleave approval from the municipality to connect bulk services. The Boikhutsong CDC was not completed on time due to town planning issues.
GDID is constantly failing to deliver infrastructure projects on time and within budget. Despite this, the political principals sit with arms folded instead of intervening and resolving the obstructions that exist.
Despite several requests for the department to do probity checks on contractors to ensure that they have both the technical skill and the financial muscle to perform, the department continues to appoint incompetent contractors. There are ongoing problems with contractors not performing, having cash flow problems, or not paying their workers on time.
The former MEC for this department, Tasneem Motara, was recently replaced and not a moment too soon. The newly appointed MEC Lebogang Maile has a poor track record of overseeing the Human Settlements Department, so there is some concern that he has the expertise necessary to make a discernible difference in the trajectory of this dysfunctional department.
The DA proposes that a skills audit be conducted within this department to ensure that all the officials in key positions are suitably qualified and that there is scrutiny of companies who are awarded the tenders to build clinics, schools, and libraries.