Patients and staff at the Bheki Mlangeni Hospital in Soweto have been afflicted by a water shortage since early December last year, leading to a 3-day planned water supply disruption this week to try and fix the problem.
According to a communique by the hospital’s management, the water shutdown is from 14 to 16 January for the contractor to do “plumbing maintenance and repair excessive leakages in identified areas.”
It is unacceptable that this recently built hospital, which was opened in April 2014, has been so poorly maintained, including the main water tank which has not been functioning for years.
Upper floors of the hospital have suffered the most from the water shortage, with staff bringing water in buckets from JoJo tanks.
This hospital has long suffered from poor and unstable management.
A R3.3 million forensic probe by Open Water was completed three years ago to investigate irregularities concerning infrastructure, human resources, and procurement, but the department has refused to make it public despite my many requests.
The DA demands accountability for the deteriorating state of this hospital, which needs new management to provide a decent service to Soweto residents.
The DA also proposes that maintenance is decentralised to hospitals with competent people in charge instead of politically motivated appointments.