Mental hospital misses another of its deadlines
THE NEW Kimberley mental hospital, by all appearances, was not handed over at the end of March as promised.
As of yesterday, very few contractors were on site, apparently due to the recent wet weather as well as the Easter holidays.
While the majority of the work seems to be complete, it was reported that last-minute finishing touches were still being done to the building that has been under construction for the past 12 years, where costs have escalated to R2 billion.
The main contractor, Mota-Engil Construction South Africa, during a site visit last month, had given assurances that everything was on track and that they would meet all set deadlines.
Premier Sylvia Lucas indicated that they were advised that the practical date for completion would be the end of March, while the facility would be operational by June this year.
To date no staff vacancies have been advertised despite acknowledgements from the premier that they had to source skilled staff as well as personnel who would be able to operate the sophisticated security system that has been installed.
DA spokesperson for Roads and Public Works, Melinda Hattingh, said yesterday that they were waiting for the MEC for Roads and Public Works, Mxolisi Sokatsha, to provide an urgent update on the new mental hospital, which was scheduled for completion over the Easter weekend.
“In a reply to a question in the legislature just over two weeks ago, Sokatsha stated that the new practical completion date for the hospital was March 31. He further STILL NOT OPEN: The handover of the new mental hospital has again been rescheduled. indicated that all work done at the hospital was 100% complete and that the project is on a snagging and de-snagging phase to rectify any faults. In this regard, he said that 70 percent of the building had been de-snagged,” said Hattingh.
She pointed out that the R2 billion facility remained at the centre of controversy for continually missing its completion dates and for escalating building costs.
“Sokatsha owes it to the public to provide an update on the progress. He also needs to give feedback on the outstanding rates and taxes owed to Sol Plaatje Municipality by the Northern Cape Department of Roads and Public Works, specifically for the new mental hospital, as this can potentially jeopardise the handover of the completed hospital to the Department of Health.”
Hattingh stated that, to date, Sokatsha had indicated that they were still having meetings to finalise this matter as the outstanding debts had not been resolved.
The Department of Roads and Public Works did not respond to media enquiries by the time of going to press, but the spokesperson for the MEC for Health Lebogang Majaha said the department had an operational plan in place.
“The MEC will be able to share the details of the plan when he delivers his 2018/19 budget speech in the next two months.” GRATEFUL: Melony van Wyk is relieved that the taxi fare will not be increasing as she pays her fare to Aks Pienaar, an assistant driver.
Picture: Soraya Crowie