Judge shames Bloem over slack hospital move
BLOEMFONTEIN is billed as a city with less stress and haste, but its bureaucrats’ sluggish approach to investment has earned a judge’s wrath.
The Life Healthcare Group applied to rezone land for a hospital four years ago, but despite high court censure it has not yet had a response from the Mangaung metropolitan municipality.
The acute physical and neurological rehabilitation hospital, currently operating from rented premises, is the only one serving the Free State and the Northern Cape.
The hospital’s lease expired a year ago, and in desperation it asked the High Court in Bloemfontein for help.
“Although the action resulted in an agreement by all parties, only partial commitments have been fulfilled by the municipality,” Life Pasteur Hospital practice manager Christina Fourie told the Sunday Times this week.
Apart from the “substantial” costs the company had incurred because of the delay, patients were suffering. “The planned relocation will increase the hospital’s ability to provide acute and sub-acute physical and cognitive rehabilitation to patients disabled by spinal cord, stroke or traumatic brain injury,” said Fourie.
“The new facility will also bring additional employment opportunities . . . and is expected to impact on the local economy as a whole.”
Life Healthcare accused municipal manager Tankiso Mea of contempt of court for ignoring a court order to consider the rezoning application.
Although Judge Johann Daffue did not convict Mea, he said: “It is an absolute shame that this matter has been dragged out for so long. This case is a typical example of the inability of an organ of state, acting through recalcitrant senior employees, to deal with pressing issues swiftly and effectively.
“We have an entity that is prepared to invest millions of rand in Bloemfontein. If the project comes to fruition it will not only benefit the community, but the Mangaung metropolitan municipality will earn much-needed income in the form of property taxes. Notwithstanding the expiry of four years, no progress has been made.”
Daffue ordered the municipality to process the application urgently and told Mea to oversee the process. He also ordered that officials in the municipality’s town and regional planning division be made aware of his ruling as they could be hauled before court if the impasse is not resolved.
Ratepayers have to pick up the legal bill because the municipality was slapped with a costs order.
Municipal spokesman Qondile Khedama said he was unable to find “the relevant person” to comment because of a strike.
The ANC misunderstands the need to bring growth to Mangaung
DA MP Werner Horn, the party’s constituency head for Mangaung, said the metro was in need of financial injections but the municipality frustrated investors with red tape. He said he knew of several businesses that had moved to the Western Cape because of this.
“Jobs have been continuously lost in the metro for the last couple of years and investors are scared of investing in Mangaung,” said Horn.
“This is not an isolated incident and it is just a sad indication of how the current ANC misunderstands the need to bring growth to Mangaung. Their misunderstanding of the contribution of the private sector is displayed with regards to rezoning and business applications.”
Horn said there was a bottleneck in the rezoning process in the mayor’s office.
“The sad part is that there would be a number of applications processed by the officials but they pile up because the mayor still needs to get political advice on them.”