R115m was spent at the Kopanong Hospital in Vereeniging, south of Gauteng, on wards meant to be used for the Covid-19 pandemic.

This was revealed in a statement by the DA Gauteng shadow health spokesperson, Jack Bloom, stating that not a single ward has been completed to date.

According to Bloom, the details were revealed by Gauteng Health MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko in a written reply to his questions in the Gauteng Legislature.

According to the MEC, the wards are all incomplete because the appointed service provider was unable to finish the project and the contract was terminated.

The original plan in 2020 was to rapidly build 300 ICU beds for Covid-19 patients using Alternative Building Technology (ABT), but it fell way behind schedule and was never used.

During his visit to the hospital, former Health MEC Doctor Bandile Masuku says the Gauteng Department of Health had undertaken the huge task of increasing capacity in hospitals in order to meet the pressures of the Covid-19 pandemic.

A hospital wing of about 300 beds would be built behind the existing hospital to increase capacity. Masuku says the project is an essential stepping stone to improving the state of health in Vereeniging and surrounding areas.

“There was also controversy because the contractor failed to pay subcontractors. Now the department says they are ‘reviewing the structure for possible use as office space for the district.”

According to Bloom, the project has been a huge waste of money that should have been used to fix existing public hospitals.

“It’s yet another example of gross incompetence by the Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development (GDID) which routinely chooses poor contractors who fail to finish but still get paid huge amounts of money. As usual, corruption is suspected, and the MEC says GDID is investigating the issue.”

The DA says it has yet to see any real consequences from the never-ending ‘investigations’. Bloom says a complete management shake-up is needed to clear up the rot.

“This will never happen under the ANC, as they provide political protection to corrupt and incompetent people.”