Eastern Cape women giving birth in wards with leaking roofs, mould, and exposed wires

The Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) has told MPs that Eastern Cape maternity wards and rape care centres have fallen short.

It presented two investigations to Parliament’s portfolio committee on health on Wednesday as MPs demanded timelines and accountability from the provincial health department.

The committee chairperson, Azwihangwisi Faith Muthambi, said the meeting had to do more than hear the findings.

“We want to understand the implications of these findings for accountability, service delivery, and the protection of the rights of the women, mothers, newborns, and survivors of gender based violence.”

Unsafe wards and weak leadership at six hospitals

The CGE inspected six hospitals. According to its head of legal, Tsietsi Shuping, leaking roofs, mould, and poor cleaning put patients at risk. Exposed electrical wires in a tunnel to one maternity ward created a fire danger.

“Maternal mortality rates persisted at a concerning level in the Eastern Cape, despite a high percentage of pregnant women utilising maternal health services, ” Shuping told MPs.

He said management failures explained the differences between hospitals.

“Leadership emerged as a critical factor affecting the performance of maternal health services at a facility level,” he said.

Rape survivors faced delays and few resources

The second report examined 11 Thuthuzela care centres, which offered medical, legal, and psychological support to survivors.

According to the CGE, only four met the two-hour response target. About 60% of cases reached court.

MK Party MP Thembinkosi Mjadu cited the report’s staffing figures.

“Only three of 11 TCCs have dedicated forensic nurses, and 36% of TCCs, including Lusikisiki and Mthatha, have no SAP officials on site,” Mjadu stated.

He also highlighted that the report found only five TCCs have social auxiliary workers or first responders, while only four of the 11 TCCs attend to GPV victims for the prescribed two hours per period.

Mjadu questioned how the department reconciles these conditions with the constitutional right to access health care and the standards set by the TCC blueprint.

Dr Charnell Naidu, CGE commissioner, said the problems ran deep.

“The findings revealed several systemic issues, including inadequate staffing, lack of standardised protocols, inconsistent oversight, and resource constraints,” she said.

MPs questioned accountability and inspection methods

Several MPs voiced anger at the findings. Mjadu said the province’s residents had been let down.

“Someone must be charged here. It’s unfair to the people of Eastern Cape,” he stated.

DA MP Dr Karl Willem du Pré le Roux warned against judging hospitals by appearance and asked whether commissioners spoke to patients about abuse during labour.

Commission said its recommendations were not binding

Shuping said a Constitutional Court ruling months earlier limited what the commission could enforce.

“The recommendations of the public protector, as well as other chapter 9 institutions, are not binding,” he said.

He said departments had still implemented many recommendations. He added that the CGE could litigate if reports were ignored. Failures, he said, cut across health, police, and justice.

“It’s not a matter of who to blame,” he told the committee.

Health department reported fewer maternal deaths

An Eastern Cape health official said maternal deaths fell from 127 in 2024 to 85 in the 2025 financial year.

The official credited staff training, better-equipped units and a special R897 million allocation for beds and linen.

“We are not where we would like to be,” the official said, citing funding and budget constraints.

Muthambi asked the department for a full progress report by the 15th, while the committee also planned a wider follow-up meeting.

“We must take this matter further, as this committee, to invite everyone involved so that we can tackle this issue once and for all,” Muthambi said.