Political bickering reason behind the struggle to open Mandisa Shiceka Clinic
Applications were done on several occasions with no response from the City, only acknowledgement of receipt of the documents submitted.
Bureaucratic bickering between the Tshwane municipality and the Gauteng provincial government has resulted in Hammanskraal residents being treated in tents, instead of a newly completed (yet non-functional) R148-million clinic.
According to economic development and spatial planning MMC Bruce Lee, the Gauteng provincial government built the Mandisa Shiceka clinic in Hammansakraal on property owned by the metro without consulting with them first.
“Not only did the provincial government fail to engage or inform us of their intentions, but they also contravened national legislation by failing to submit any re-zoning applications or site development and building plans for approval.”
Even though construction on the R124-million clinic was completed in 2019, residents were still being treated in tents.
Lee said the metro urged the provincial government to urgently conclude the transfer of the property with them.
“They must submit all applications necessary for scrutiny to obtain an occupational certificate. My office will ensure the fast-tracking of approval in compliance with national legislation.
“The property must first be registered to the applicant. Once the property is in the ownership of the applicant, the applicant must then submit re-zoning, site development and building plans for the city’s approval. Only once the metro has received all relevant information, can our engineers’ design and plan on how to provide water and electricity.”
“The process may appear to be bureaucratic red tape, but us absolutely necessary to comply with national legislation, as well as to ensure occupational health and safety.”
A resident in the area, Palesa Malatji, said it was frustrating to get medical treatment in a tent while the building was complete.
“There is no privacy in that tent,” said Malaji.
“There’s no social distancing and it is very hot. It has been more than two years now and we still don’t understand what the problem is.”
Gauteng infrastructure development department spokesperson Bongi Gambu, however, said they approached the metro at the beginning of the planning stage during 2015/2016 financial year when professional service providers realised that the land size was not adequate to fit the new building.
Gambu said consultations were done with Tshwane metro officials to ensure that her department meets all the standards and regulations; hence, the issue of additional parking was raised by the metro.
“Applications were done on several occasions with no response from the metro, only acknowledgement of receipt of the documents submitted. We could not do rezoning of erf 355 and 356 as we had no power of attorney for the two properties. Site development plans were also submitted, but the department was informed that they will not look at them as they do not meet building regulations.
Progress at this stage was also stymied by the disbandment of the metro council and thus the matter couldn’t be tabled at mayoral committee council meetings.
“The permission to use erf 356, which is municipal land, was in order to meet the metro’s building regulations.”
Gambu said in 2019, MEC Tasneem Motara led a meeting to address the issues faced by the clinic and other projects in the city at the time.
She said the city was represented by former Mayor Stevens Mokgalapa, the then acting city manager and other senior officials of the CoT.
“The meeting agreed that the land would be donated for us to meet the parking requirements. Metro officials, however, claimed they had not received the necessary documents.
“It is important to note that while they claimed never to have received the documents, they raised the issue of the building requirements of parking spaces. If our department had not submitted documentation or consulted the municipality, it would not know of their parking requirements.
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