Kempton Park Hospital mystery deepens as investigation proves it’s structurally sound

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has expressed its shock after it learnt that the structure of Kempton Park Hospital is sound.

This contradicted a previous claim made that the hospital required to be demolished and rebuilt, Kempton Express reports.

An investigation into the structural integrity of Kempton Park Hospital was completed in 2015.

“The investigation was conducted on behalf of the department of health by AMCE Consulting Engineers for R12.8 million,” said Refiloe Nt’sekhe MPL, DA Tembisa constituency head.

“No major structural problems were found, and it was recommended that the hospital be refurbished and opened as a district hospital. The estimated cost is R1.1 billion for the refurbishment,” she said.

The hospital was opened in 1978, and with maintenance, it was expected to have a life-span of 100 years.

“This was revealed to me by the MEC for infrastructure development, Tasneem Motara, in a written reply to my questions tabled in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature. This contradicts previous replies indicating that the hospital would be demolished and rebuilt, but this was put on hold by the Gauteng department of health due to a lack of budget,” said Nt’sekhe.

“In a previous reply, the department indicated they had spent over R6.9 million on security guards to safeguard this unused and abandoned hospital. Furthermore, the department of health previously indicated they would demolish the hospital for R127 million.

“Given these contradictions, the department of health needs to give the people of Kempton Park a concrete answer on the plans for this hospital,” she said.

Kempton Park Hospital renamed Khaylami Hospital shortly before its closure, closed its doors 18 years ago on December 26, 1996. Most of the expensive equipment in the building was left behind.