Just before the 29 May 2024 South African General Elections, ANC Mpumalanga MECs travelled the Province handing over incomplete projects like the R1.8 billion New Middelburg hospital; under the pretence that those projects were complete, but now their lies have caught up with them.
In his Adjustment Budget Speech delivered in the Mpumalanga Legislature on Tuesday this week, Finance MEC, Bonakele Majuba, announced that his department will reprioritise R86.3 million from its baseline towards the “Completion of the New Middelburg Hospital”.
While the DA welcomes this funding, we must ask: how do you set aside millions of rands for the completion of an infrastructure project that has already been handed over under the pretence that it was complete?
To make matters worse, a second hand over for the New Middelburg Hospital is expected to take place in December 2024, as per a pronouncement by Premier, Mandla Ndlovu. To hand over the hospital twice, is absolute proof that the handover in May 2024 was an electioneering stunt by the ANC.
The Provincial Government commissioned the building of this hospital in 2017 to replace the old and dilapidated Middelburg Provincial Hospital, which could no longer meet the demands of the Middelburg community. This New Middelburg Hospital was set to be completed in early 2020; but it is worrisome to note that to date, they are still setting aside multimillion rand budgets to complete it. The original budget for this New Middelburg Hospital project was R1 billion when construction started in 2018, but now it has escalated to over R1.8 billion.
Unfortunately, taxpayers are the ones who are forced to foot the escalating construction bill of this project.
The DA will undertake an oversight visit to this hospital on 28 November 2024, to see if it is indeed completed and what the extra R86.3 million is now for.