Charlotte Maxeke Hospital repairs to be completed in August: Motsoaledi

Health minister Aaron Motsoaledi says the long-running repair project at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital is expected to be completed in August, and parking-area repairs in October this year.

Motsoaledi, with finance minister Enoch Godongwana and Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi, visited the hospital on Tuesday to inspect progress on repairs and assess the implementation of recommendations made by the public protector.

The hospital has been undergoing repairs since a devastating fire in April 2021 damaged several sections of the facility and disrupted services.

Motsoaledi said government departments — including the national health department, National Treasury, Gauteng provincial government and Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) — had agreed on a joint plan to ensure the project was completed.

“We are informed by the DBSA that in August, all the wards here will be working, and in October this parking lot will be open for use, and that will be the end of the project,” said Motsoaledi during the visit.

He said a committee, chaired by Lesufi, will meet every Tuesday to monitor progress and oversee the implementation of the public protector’s remedial actions.

Gcaleka revealed that R666m had been granted to the hospital for repairs and maintenance, but only R334m had been spent between 2021 and 2024

Motsoaledi also addressed concerns about accountability raised in the public protector’s report, saying the Gauteng provincial government would be responsible for disciplinary and accountability processes involving officials employed by the province.

Godongwana said problems with procurement processes in the health sector remained a major concern, citing cases where officials allegedly split tenders to bypass procurement rules. He said the government was working on introducing electronic procurement systems and involving hospital staff more directly in procurement decisions to improve transparency and reduce corruption.

Motsoaledi’s visit to the hospital comes days after public protector Kholeka Gcaleka released findings into the delays for repairing the building. The report found that:

• reasons for the setbacks included poor planning and contractor disputes;
• the number of patients had dropped after the fire; and
• many services were suspended or moved to other facilities.

TimesLIVE previously reported that the public protector had criticised Gauteng’s department of health and department of infrastructure development over the delays and an underspend of finances allocated for the repairs.

Gcaleka revealed that R666m had been granted to the hospital for repairs and maintenance, but only R334m had been spent between 2021 and 2024.

The fire started in a storage area, destroyed medical stock worth millions of rand and exposed major safety concerns at the hospital.

Investigations revealed there were failures in the fire compliance system, which included problems with smoke doors, hydrants and suppression systems.

TimesLIVE