The DA announced on Thursday that patients and staff at Bheki Mlangeni Hospital in Soweto have endured a persistent water shortage since December last year, culminating in a planned three-day water supply shutdown from January 14 to 16.
According to the hospital’s management, the disruption aims to facilitate “plumbing maintenance and repair excessive leakages in identified areas.”
Jack Bloom, the DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Health, criticised the poor maintenance of the hospital, which opened in April 2014.
“It is unacceptable that a recently built hospital has been so neglected, including its main water tank, which has been nonfunctional for years,” Bloom said.
He noted that the upper floors are worst affected, with staff resorting to carrying water in buckets from JoJo tanks.
“This hospital has long suffered from poor and unstable management,” Bloom said.
He added that a R3.3 million forensic investigation by Open Water was completed three years ago to probe irregularities in infrastructure, human resources, and procurement.
However, the Gauteng Health Department has withheld the report, despite repeated requests for its release, he said.
“The DA demands accountability for the deteriorating state of this hospital, which needs new management to provide a decent service to Soweto residents,” said Bloom.
“The DA also proposes that maintenance is decentralised to hospitals with competent people in charge instead of politically motivated appointments.”
INSIDE METROS