Bara Hospital spends R3.4 million on diesel for generators

20 July 2022

The Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital has spent R3.4 million on diesel for its emergency generators so far this year, a sharp increase from previous years due to the latest electricity cuts.

This is revealed by Gauteng Health MEC Nomathemba Mokgethi in a written response to my questions in the Gauteng Legislature.

Last year the hospital spent R2.63 million on diesel for its 20 generators, and the previous year only R321 000.

All the generators are being serviced, with 12 of the 20 generators serviced to date. But there was one generator failure this year because its batteries failed.

It’s a pity the hospital has to spend so much money on diesel in order to keep essential functions going when power is cut.

The generators only provide power for emergency operations, so elective surgery has to be cancelled with devastating effects for patients on long waiting lists.

This strengthens the case for all public hospitals to be exempted from Eskom load-shedding.

Issued by Jack Bloom, DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Health, 20 July 2022