R500 million hospital in Far West Rand won’t be used to treat covid-19 patients

10 May 2021

R500 million was spent on rebuilding the AngloGold Ashanti hospital in the Far West Rand in order to treat Covid-19 patients, but it will only be used as a quarantine and isolation facility.

This was announced at the presentation of the Gauteng Command Council on Friday last week.

The renovations were costly because intensive care wards were built in this hospital, but these will not be used because there are no specialist staff for them and the hospital is far from population centres.

This highlights the massive waste of money as there are lots of empty hotels or other government buildings that could be used for quarantine and isolation of suspected and confirmed mild Covid-19 cases.

Meanwhile, the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) is probing irregularities in the award of contracts for the work at this hospital which has taken six months longer than planned.

Premier David Makhura is accountable for this scandalous misuse of money that should have assisted other hospitals to better cope with the Covid-19 pandemic and prevent further loss of life.

Issued by Jack Bloom, DA Gauteng Shadow Health MEC, 10 May 2021