Africa-Press – South-Africa. The ANC has accused the DA of disregarding black communities after the GF Jooste Hospital in Manenberg, which was decommissioned by the DA-led Western Cape Government in 2013, came under scrutiny in the provincial legislature.
The reconstruction and commissioning of the hospital is expected to take many years still, with some reports stating the process would only be completed in 2032.
During a house sitting on Thursday, ANC MPL Rachel Windvogel said the injustice inflicted by the “uncaring, incompetent and dishonest DA government by taking away an essential service like a hospital is despicable, and the people should reject them at the polls”.
“The 10-year delay has forced people to travel long distances and spend money they don’t have to access healthcare services. Due to the ongoing gang violence in the area, some are forced to risk their lives to cross the turf of rival gangs in order to access healthcare services. To add salt to the wound, it will take another 10 years before the hospital is rebuilt,” she said.
The provincial government had intentions of rebuilding the facility after it was decommissioned in 2013, but there has been little progress since then.
In February, Health MEC Nomafrench Mbombo said in a written parliamentary response to Windvogel that the funding for the project had been reprioritised.
Windvogel said: “This party is good for nothing and should be booted out of power in 2024. The whole process of closure of GF Jooste has exposed the DA’s complete disregard for black communities. The DA has failed the people of Manenberg, Nyanga, Gugulethu and surrounds.”
In response, Mbombo said eight of the nine provinces where the ANC governed had health systems that were going “down the drain”.
“There is more to do in the Western Cape; we have indicated that our budget has been dropped … over a billion this year from the money that we were supposed to get from the national government and also with the issue with load shedding that’s been perpetrated by the failure by the ANC government,” she said.
However, Mbombo admitted there was a delay regarding the GF Jooste Hospital.
“The issue was about why we would build a level-one hospital again on that site, which is less than four hectares, instead of building a level-two hospital that will be a specialist hospital. The issue of the budget is something we have to look out for. It’s not only the GF Jooste hospital; it’s other hospitals as well,” she said.
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