Pretoria - After years of neglect and poor maintenance, the 1 Military Hospital in Thaba Tshwane has received a facelift, after millions of rand were squandered during the project initially launched in 1999 by the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure.
The project, known as repair and maintenance project, initially estimated to cost R232 million, was beset by controversy when it emerged that certain floors were unfinished and locked after the spending R431 million towards March 2011.
A forensic audit report into the hospital refurbishment showed that on March 31 2011 all the contractors and consultants left, and the doors on the first floor were locked.
“The pharmacy was incomplete, and when Abacus (Property Management) arrived in 2019, those doors were locked. The first floor was the highly technical and complex area of the hospital housing X-rays, scanning devices and laboratories. A decision was taken to redesign and refurbish that particular floor.
“This led to design flaws, including passages leading to the theatre complex being too narrow to allow hospital beds to pass. The equipment bought also could not fit through the doors, and was never installed,” said a report presented to Joint Standing Committee on Defence last year.
The report further said about R20 million worth of medical equipment, including scan, X-ray and mammogram machines, was purchased which later became obsolete.
This week, the government hailed the completion of the project as a milestone, especially after it was subsequently removed from department, and handed over to the SANDF, which had Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) as the implementing agency for the project.
Facilities management company, Servest, several government departments, private sector entities and state-owned development finance institution, the DBSA shared accolades for the success of the project.
For 51 years since the hospital was built it had not been successfully refurbished, according to Silumko Khambi, construction project manager at the DBSA.
Khambi said: “The aim of this project is to launch 1 Military Hospital as a model for the revamp of other public health-care facilities, especially given the direction that the country will be taking with the National Health Insurance.”
In its glory days 1 Military Hospital provided medical treatment to the president, his deputy, and their families, military personnel, including veterans and their families. The facility also offered medical treatment to the presidents of other countries.
Servest has been contracted to provide planned preventative maintenance over a three-year period.
Wenzile Mkhize, Servest regional operations manager for integrated solutions, said: “When we came on site, the building was in a state of disrepair, some of the technology was obsolete and malfunctioning. There were many breakdowns and water pipes were bursting regularly, flooding the wards on a daily basis.”
The big highlights achieved have been repairing the boilers that generate steam for heating to the hospital and overhauling and replacing the ageing plumbing network.
Khaya Makinana, director of Kusini Holdings, one of the sub-contractors said: “We cannot overestimate the importance of public-private partnerships to the economy and the growth of small- and medium-sized businesses which are the biggest creators of job opportunities.”
Kgalalelo Landane, manager at DBI Construction said: “South Africa has the capability and infrastructure to address some of the challenges facing the country. It requires people who have the right expertise in facilities management and development who can repurpose, refurbish, and manage these important assets to optimise them.”
Pretoria News