Five years after a multimillion-rand hospital project began in Ulundi, KwaZulu-Natal, the job is still incomplete, with the provincial Public Works & Infrastructure Department now seeking to recover the money paid to the contractor, reports TimesLIVE.
The project started at Nkonjeni Hospital in July 2020 and was supposed to take just 20 months to finish, but KZN Public Works MEC Martin Meyer has now approached Premier Thamsanqa Ntuli’s office calling for an independent forensic investigation, citing “serious irregularities, poor workmanship and possible financial misconduct”.
In a formal letter to the Premier’s office, the department requested that the probe focus on:
• possible fraud or misrepresentation by the contractor;
• the authenticity of all project documentation and variation orders;
• breaches of contract terms and financial controls; and
• the contractor’s invoicing and certification processes.
The contractor has until tomorrow (7 November) to explain why it believes it has met all contract requirements.
The department is also pursuing legal action to recover funds lost due to delays and poor-quality work, added Meyer, and has approached the courts to obtain an interdict against the contractor. He said they would take further steps to recover wasted funds and hold those responsible to account.
Meyer said a rapid task team had been deployed to the hospital to address the initial issues, but closer inspection had found additional safety and operational concerns.
The call for a forensic probe has been welcomed by healthcare unions.
“We have consistently raised concerns about the state of Nkonjeni Hospital, even staging two protests to highlight the deteriorated infrastructure,” Nehawu provincial secretary Ayanda Zulu told the Sunday Times.
But contractors have continued to delay essential work, added Andile Mbeje, provincial secretary of the Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (Denosa) in KZN, who said the delays had placed immense pressure on hospital staff and compromised service delivery.
“Staff have been operating in temporary structures for five years, which is unacceptable. Nurses can only attend to a limited number of patients per day, and community members, particularly emergency patients, are left waiting due to insufficient space.”
He said contractors should be thoroughly vetted before appointment, and where previous companies failed to deliver, funds should be refunded.
Preliminary findings are expected within 60 days, with a full report due within 120 days from the start of the investigation.
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