Floods and storms have resulted in millions of rands in damages to South African health facilities – hospitals, clinics and nursing homes – over the past two years, reports Daily Investor, the Eastern Cape being the worst hit, with nearly R130m in damages
In response to a recent parliamentary question from DA MP Michéle Clarke, Health Minister Aaron Motsoaleldi said data from six provinces showed that natural disasters had cost, in total, around R297m.
Clarke had asked how many facilities had been damaged by floods and storms in each province during the 2023/24 and 2024/25 financial years; the cost of destruction at each facility, and the timeline for repairs.
Motsoaledi said the data were available only for six provinces, as the Free State and Northern Cape had not reported damages, and his department is still awaiting a report from Mpumalanga.
He said 142 facilities across seven provinces (including Mpumalanga) were affected by rain and floods between 2023/24 and 2024/25. However, he could only provide details about 126 facilities without Mpumalanga’s report.
Of the six provinces, the Eastern Cape was hit the hardest by far, with damages worth R128.32m, although only 17 facilities were affected. KZN was second hardest-hit with R88.08m.
The province with the highest number of damaged facilities was the Western Cape with 47.
Motsoaledi some of the facilities cost more to repair because the provinces took advantage of repairs needed for storm damage to renovate parts of the infrastructure that had deteriorated from age rather than rain or flood waters.
Daily Investor article – South African hospitals flooded with R297 million in damages (Open access)
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
KZN floods: 318 autopsies, 80 healthcare facilities damaged, fears of disease
Storm-wrecked KZN hospitals repair bill close to R100m