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The Select Committee on Appropriations and the Portfolio Committee on Health have expressed dissatisfaction at the answers provided by the Northern Cape Departments of Health and Public Works.

The Northern Cape Provincial departments Health and Public Works failed to provide satisfactory answers to Members of the Committee as to why the budget for the provincial Mental Health Hospital in Kimberly had increased from R290m to R1.70bn and why there was a delay in the completion of the facility.

During the meeting, the Health MEC, Mr Mxolisa Sokatsha said no capital budget was currently available for the completion of the hospital. Funding was being sourced from another budget intended for the hospital revitalisation project.

The Chairperson for the Select Committee, Mr Teboho Chaane shot down claims by the MEC that the Public Works Department was to blame for most problems. “It cannot be that you come here today and tell us that you have problems with Public Works, when you yourself came here with you counterpart and told us you have meetings on a regular basis and you have no problems,” he said.

He added: “You are responsible as the MEC of the health to make sure that this project proceeds like any other project you cannot say that because Public Works is not delivering then there is nothing that you can do.” The Committee said an investigation to look into the challenges faced by the provincial Department of Health was needed.