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Government must explain the ongoing delay in the completion of the Boegoeberg clinic which is resulting in mounting expenditures.

The Boegoeberg Clinic project which initially started in September 2017, was meant to be completed in one year. It has, however, taken the Departments of Health, and Roads and Public Works more than six years and counting to complete.

According to reports, delays in the processing of payments by the health department led to the first contractor never returning to the site from the beginning of the 2021 financial year. The second contractor, appointed to complete the outstanding work by the end of May 2022, also experienced payment delays.

At the end of June 2022, the Department of Health estimated the completion costs of the clinic at R25 million. In January this year, the department announced that the facility had reached its final practical completion and would open its doors soon.

In the meantime, a further R6 million has been allocated towards a combination of additional construction costs in addition to the procurement of health technology.

The Democratic Alliance has submitted questions to the Department of Roads and Public Works to find out why they have allowed late contractor payments to delay this project. We also want a complete breakdown of construction costs in addition to a comparison of the initial amount budgeted for completion over a single year, versus the actual completion over close to a decade.

Through construction projects like the Kimberley mental health hospital, we have witnessed how easily the cost and timeframe of unduly prolonged projects can snowball. This should not be repeated. Improved project management of infrastructure projects is essential to bring an end to this practice and to prevent any further interruptions in the completion and operationalization of the Boegoeberg Clinic.

Issued by Priscilla Isaacs, MPL - DA Northern Cape Constituency Head for Central North