The long-running saga of refurbishing and modernising 1 Military Hospital will, according to Defence and Military Veterans Minister Angie Motshekga, be complete by January 2027.
The hospital on the northern side of Thaba Tshwane has a history of failed repair and maintenance going back to 1999 when the then Department of Public Works, now the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI), approved a repair and maintenance project (RAMP) for the flagship military healthcare facility. This morphed into a “RAMP expansion” and further into what was described as “refurbishment” by Abacus Financial Crime Advisory in a presentation to the then Joint Standing Committee on Defence (JSCD) in February 2022.
Words and phrases such as “unsound relationships” through to “continued dilapidation”, “further contract extension”, “guess estimates” and “off-the-record meetings” were used in the presentation.
In an effort to establish the present status of the hospital, Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) National Assembly (NA) public representative Carl Niehaus put two questions to Minister Motshekga.
On what steps have/are and will be taken to settle what he termed are “longstanding legal disputes and court cases” regarding 1 Mil and its refurbishment, Niehaus was told the project was now a Department of Defence (DoD) one without “any legal or court cases”.
As to timeframes for completion of the refurbishment project, Motshekga advised him “once the project is funded and the contractor is on site, the project will be completed in 29 months”. Given that her answer is dated 30 August it indicates January 2027 is when the hospital, called “a white elephant” by then JSCD Chair Cyril Xaba in 2022, is expected to be fully operational again.
In May, Brigadier General (Dr) David Ramaswe was named Officer Commanding 1 Mil and is “doing his best”, an outpatient preferring anonymity told defenceWeb. “Service, especially at the hospital pharmacy is far better with staff friendly and helpful,” she said, adding while she could not comment on operating theatres or wards another plus was in the grounds. “Benches have been put under trees providing welcome shade for those waiting to see doctors or have prescriptions filled, which is to be commended.”
Another Niehaus question on the wider SA Military Health Service (SAMHS) and its “ability to function effectively” in the light of “serious financial shortfalls” and possible National Treasury (NT) intervention received short shrift from Motshekga.
She told him Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana did not have health specific dispensations available for “public activities from which SAMHS can benefit”.
Acknowledging the constraints forced on the entire SA National Defence Force (SANDF) by budget cuts, Motshekga told Niehaus the healthcare service needs to “explore alternative funding mechanisms”. Examples she gave range from re-allocating existing resources to “additional budgetary support” from the DoD and public/private partnerships to ensure continuity of military healthcare services.
Another public representative seeking ministerial input on SAMHS is Russel Cebekhulu of the IFP (Inkatha Freedom Party).
Motshekga told him SAMHS has had “no engagement” with China’s Peoples’ Liberation Army (PLA) on assistance to upgrade equipment but Lieutenant General Peter Maphaha’s service is “actively engaged in ongoing negotiations or discussions within the SANDF framework”. Co-operation, across “various areas, including but not limited to, equipment upgrades” is on the table.
