Public Service Commission flags three KZN clinics for flood repair delays
The Public Service Commission (PSC) in KwaZulu-Natal has flagged three clinics that remain unrepaired after the April 2022 floods.
A report on the investigations undertaken by the PSC was presented to the committee of chairpersons of the KZN Legislature on Tuesday.
The PSC oversees the public administration within the public service and is accountable to the National Assembly. Several service delivery inspections were undertaken within the 2023/24, 2024/25, and 2025/26 financial years.
These inspections were undertaken at KZN health facilities, regarding the post-impact service delivery inspections at health facilities affected by the floods in the 2023/24 financial year.
PSC Commissioner Yasmin Bacus outlined problems at Newtown Community Health Centres (Inanda), Justice Gizenga Mpanza Hospital (KwaDukuza-Stanger), and Kwa Makhutha Clinic (eThekwini).
- Newtown CHC: The PSC found that no changes had been made, as the building remained full of mud and debris, and management at the site had not received any communication from the head office in terms of when the clear-up project would begin.
- Justice Gizenga Mpanza Hospital: No repairs were done to the infrastructure. There are still vacant posts, and a lack of filing space. The PSC found that there were maintenance issues on some sections of the hospital and insufficient accommodation for staff. A contractor was appointed in January 2023, but no work had started.
- Kwa Makhutha Clinic: The ceiling and asbestos roof were not fixed and were posing a danger to staff and patients visiting the clinic. It was reported that the ceiling had previously collapsed in both the labour ward and blood room.
The PSC stated that the project was handed over to the Department of Public Works on May 14, 2022. The tender process for the project was finalised and was awaiting approval.
The PSC has had meetings with several heads of departments, and an explanation was given that there were severe budget cuts and constraints.
Bacus urged departments to address structural constraints and interrogate budget alignment to service delivery risks. She said that the government should prioritise high-risk departments, for example, Health and Education.
A total of 84 health facilities in KZN had been affected by the floods, with the Department of Health (DoH) estimating repairs to cost R184 million. The DoH said that with the closure of Newtown, patients were moved to neighboring health facilities in KwaMashu, Ntuzuma and Inanda (INK) areas.
The PSC recommended that the government departments should:
- Enforce accountability
- Institutionalise follow-up
- Strengthen consequence management
- Address structural constraints
- Challenge budget allocations
“A memorandum of understanding between the commission and the legislature would cement the collaboration and cooperation arrangements. Also, continued collaboration between the commission and the legislature remains essential to strengthening accountability and service delivery,” Bacus said.
Dr Imran Keeka, MPL and DA KZN spokesperson on Health, stated that the PSC must ensure that its recommendations are binding and have consequences for departmental heads who receive these reports.
“The portfolio committee will need to focus on more than this abridged list of facilities and complaints raised in Commissioner Bacus’ report. These facilities were not mentioned during our discussions. During our visit to Justice Gizenga Mpanza Hospital in Stanger, our focus was on the readiness of the facility to manage festive season emergencies,” he stated.
Keeka said the KZN Legislature portfolio committee visited several clinics in the eThekwini region recently and was in the process of dealing with its findings.
“We must remember that metros should not be running clinics. This is a provincial competency that is currently highly anomalous. The constraint in transferring the horrible metro-run clinics to the province remains both complex and costly, and needs to progress in phases. As it stands, at the very least, the department has taken over all mobile services,” Keeka added.
zainul.dawood@inl.co.za