The future of Kimberley’s Mental Health Hospital must be placed under urgent review following further damning findings by the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) into unacceptable conditions at the facility.
The SAHRC’s report coincides with the shocking revelation that the multi-million-rand hospital is now valued at just 17% of its construction cost. The Northern Cape Department of Roads and Public Works has valued the facility at R255 million, despite construction costs of R1,283 billion. For a hospital that has never been fully operational, this massive collapse in value raises serious concerns about construction quality, project management and financial oversight.
The SAHRC confirmed that only two of the hospital’s four wards have operated since its 2020 opening due to serious infrastructural defects. Units intended for state patients, children and adolescents, and emergency admissions remain non-functional. A facility once branded “state-of-the-art” has instead become a symbol of systemic failure.
The ongoing criminal case relating to the hospital’s construction has been transferred to the Kimberley High Court. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has indicated that financial prejudice exceeds R88 million, yet this figure does not account for the broader loss to the public purse.
Mismanagement has not been confined to construction. Questionable procurement decisions, including unused industrial ironing equipment and substandard linen, point to a pattern of irregularity. We are also interrogating the R30,966 million deviation-based procurement of a power substation and generator in the 2024/2025 financial year. The deviation was justified to fast-track electricity restoration after cable theft and vandalism, yet the hospital remained without power for 12 months. During this period, the Health Ombud found that patients died from hypothermia due to a non-operational HVAC system aggravated by the prolonged power failure.
At a time of rising demand for mental health services, severe staff shortages and fiscal constraints, it is imperative to determine whether continued investment in this deteriorating facility is viable, particularly as there is a global shift toward decentralised mental health care.
The DA will request that the hospital’s continued viability be placed under urgent review and that a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis be conducted to determine whether the Kimberley Mental Health Hospital remains the most effective vehicle to ensure access to mental health services in the province.