Kimberley - The DA has called for the MEC for Roads and Public Works to expose those who have benefited from the “colossal mess” of the Kimberley mental health hospital that has taken nearly 13 years to be completed.
DA member of the Northern Cape Provincial Legislature, Melinda Hattingh, said that the hospital, which comes with a whopping price tag of about R2 billion, could have been built at a fraction of the cost.
“This is a hospital that would have been classified as a state-of-the-art facility ... had it been launched in the anticipated era. It has instead become outdated before it has even opened its doors,” said Hattingh.
“This is a hospital that will forever be remembered as a monument to corruption in the Northern Cape.”
She questioned how many of the implicated officials who had benefited from this project were still employed or actively involved in the department.
“Now that the mental hospital is finally on the verge of completion and the money for the project has run out, it is no longer of use to white collar crooks posing as government officials.”
Hattingh also pointed out that the Fleet Management Trading entity had never accounted fully to the legislature since it was established eight years ago.
“We understand that there is currently a Hawks investigation into the issue of petrol card fraud. We are still awaiting a report detailing all personnel costs and the so-called R14.5 million worth of ‘services in kind’ payments made to departmental staff also working for the entity.
“There is also the increase in consultancy fees, that more than doubled from the previous year to R3.8 million, apparently due to the resignation of the entity’s chief financial officer in November 2017.”