Broken promises stall Cape Flats' new provincial hospital project

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02-04-2026
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Cape Argus
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More than a decade after GF Jooste Hospital was closed and demolished, construction on a replacement facility has yet to begin, with no clear timeline in place.

The delay has renewed concern about healthcare access on the Cape Flats, where residents continue to travel long distances for treatment and nearby hospitals remain under pressure.

Community leader and pastor Oscar Bougardt said the impact of the hospital’s absence is still being felt across areas such as Manenberg, Hanover Park and Heideveld.

“Every year that the rebuilding process is delayed means that thousands of vulnerable residents remain without a nearby emergency facility,” he said.

Bougardt said the closure has placed additional strain on surrounding hospitals, contributing to overcrowding and long waiting times.

“When trauma cases, emergencies and routine care are all funnelled into already busy hospitals, the entire healthcare system becomes strained,” he said.

For many residents, accessing care now involves multiple taxi journeys, higher transport costs and, in some cases, navigating gang-affected areas.

A member of community organisation Tjatjies Samekoms, who only goes by first name Tara (as she practices her indigenous rights), said some residents felt their needs had not been fully addressed.

“At this point, residents still have to travel outside of Manenberg to access care,” she said.

She also questioned whether the planned redevelopment would directly benefit the community.

“I am not clear that the building of Jooste Hospital will have a greater impact on the Manenberg community,” she said.

GF Jooste Hospital, once a key trauma facility serving large parts of the Cape Flats, was decommissioned around 2014 after structural concerns.

The Western Cape Government committed in 2012 to rebuilding the hospital on the same site within a few years, but construction has yet to start and there is still no direct replacement facility serving the same communities.

GOOD secretary-general and Western Cape parliamentarian Brett Herron said the project had failed to materialise despite repeated commitments.

He was referring to a 2012 undertaking by then Western Cape health MEC Theuns Botha.

“Since Botha’s promise, the delivery of this new hospital has been regularly featured in the DA-led government’s statements, but 13 years later, not a single brick has been laid,” Herron said.

In response to queries, Western Cape Department of Health and Wellness spokesperson Dwayne Evans said the closure formed part of a broader redesign of the metro health system.

He said services were absorbed into Mitchells Plain and Khayelitsha district hospitals, increasing capacity and expanding available care.

Evans said the province opted against a like-for-like replacement, instead planning a higher-level regional hospital to serve the metro.

He said delays reflect the scale of the project, funding constraints and growing demand in a system already under pressure.

“In the meantime, communities continue to access care through a network of clinics, community health centres and referral hospitals,” he said.

Despite this, pressure on facilities remains high. Hospitals such as Mitchells Plain continue to operate under heavy demand, while emergency services face safety risks and delays in high-crime areas.

In many cases, patients are first stabilised at smaller facilities before being transferred to larger hospitals, adding further delays to treatment.

The Western Cape Government has announced plans to strengthen the health system, including adding more than 800 staff across facilities, but major infrastructure projects such as GF Jooste have yet to move into construction.

Current projections suggest the replacement facility could still be years away from completion, extending a gap in local healthcare services that has persisted for more than a decade.

At the centre of the issue is the lack of a firm timeline. While planning processes have progressed, no definitive start date for construction has been provided.

For residents on the Cape Flats, the delay means a key healthcare facility has effectively been lost for years, with no clear indication of when it will be restored.

While planning processes have progressed, no definitive start date for construction has been provided.