Residents still waiting for new clinic 10 years and R20.9m later

Tags

---

28-04-2026
Read : 5 times
Sowetan
Source

The project’s future now hangs in the balance after the Gauteng infrastructure department’s withdrawal as the implementing agent.

Residents of Sebokeng in the Vaal will have to wait another three years for the completion of the state-of-the-art Boitumelo Clinic, as a lack of budget has put its future in limbo.

After 10 years and R20.9m spent on what was meant to be a highly advanced facility, only a boundary wall has been built.

The project’s future now hangs in the balance after the Gauteng infrastructure department’s withdrawal as the implementing agent.

According to an official document seen by Sowetan, the project started in 2010 and was supposed to be completed in 2018.

However, 16 years after the wheels were set in motion and millions of rand paid to three companies, the land where the clinic was meant to be built stands empty.

In the meantime, residents use mobile container clinics and have to queue outside in the rain or scorching sun, as the infection risk from patients with TB means there is no space for them inside.

A staff member, who asked not to be named, described the situation as dire, saying patients are often left scrambling for cover when it rains.

The employee said overcrowding inside the containers poses serious health risks.

“We can’t really put [too many] people inside because of TB. The conditions are not proper. Even the staff is demoralised.

“Patients with seizures are forced to sit in the sun, which makes their condition worse,” the employee said. “When it rains, mothers who have just delivered their babies must bring them in for check-ups, but they are exposed to TB patients in the same space.”

Gauteng infrastructure department spokesperson Theo Nkonki said that of the R20.9m paid, R6,134,681 was for earthworks and the construction of the perimeter boundary wall.

Nkonki said R1,129,230 was paid to local expanded public works programme subcontractors for training and participation, while R13,714,356 relates to contractual termination.

Edwin Sodi contractors

Two contractors were appointed for the construction of the project — corruption-accused Edwin Sodi’s company NJR Projects and Shomang Construction CC.

ADI Investment was appointed as the professional service provider responsible for project planning and oversight, and was paid R9.5m.

Nkonki said NJR Projects was awarded the contract in November 2016 and paid R3.8m, but it was terminated in 2018 after sustained disruptions linked to unlawful business forum demands for a 30% share of the contract value without undertaking any work.

“These disruptions resulted in prolonged stoppages, making it impossible for the contractor to proceed,” Nkonki said.

The project was then re-advertised, and Shomang Construction CC, which was paid R6.1m, was appointed in 2020.

But construction was adversely affected by the Covid-19 lockdown and administrative problems, Nkonki said, and Shomang Construction CC subsequently terminated the agreement.

“When we were supposed to get paid, we were told there was no money,” said Sebokeng resident Maserame Ndaba. “That is when we started protesting, and then the construction stopped.”

Ndaba, 33, said she was part of a group of young people who were taken on for a six-month skills development project related to the clinic’s construction and were paid a R1,000 monthly stipend Her job was to clear rubble, prepare cement and pass bricks to the builders. Ndaba said when the contractor failed to pay, people retaliated by taking building material from the site. “Some people built their homes...with what they took,” she said.

The Gauteng health department referred questions to the infrastructure department.

However, in response to questions in the legislature on April 15, health MEC Faith Mazibuko said the project was stopped due to budget reprioritisation.

She said once the budget is available, construction will commence in the 2027/28 financial year and be completed in 2028/29.

DA MPL Kingsol Chabalala said the millions of rand already spent were not just wasteful expenditure but a betrayal of the residents, who were promised a modern clinic offering dignity, access, and improved health care.