Public Service Commission finds three KZN clinics still unrepaired nearly three years after 2022 floods

The Public Service Commission (PSC) in KwaZulu-Natal has raised serious concerns over three public three public health facilities that remain unrepaired almost three years after the devastating April 2022 floods.

The findings were contained in a report presented to the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature’s committee of chairpersons on Tuesday, following investigations conducted by the PSC into post-flood service delivery at health facilities across the province.

The PSC, which oversees public administration and is accountable to the National Assembly, carried out several service delivery inspections during the 2023/24, 2024/25 and 2025/26 financial years. These inspections focused on health facilities affected by the floods, particularly during the 2023/24 financial year.

PSC Commissioner Yasmin Bacus highlighted serious and ongoing challenges at Newtown Community Health Centre in Inanda, north of Durban, Justice Gizenga Mpanza Hospital in KwaDukuza, and KwaMakhutha Clinic in the south of Durban.

1. 1. 1. 1. Newtown Community Health Centre: The PSC found that no remedial work had taken place since the floods. The building remains filled with mud and debris, while facility management reported that they had received no communication from head office regarding when clean-up or repairs would begin.
         2. Justice Gizenga Mpanza Hospital: Inspectors found that no infrastructure repairs had been carried out. The hospital continues to face vacant posts, a shortage of filing space, maintenance problems in several sections and insufficient accommodation for staff. Although a contractor was appointed in January 2023, no work had commenced at the time of the inspection.
         3. KwaMakhutha Clinic: The primary health facility in the south of Durban township was flagged as posing a serious safety risk after inspectors found that the ceiling and asbestos roof had not been repaired. The ceiling had previously collapsed in both the labour ward and the blood room, endangering staff and patients. The PSC noted that the project was handed over to the Department of Public Works on May 14, 2022, with the tender process finalised and awaiting approval.

Bacus told legislators that engagements with several heads of department revealed that severe budget cuts and financial constraints were cited as the main reasons for the delays. She urged departments to address structural constraints and to better align budgets with service delivery risks, particularly in high-risk sectors such as Health and Education.

According to the Department of Health (DoH), a total of 84 health facilities in KwaZulu-Natal were affected by the floods, with estimated repair costs of R184 million. Following the closure of Newtown Community Health Centre, patients were redirected to neighbouring facilities in KwaMashu, Ntuzuma and Inanda, collectively known as the INK area.

The PSC recommended that government departments should.

1. 1. Enforce accountability 
   2. Institutionalise follow-up 
   3. Strengthen consequence management 
   4. Address structural constraints 
   5. Challenge budget allocations

“A memorandum of understanding between the commission and the legislature would cement collaboration and cooperation arrangements. Continued collaboration between the commission and the legislature remains essential to strengthening accountability and service delivery,” Bacus said.

KwaZulu-Natal DA spokesperson on Health, Dr Imran Keeka, said the PSC must ensure its recommendations are binding and carry consequences for heads of departments who receive the 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,” Keeka said. He added that during a recent oversight visit to Justice Gizenga Mpanza Hospital in Stanger, the focus had been on the facility’s readiness to manage festive season emergencies.

Keeka said the KZN Legislature portfolio committee had recently visited several clinics in the eThekwini region and was in the process of addressing its findings. He also raised concerns about metro-run clinics, noting that primary healthcare is a provincial competency.

“The constraint in transferring poorly run metro clinics to the province remains complex and costly and needs to progress in phases. At the very least, the department has taken over all mobile services,” he said.

zainul.dawood@inl.co.za

SUNDAY TRIBUNE