The 1 Military Hospital in Thaba Tshwane, South Africa's biggest military hospital continues to be in a state of disrepair and is reported to be falling apart in spite of millions of rands having been spent on it over the past 20 years.

This comes as the renovations to the hospital continue to hit one snag after another with some parts of the hospital still under construction more than 10 years after renovations commenced.

The renovation project which began in 1999 initially estimated to cost R232 million has continued to be beset by controversy as some of the floors are still unfinished after government spent more than R431 million towards the project by March 2011.

In 2001, Public Works launched the 1 Military Hospital RAMP with the aim of the RAMP having been to restore1 Military Hospital as the flagship hospital in the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) stable.

In 2022, IOL reported that then Minister of Defence Minister Thandi Modise was forced to apologise after an investigation found that the bungled repair and maintenance project at the hospital was marred by irregular expenditure of more than R156 million.

Almost 15 years later, the situation has not changed much. This has been revealed by the recent visit by members of the Parliament's Joint Standing Committee on Defense and the Portfolio Committee on Defense and Military Veterans following this past week's oversight visit to the facility.

When it was constructed in 1972, the 500-bedhospital complex with residential accommodation, service buildings, a transport park, roads, parking areas, a helipad and a water reservoir, the intention was to ensure that this hospital is able to treat even the President, Deputy President, as well as foreign dignitaries and members of the SANDF and their families.

EFF's portfolio committee member Carl Niehaus who was part of the oversight visit accused the minister of defense, Angie Motshekga of failing to release a report by the Abacus Financial Crime Advisory report which reveals the extent of the corruption and mal administration that has resulted in the failure of this project to be completed.

"It is a disgrace to see what has happened to this once great military hospital which was the best military hospitals in the world. What we uncovered is beyond disgrace—it’s a criminal betrayal! Since 2008 this vital facility has been looted of billions, left in ruins by corruption and mismanagement. A forensic investigation Abacus Financial Crime Advisory already in 2020 exposed this rot, yet the SIU probe drags on with no arrests, no accountability. Wounded soldiers have died waiting for care that never came—this is murder by greed," said Niehaus.

Niehaus has accused the minister of failing to uncover the rot that happened way before her tenure saying the reason she does not want the truth to come out is because she could be trying to senior government officials.

"The rot happened way before she was the minister. Therefore, she should be using this as a way to clean up the rot and release the investigations to the public. Most outrageous, the Minister of Defense lied to Parliament, Angie Motshekga, lied to Parliament by saying that there are no legal or criminal issues tied to this disaster. The EFF has already charged her with the Parliamentary Ethics Committee for misleading Parliament, and we demand her immediate accountability, resignation, or removal. Those responsible—from the Minister and everyone else involved—must be arrested and prosecuted now. We also call on the SIU to release its findings. So that every culprit must face the harshest penalties. Our soldiers deserve justice, not death by corruption," he stated.

IOL previously reported that a forensic audit report into the hospital refurbishment showed that on March 31 2011 all the contractors and consultants had left, and the doors on the first floor were locked.

“The pharmacy was incomplete, and when Abacus (Property Management) arrived in 2019, those doors were locked. The first floor was the highly technical and complex area of the hospital housing X-rays, scanning devices and laboratories. A decision was taken to redesign and refurbish that particular floor, a recent report presented to Joint Standing Committee on Defense reported.

Niehaus has also revealed that most of the high-tech equipment procured for the hospital has been auctioned off after millions of rands have been spent on them.

"Millions if not billions of rands have gone down the drain. Someone must be held accountable as the equipment bought with taxpayers' monies are being auctioned off and sold," he added.

Attempts to get comment from Siphiwe Dlamini, the spokesperson for the ministry of Defense were unsuccessful at the time of going to print after indicating that he had escalated the matter to the authorised officials.

siyabonga.sithole@inl.co.za