The Gauteng department has paid all outstanding money owed to Eskom for the supply of power to the new Natalspruit hospital, the MEC for Health in Gauteng Hope Papo told the provincial legislature today.
The delay in payments led to interruptions for 24 days in the current financial year and no significant losses were incurred during the interruptions. During the interruptions, uninterrupted power supply units that have batteries ran down and due to poor lighting at night the contractor had to increase security measures to secure the building and ensure safety of equipment.
The current bill for electricity is R127 812.34 for Natalspruit Hospital and R463 841.19 for Zola/Jabulani Hospital where there have been no interruptions. “We would like to assure the community that there would not be major delays in the completion and official openings of both hospitals,” said, Mr Papo.
The MEC added that this issue and other problems related to continuing late payment of contractors are currently being attended to by the two heads of departments (Health and Infrastructure Development) to ensure smooth running of the projects.
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