Note to Broadcasters: Please find attached soundbites in English and Afrikaans by Wolfgang Wallhorn
The Democratic Alliance (DA) demands immediate action to complete the multi-million rand Community Health Centre (CHC) in Mathibestad and a full audit into the delays. The facility remains incomplete for 13 years after construction began due to the ANC-led North West Provincial Department of Health’s mismanagement.
Initially scheduled for completion in 2015, the project was abandoned due to contractor failures, with work resuming only in 2022 after years of delays attributed to bureaucratic inefficiency and the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite commitments, the facility remains non-operational in May 2025, forcing residents to depend on an under-resourced local clinic and the previous CHC operating out of offices rented at the Carousel Casino.
This is yet another example of ANC incompetence wasting taxpayer money while denying citizens critical healthcare. A project meant to provide 24-hour emergency care, maternity services, and more has become a symbol of failure.
On 5 October 2023, a Health Department Spokesperson claimed the CHC would open in December 2023, however it did not.
Residents have lost faith in anything the ANC-run Provincial Department of Health says. Only security remain to look after a facility that has no electricity, no water, no ablution facilities for them, yet they are expected to safeguard the facility 24/7.
An action plan for the future to keep the disgraceful state of the building front and centre is to send a request to the DA Portfolio Committee Member for Health and Social Development, to keep on raising the issue of the dilapidated building on the monthly agenda of the Portfolio Committee.
The DA will conduct regular oversight visits to ensure that no stone is left unturned in our quest to bring Health Services closer to those who need it most.