Pretoria’s 1 Military Hospital is still only partly operational despite half a billion being spent on a prolonged renovation project.
Officials from the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) were before the joint standing committee defense on Friday where they provided an update on the renovations.
Despite receiving a similar presentation last year, committee members were left deeply unimpressed by the lack of progress.
Maintenance cost R250m in four years
The refurbishment project has been subject to multiple Hawks investigations and Auditor-General of South Africa (AG) reports spanning over a decade.
The Hawks have submitted dockets to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), and the AG has repeatedly found material irregularities and wasteful expenditure.
While the project requires inter-departmental cooperation, Defence Minister Angie Motshekga had previously stated that DPWI had fulfilled its obligations, the Department of Defence (DoD) “lacked the necessary expertise to independently manage the project”.
A similar presentation from May 2025, noted that R545 million had been spent on renovating the facility, yet critical areas and even an entire floor were non-operational.
Friday’s 12-page presentation, predominantly featuring before and after photographs of selected areas, was short on fresh information.
What it did contain was confirmation that R249 million had been spent between September 2020 and August 2024 for handyman, electrical, fire, mechanical and minor project services.
Improvements since September 2020 include new signage, landscaping to beautify flowerbeds and lawns, new branding, new public seating, new palisade fencing and water pipe replacements.
Additionally, repairs to cooling towers, the fire pump house and two boilers had been undertaken.
‘Reached a new low’
The DA’s Chris Hattingh noted that urgent maintenance was required at the facility as early as 2005, with excuses over the building’s 50-year-old age being unacceptable.
Hattingh noted that many patients had been using the facility since before the renovations began 30 years ago, but were now forced to rely on outsourced services.
“There is some evidence that the hospital has become slightly better maintained, but certainly not substantially more operational. The critical measures of success remain unanswered,” said Hattingh.
The EFF’s Carl Neihaus was less forgiving in his assessment.
“The presentation we have received today has reached a new low. This must be some of the worst presentations that these committees have ever received,” he declared.
Neihaus explained that members were told by the Department of Public Works that no cooperation was received from their defence colleague in preparation for the presentation.
He described the refurbishment project as a “criminal disgrace” that was “a betrayal of our soldiers and veterans“, and all other military personnel.
“The presentations before us are an insult to this committee; they are an insult to every soldier in this country,” he said.
Neihaus said the committee should demand full written reports within 14 days and subpoena each official responsible.
“We must place on public record that the continued inaction is unacceptable. We simply cannot allow yet another year, another death, and yet another excuse. We must arrest the looters,” Neihaus concluded.
