Cape Town – State hospitals spent almost R700 million to avoid load shedding from April 1, 2022 to February 28, 2023, Health Minister Joe Phaahla has revealed.
According to TimesLIVE, Phaahla was responding to a written parliamentary question from Freedom Front Plus MP Philippus Adriaan van Staden.
He said hospitals spent R685 935 000 on diesel, exceeding their budget by R19 281 000.
The minister shared statistics indicating that KwaZulu-Natal spent the most at R178 387 000, followed by Gauteng at R131 357 000 and the Western Cape at R102 680 000. The Free State and Northern Cape spent the least at R21 263 000 and R28 303 000, respectively.
To mitigate the impact of load shedding, the health director-general Sandile Buthelezi met with Eskom on September 22, 2022. Regular meetings with Eskom are held to obtain more exemptions for healthcare facilities.
The department of co-operative governance and traditional affairs, as well as various municipalities, are currently engaging in further discussions on additional exemptions for private and public healthcare facilities from the grid.
ALSO READ | Power cuts to switch between Stage 5 and 6 – Eskom
Former Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma last month gazetted sweeping regulations to deal with the electricity crisis.
They included adopting energy-saving measures to contain the effects of disaster and prevent the escalation of the electricity supply shortfall, ensuring continuous operation of specified essential infrastructure and services among other things.
Dlamini Zuma also listed the essential infrastructure:
- Health infrastructure including military health facilities
- Water infrastructure including water treatment plants
- Rail and ports infrastructure
- Food production and food storage facilities where feasible
- Critical electronic communications and broadcasting infrastructure
Access the full Gazette here
Follow African Insider on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Picture: Twitter/ @CliffShiko
For more African news, visit Africaninsider.com
Compiled by Junaid Benjamin
