The SA Medical Association Trade Union (Samatu) in Gauteng has called on the Health Department to urgently conduct an audit following recent fires at Tembisa Provincial Tertiary Hospital in Ekurhuleni.

“We believe that an urgent and independent audit of Tembisa hospital’s infrastructure by the Department of Health is necessary. This audit should not only investigate the immediate causes of the fires but also provide a thorough evaluation of the hospital’s overall structural integrity, fire safety systems and emergency preparedness measures,” said Samatu Gauteng chairperson Phuthi Ratshabedi.

In less than a week, there were two fires at the hospital, affecting its accident and emergency unit and outpatient department. The first incident occurred last Saturday and the second one on Wednesday.

Ratshabedi said on Friday that the union has consistently raised concerns about the deteriorating infrastructure of South Africa’s hospitals.

He said the fires at Tembisa were also concerning because of the safety of patients and staff.

“The fires reveal critical weaknesses within the facility, prompting serious concerns regarding the adequacy of current safety protocols and the overall structural stability of the hospital building,” Ratshabedi said.

The union said safety should never be compromised.

“We will continue to closely monitor the situation and advocate for the essential improvements needed to secure a safe and functional healthcare facility for the people of Tembisa,” he said.

The union warned that the department needed to start repairing and upgrading the building to avoid further incidents.

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The Democratic Alliance in Gauteng is calling for a prompt and thorough investigation into the fire that broke out at Tembisa Provincial Tertiary Hospital over the weekend.

The party insists that any lapses of failures that may have contributed to the incident be identified and addressed.

It emphasized the need for accountability, saying that patients and healthcare workers deserved answers and assurances that such an event would not happen again.

“[We are] demanding a speedy investigation and consequences for any identified failures that may have contributed to the fire at Tembisa Hospital this weekend,” DA Gauteng health spokesperson Jack Bloom said in a statement on Monday.

“We should be very grateful that disaster management services were able to prevent a monstrous tragedy by the speedy evacuation of patients. They should be commended. Unfortunately, there is a history of drawn-out investigation and lack of consequences after previous hospital fires.”

Meanwhile, Gauteng MEC for Health and Wellness Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko confirmed that the fire at Tembisa hospital has been fully extinguished, with unaffected sections of the facility continuing to operate as usual.

However, the hospital remained on “divert” status, which meant it was not accepting new emergency cases at this time.

Nkomo-Ralehoko stressed that the cause of the fire was still under investigation and the department was awaiting the official forensic report.

“At this moment no one knows the cause of the incident. There are several investigations that are underway by various institutions are required by law and their response mandates,” she added.

According to a recent Gauteng health department report presented to the provincial llegislature, not a single one of Gauteng’s 37 public hospitals is fully compliant with the Occupational Health and Safety Act, with fire hazards posing the greatest concern.

Sixteen hospital scored below 70% compliance due to inadequate fire measures, including missing equipment and signage. Tembisa hospital scored just 72%, the same as Charlotte Maxeke hospital despite its prior fire incident.

“Tembisa hospital has been mismanaged and looted by fishy contracts for years now, and it does not even have a permanent CEO. A top-class CEO is urgently needed to ensure that full services are reinstated, and measures are taken to alleviate the severe overcrowding that will be worsened by the fire,” Bloom added.

Congress of SA Trade Unions has also expressed deep concern over the blaze, urging authorities to prioritise urgent repairs and to ensure that all health facilities comply with occupational health and safety regulations to prevent similar incidents in future.

“Cosatu Gauteng urgently calls on the Department of Health and Department of Labour to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the current state of all health institutions in the province to determine the extent of the occupational health and safety challenges,” said Cosatu provincial chairperson, Aymos Monyela.

“Including the dilapidating infrastructure, prioritise necessary repairs or refurbishment and ensure compliance in terms of health and safety regulations. The staff to patient ratio should also be assessed and measure taken to prioritise it.”

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Public Works & Infrastructure Mimister Dean Macpherson has expressed his satisfaction with the completion of the dome for the National Assembly sittings in Cape Town, ahead of the State of the Nation Address replies this week.

The department constructed the dome at the request of the National Assembly to temporarily house sittings, while the original building that was destroyed in a fire, was rebuilt.

“As the Department of Public Works & Infrastructure, we have successfully repurposed this structure, which had remained idle for many years, to help Parliament save millions in costs while the reconstruction of the National Assembly chambers continues,” Macpherson said in a statement on Monday.

“The structure, now equipped with a new roof sail and structural reinforcements, will allow the National Assembly to hold sittings uninterrupted in all weather conditions.”

He said this would also enable members of the public to witness the proceedings in person for the first time in many years.

Macpherson commended his team, particularly director-general Sifiso Mdakane for his exceptional leadership in overseeing the implementation process.

“The director-general and his team worked tirelessly, including through the December holiday period to ensure that the project was completed on time for Parliamentary sittings. We extend our sincere thanks to them for their dedication,” he said.

The minister expressed his commitment to continue working with Parliament to ensure the successful functioning of the dome in the coming weeks and months.

He said this would enable Parliament to fulfil its vital role of holding the executive accountable, a function that was severely hampered by the Covid-19 pandemic and the fire that damaged the National Assembly chambers.

“The dome project demonstrates that the Department of Public Works & Infrastructure can act with speed and precision when required,” Macpherson added.

“We are eager to build on this momentum as we work to turn South Africa into a construction site in the months ahead.”

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Parliament is getting a new temporary home for the next 24 months, while the original building that was destroyed in a fire is rebuilt.

Public Works and Infrastructure director-general Sifiso Mdakane witnessed the site handover for a dome installation in Cape Town on Wednesday.

Department spokesperson Lennox Mabaso said it would be at the Niewmeester parking site within the Parliamentary Precinct. 

He said the dome set up was expected to take 24 days to complete. It would be ready for the 2025 State of the Nation Address and opening of Parliament in February.

The project has the blessing of both National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza and the Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson.

Mabaso said the structure would save the state a lot of money in terms of accommodating Parliament for the next two years.

He said twelve metre containers, carrying all the necessary accessories and parts, which were transported from Defence Force storage facility in Pretoria to Cape Town, have been handed over to commence construction.

The project is being overseen by the chief professional architect from the Prestige Unit of the department as well as construction experts.

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A man was arrested Tuesday and will face 76 counts of murder after telling an inquiry that he started a deadly building fire in South Africa last year while trying to get rid of the body of someone he had strangled in the apartment complex on the orders of a drug dealer.

The shocking confession came when the man was testifying at the public inquiry into the causes of the nighttime fire in Johannesburg in August, which was one of South Africa’s worst disasters with its death toll of 76.

The 29-year-old man, who wasn’t named, said he had killed a man in the basement of the rundown building on the night of the fire by beating him and strangling him, according to South African media reports of the testimony. He said he then poured gasoline on the man’s body and set it alight with a match.

He testified that he was a drug user and was told to kill the man by a Tanzanian drug dealer who lived in the building.

Hours later, police said they had arrested the man after his testimony. He is also facing 120 counts of attempted murder and a charge of arson, police said in a statement. He would appear in court in Johannesburg soon, police said, without giving a date.

The inquiry he was testifying at isn’t a criminal proceeding and his confession came as a complete surprise. The inquiry is looking into what caused the fire and what safety failures might have resulted in so many people dying, and he testified because he was a resident of the building.

The panel in charge of the inquiry ordered that he not be identified after his testimony and a lawyer leading the questioning of witnesses said that his confession couldn’t be used against him because it wasn’t a criminal hearing.

South African media referred to him as “Mr. X” when reporting on his claim that he caused the fire that ripped through the dilapidated five-story building in the city’s Marshalltown district, killing dozens, including at least 12 children. More than 80 people were injured.

The fire drew the world’s attention to downtown Johannesburg’s long-running problem with “hijacked buildings,” rundown structures that have been taken over by squatters and abandoned by authorities. There are many of them in the old center of the city, officials say, illustrating the decay of parts of South Africa’s largest city and one of the African continent’s most important economic hubs.

The city of Johannesburg owned the building, but it had been taken over by illegal landlords, who were renting out space to hundreds of poor people desperate for somewhere to live. Many of the building’s occupants were immigrants suspected of being in South Africa illegally.

It also sparked anger in South Africa that authorities should seemingly be so powerless to stop the illegal takeover of such buildings.

In his testimony, Mr. X said that the building was a haven of criminality and was being run by drug dealers. He also claimed there were more bodies in the basement of the building — which he called a “slaughterhouse” — before the fire.

South African police opened a criminal case in the days after the fire five months ago but no one had been arrested until Tuesday.

Emergency services officials said that they found most of the fire escapes in the building had been locked or chained closed that night, making it even deadlier. Some people jumped out of windows — some as high as three floors up — to escape the inferno, according to witnesses and health officials.

Some said they had to throw their babies and children out, hoping they would be caught by people below. Many of the injured suffered broken limbs and backs from jumping out the windows.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa ordered the inquiry into the disaster, which started in October by hearing testimony from emergency services personnel who first responded to the fire in the early morning hours of Aug. 31.

AP

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Eight small shops – at the corner of Jeppe and Polly Street – caught fire in the early hours of Wednesday morning and Joburg Emergency Management Services (EMS) have confirmed that there were no casualties reported.

It’s not clear who owns the building or whether the incident is linked to non-compliant hijacked buildings in the Joburg CBD.

There’s been growing concerns about the level of safety of some of the  buildings in the city centre – after a series of fires in recent years.

The most recent case involved the Usindiso Building in Marshalltown, said to be one of the hijacked buildings, which caught fire and resulted in the deaths of more than 80 residents.

A commission of inquiry was set up to look into the Usindiso inferno and other hijacked buildings.

The first witness at the Usindiso inquiry, Johannesburg Emergency Medical Services acting chief Rapulane Monageng, cited several non-compliant practices as the cause of the fire.

“The incident led to a debate on hijacked buildings in Joburg’s city centre, with many indicating the Marshalltown incident was due to poor service delivery and criminality. There were residents in the building who were paying unknown “landlords”.

Joburg EMS spokesperson Xolile Khumalo has urged the community of Johannesburg to exercise extra precautions when using electrical appliances or braziers.

“Please ensure that these are switched off or put out when not in use,” he said.

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