Mpumalanga’s Healthcare Services at Breaking Point

Mpumalanga’s healthcare services are at a critical tipping point.

The Department of Health’s latest quarterly report for 2025/26 paints a picture of decay and maladministration, placing healthcare on the brink of collapse.

With billions either squandered or underspent, the Department is clearly letting the people of the province down.

Hospitals are deteriorating, doctors remain jobless and communities are deprived of basic services.

The report shows that more than R4,4 billion in irregular and wasteful expenditure cannot be accounted for, while R6,6 billion was underspent. Funds earmarked for hospital upgrades and clinic maintenance were simply not used.

Mapulaneng Hospital in Bosbokrand has been declared unsafe due to dilapidated infrastructure and failed water systems, leaving expensive equipment unutilised.

Hospitals in Emalahleni (Witbank) and Middelburg continue to struggle with security problems, long waiting times and limited resources. The closure of the old Middelburg Hospital’s Casualty Department and inadequate ambulance services left patients stranded in 2025.

Although the new King Nyabela Hospital has since been commissioned, the transition has placed significant pressure on service delivery. At Bernice Samuel Hospital in Delmas, incidents of medical negligence have further eroded community confidence.

Even Rob Ferreira Hospital in Mbombela – a tertiary training facility – continues to experience infrastructure problems, staff shortages and poor management. This places patients at risk and undermines the training of young doctors.

The Cuban medical programme remains a cause for concern. Since 2012, Mpumalanga has budgeted more than R150 million to train 221 South African students in Cuba. By 2017, 33 of these students had returned as doctors, but only 17 were employed in the province.

Meanwhile, the Department has also appointed Cuban doctors, creating the impression that foreign personnel are favoured over local graduates. This imbalance not only cost millions, but has also further undermined community confidence.

The Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus) demands accountability at once. The Department can no longer get away with mismanagement amounting to billions while hospitals are falling apart.

Healthcare services restoring dignity, appointing doctors fairly and providing communities with certainty are crucial.

The latest findings also show that the National Health Insurance (NHI) has no chance of succeeding. If a province cannot transparently and effectively manage its existing funds, a national system that requires even greater responsibility will simply not be sustainable.

FF+ Manifesto on Good governance: Ensuring effective and efficient governance.

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