R13m already overspent on Gauteng rehab stuck in planning phase since 2018

Seven years after planning began on a rehabilitation centre in Tembisa, Gauteng, the vulnerable and addicted residents it was meant to serve are still struggling.

This, while nearly R14 million has been overspent on the project already.

It was initially given a budget of R20.5 million, but Gauteng MEC for Social Development Faith Mazibuko revealed this week that R34.2 million had already been spent.

“There is a minus of R13.7 million,” she said.

This is how much has been spent on the project each year so far:

2018: R600,000 was earmarked for the project and R11 million was spent
2019: Not revealed. Likely, no money was allocated or spent.
2020: R12.4 million was budgeted and R13.7 million spent.
2021: Budget was R5 million and expenditure was R6.9 million.
2022: The budget allocated was R500,000 but nothing was spent.
2023: R1.9 million was allocated and the same amount spent.
2024: Nothing was spent of the R50,000 budget earmarked for the project.

“The above amounts were spent on the provision of architectural services, quantity surveying, mechanical engineering, construction project management, and town planning,” Mazibuko explained.

WATCH: The MEC’s response to questions about the project:

DA shadow MEC for Social Development Refiloe Nt’sekhe said she was “horrified” by the revelation.

“We spent R34 million just planning a facility. We could have used this money building it. This is not value for money for the residents of Gauteng. They deserve better.”

The DA plans to conduct an oversight visit to the facility’s site on Monday but called on Premier Panyaza Lesufi to “crack the whip” on excessive expenditures.

“Given the significant shortage of rehabilitation centres and the increasing demand for their services in Gauteng, especially in Tembisa, this situation represents a missed opportunity to provide a way out for our people enslaved by drugs,

“Gauteng residents deserve a caring government that is ready to help them escape substance abuse rather than push them further down,” the party said.

It further claimed that funding for five rehabilitation centres in the province, which have 246 beds, has been withdrawn.

“This signifies a drop of almost 50% in the delivery of beds across NPOs,” it added.

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‘Nowhere to go’

Rehabilitation centres are lifelines to the thousands of addicts caught in a cycle of desperation and despair.

The Central Drug Authority (CDA) recently told the Select Committee on Social Services last week that children as young as 12 and 13 had been arrested for use or possession of drugs in the last financial year.

The authority found that cannabis was the most widely used drug across all provinces, with cocaine most prevalent in Gauteng’s urban areas.

Treatment Director at Eagle’s View Wellness Centre, Marius Swart, told The Citizen that while government had its eye on drug abuse, not enough support is given.

“The demand for free treatment is very big, and there just seems to be nowhere to go.”

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Is Lesufi taking the war on drugs seriously?

The DA alleged that “addressing substance abuse is not a priority for Premier Panyaza Lesufi’s government”, a claim the Premier and his government have yet to respond to.

In his State of the Province address last month, Lesufi identified drug abuse as one of the 13 problems facing Gauteng.

“We have a serious drug problem in our province. This is evident by the number of people who continue to reach out to us for support through our dedicated hotline. Almost 33 000 people have called this government for help since October 2022.”

He promised to address the crisis through several interventions, including refurbishing and repurposing existing facilities.

“This is a battle we refuse to lose. Through our Substance Abuse Harm Reduction Strategy, we are tackling drug abuse head-on, ensuring young people have a future free from addiction.”

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