A dilapidated three-roomed house used as the Haytor clinic is in a terrible state. A project to renovate the building was halted for a while because the Eastern Cape Department of Health did not pay the contractor.

• Haytor Clinic in Whittlesea near Komani is currently in a terrible state.
• The property, built in 1976, has three rooms, so there’s barely any privacy for nurses to conduct tests or counsel patients. This usually happens in the waiting area in front of other patients.
• A R9-million tender was awarded to a contractor last year to renovate the existing clinic, build three new structures and ablutions.
• But the project is currently on hold because, among other reasons, the department failed to pay the contractor.

A dilapidated three-roomed house is where patients attending Haytor Clinic in Whittlesea near Komani have to receive medical treatment. The property, built in 1976, has a leaking roof and when it rains, patients have to jump over puddles of water.

Because the clinic has three rooms, there’s barely any privacy where nurses can conduct tests or counsel patients on their treatment. These usually happen in the waiting area in front of other patients.

In mid-2024, the Eastern Cape Department of Public Works and Infrastructure awarded a R9-million tender to a contractor to renovate the existing clinic, build three new structures and ablutions.

Nearly a year later, the project remains incomplete. Residents and staff say the contractor left the site in May. But returned two days after we visited the site.

When we visited the site last month, no workers were there. While the roof on a section of the building had been removed for repairs, it had not been replaced. There was a lot of rubble and building material left unattended at the site.

Provincial health spokesperson Siyanda Manana said the project was meant to be completed by June. He said there were major delays due to late payments to the contractor and weather challenges. He did not explain the reason for the delay.

The project has been halted for more than a month to allow the department time to make payment, confirmed Manana. Work at the site has since started again.

The clinic serves about a thousand people from three villages.

Zwelinzima Ntlabezi, who works as a caretaker at the clinic, said that when it rains, he has to run to the clinic to cover patient files and medication.

He said the roof of the old nurse’s house was destroyed by a storm years ago. “The consultation rooms are very small. We have a doctor that always complains about the space because she only has a small corner to treat people,” said Ntlabezi.

Patient Busisiwe Mlandeli complained that her tests were done in front of other patients. “At least when it’s not cold we wait outside,” she said.

Mlandeli said when the contractor was introduced to community members, they were told the project would be done within six months.

“This is very frustrating,” she said. “We really need this clinic because in this village there’s little network coverage, so we struggle to call for an ambulance when there’s an emergency.”

Ward 21 councillor Lazola Pukwana said department officials promised an end to the payment issues when the project resumes. “We are hoping that they will stick to that because the medication can’t stay covered with a sail.”

However, Manana disputes that the clinic’s medication and files are exposed to the elements. He said it is kept in steel cabinets.

The clinic, Manana said, will be completed in November.

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Welekazi Msawu, 62, says she is approved for a house. But “no one is telling me when and where the house is going to be built”.

• Families relocated from Phola Park in Komani in 2010 after storm damage are still living without services at a “temporary” relocation site.
• They say they had been promised RDP houses, within a year, 15 years ago.
• People have to relieve themselves in buckets or an open field as there are no toilets.
• The Eastern Cape Department of Human Settlements says 143 houses will be built between September and December this year.

In 2010, about 25 families were moved from Phola Park informal settlement in Komani, Eastern Cape, after their shacks were destroyed by high winds. Residents we spoke to claim that the Chris Hani District Municipality told them at the time that RDP homes would be built for them within a year and they were to be relocated to New Zone temporarily.

Fifteen years later, about 15 families remain in New Zone, without any sanitation services or electricity. Nearby there is a graveyard and an unbearable stench from stagnant water.

“They said our houses will be built within 12 months, but 15 years later we are still waiting,” says Sylvia Bandeza. She said they were all registered for houses. In 2011, electricity poles were installed, but then removed in 2017 with no explanation.

Welekazi Msawu, 62, was a backyarder in Unifound and relocated to New Zone in 2015. She uses a wheelchair. She has to relieve herself in a bucket. Her daughter empties it in the graveyard. Msawu says they don’t have other options.

She said the previous ward councillor, who relocated her, had explained that the her shelter would have no electricity or toilets but she would quickly receive an RDP house.

She said municipal officials confirm she is approved for housing but “no one is telling me when and where the house is going to be built”.

Eastern Cape Department of Human Settlements spokesperson Yanga Funani said a project to build 143 houses is in the works for September to December 2025. He said a site visit was conducted to confirm the state of readiness for the implementation of the project.

Phola Park informal settlement

Meanwhile about 150 families still live in the Phola Park informal settlement. Resident Kholiwe Mampewula said the toilets have been blocked since 2020 and despite numerous requests the municipality has not fixed them. People relieve themselves in an open field.

Chris Hani District Municipality spokesperson Thobeka Mqamelo said the sewerage pump station is malfunctioning and being repaired. She admitted there were constant sewage spillages, but said these are attended when they are reported. The municipality has applied to upgrade the system in Komani, which will enable it to service the area when it is formalised.

Hluphekile Siyoko, 69, said while he has been waiting for an RDP house he has lost his wife, daughter and grandchild in a shack fire. He had to borrow money from a loan shark to pay for the funerals. The loan shark keeps his social grant card and gives him less than half his grant money.

Asked why Phola Park lacked services, Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality (which is under Chris Hani District) spokesperson Lonwabo Kowa said Phola Park was an unplanned settlement. People had occupied the land. Government in response took a resolution to formalise Phola Park informal settlement and provide services. But electrification and the rollout of services were disrupted by new people arriving.

“Initial owners that were on the first register were not found,” he said. “There were many new shacks, some of which had been erected inside the existing sites.”

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