Johannesburg – At least 32 public hospitals and 83 clinics in Gauteng have seen their landline telephones disconnected by Telkom because they failed to pay their accounts, which run into millions of rand.
Jack Bloom, the Democratic Alliance (DA) Gauteng shadow MEC for health, revealed the anomaly on Monday saying: “Gauteng public hospitals have a communication crisis as patients and their relatives cannot contact the hospitals for appointments, inquiries or updates as the Gauteng Health Department has not paid their phone bills”.
“I have been inundated by complaints that hospital phone numbers are not working, including the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg, Steve Biko, Thelle Mogoerane, Kopanong, Weskoppies and other hospitals.
“The numbers I have tested either say ‘the number you have dialed is incorrect’ or it just rings endlessly.”
The DA Gauteng MPL said the problem has persisted for over two weeks.
“Outdated switchboards are a general problem in Gauteng hospitals, but several sources have told me the problem now is due to lack of payment to Telkom,” Bloom said.
“Patients have been unable to make inquiries or book appointments, while anxious relations cannot get updates on their loved ones. Hospital staff use their personal cellphones to arrange transfers or get laboratory results.
“Why is it so difficult for the Department to pay its bills on time?
“The DA calls on Gauteng Health MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko to intervene urgently to ensure the telephone bills are paid.”
Commenting on the crisis, the Gauteng Department of Health (GDoH) admitted that there was, “an outstanding amount that is currently being verified so that it can be settled as soon as the invoices are reconciled”.
The GDoH added that it “has activated alternative contact numbers for several of its facilities whose normal Telkom lines are currently off due to payment queries lodged on the invoices submitted by the service provider”.
Explaining the cause of the communication crisis, GDoH Spokesperson Motalatale Modiba said: “We, unfortunately, have had several discrepancies where Telkom would send invoices which have descriptions of facilities that do not belong to GDoH which made it impossible to promptly settle those invoices”.
Modiba said the service provider has been requested to make corrections.
“Already R4 million was paid on Monday, 19 February 2024 with another R3.4 million being released today (Monday, 26 February 2024),” he said.
“There is an outstanding amount that is currently being verified so that it can be settled as soon as the invoices are reconciled.”
Modiba said the GDoH continues to engage with Telkom, which is majority owned by the SA government, to find “an amicable way of attending to the disputes without impacting on service delivery, especially given that the department has indicated that it intends to honour its commitments where invoices are not in question”.
Modiba said as part of the long-term solution, the department was in the process of migrating its facilities to the Gauteng Provincial Voice Network system operated by the eGovernment Department.
He said this move will drastically reduce the costs of communication within institutions and externally.
“Already 130 sites have been migrated to the new system,” Modiba said.
‘We wish to apologise for the inconvenience that has been caused to the public who have been trying to contact various facilities.”
Members of the public are urged to use the contact published on the GDoH’s webpage using this link https://www.gauteng.gov.za/Departments/CPM-001006/Publications.
The department and individual facilities’ social media platforms can also be followed for more information.
