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The Democratic Alliance (DA) is questioning the Northern Cape Health Department’s outstanding debt after the Dr Harry Surtie hospital in Upington failed to pay a supplier for cleaning materials almost six months after an invoice was issued.

The hospital has an outstanding account with an industrial supplier, for R278 000 worth of cleaning supplies delivered in October last year. Numerous attempts by the business to receive payment have not amounted to anything.

The situation is hampering the hospital’s access to further cleaning materials, posing a risk to the general state of hygiene at the facility and to infection control.

It also shines the spotlight on the Northern Cape Health Department’s ongoing failure to make payments within 30 days of receiving invoices.

According to Treasury’s latest Annual Report on Late Payment of Supplier’s Invoices, the province paid 7 550 invoices, totaling R 860 853 845, after 30 days of receipt of invoice in the 2023/24 financial year. The majority of non-payment queries received were related to provincial health departments.

DA Northern Cape spokesperson of Health, Isak Fritz, has submitted parliamentary questions to MEC Maruping Lekwene to determine the extent of the provincial department’s current outstanding debt owed to suppliers and service providers.

The DA has also logged a complaint on Treasury’s central e-mail hotline for late payments.

Late payments impact negatively on the financial health of suppliers, as well as the ability of suppliers to pay salaries and meet their contractual obligations. This has a knock-on effect on unemployment. In a province where four out of every ten people are unemployed, this cannot be tolerated.

Issued by Flip van der Steen, Cllr - Dawid Kruiper Municipality