CATHY DLODLO
The first of four multi-million rand Treatment Centres for Drug Rehabilitation – in the Northern Cape, North West, Free State and Eastern Cape – is expected to open its doors soon.
These centres were built by the national Social Development Department. Minister Bathabile Dlamini said in response to a written question by DA MP Evelyn Wilson that one of the centres built in Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape was completed in the last financial year to the tune of R48.7 million and is expected to open later this year.
The completion date for the next centre – in North West – is this financial year and more than R30.5m was budgeted for the project. A total of R84.5m has been budgeted for each of the centres in the Northern Cape and Free State, which are expected to be completed during the 2016/2017 financial year.
Dlamini says although the completed centre was within budget, her department is now working closely with a team of professionals to finalise the design and the costing of the projects in the Northern Cape and Free State, as they are not within budget at this stage.
A total of over R1.9m had already been spent by March this year on the projects in the two provinces.
