NICOSIA’S new general hospital should be ready by this time next year, if conventional wisdom is anything to go by. But even by that conservative estimate, that’s a three-year delay and a budget inflated by some £50 million pounds.
The capital’s pride and joy was initially scheduled to be up and running by February 2002, and was slated to cost somewhere in the area of £57 million. Those estimates were drawn way back in 1997, when construction of the building began.
But a succession of delays and endless modifications and additions – which many observers say could and should have been factored in at the outset – has painted a picture of dereliction and gross mismanagement of state funds.
The affair prompted the President himself last week to assert that “this is the biggest scandal since the establishment of the Republic.” In his comments, Tassos Papadopoulos also hinted at mismanagement and kickbacks.
Few would argue, although opposition DISY yesterday dismissed the statements as an attempt to “divert attention away from the harsh reality” facing the administration.
One of the most telling signs of the malaise is the status of the medical equipment needed for the hospital. So far, only eight of the 20 packages have been ordered, and not all of the equipment received is in place.
In fact, the Electromechanical Services, one of the two government agencies assigned to handle tenders for the equipment, has reportedly not ordered a single package yet. Ironically, it had been hoped that this department would help speed up the whole process.
Meanwhile, according to Politis, the duration of the manufacturers’ warrantees and maintenance is lapsing, which means that by the time the hospital becomes operational, any problems with the equipment will have to be paid from state coffers and, by extension, by the taxpayer. The annual cost of maintenance for each piece of machinery is about 8-10 per cent of the market price.
And as if this waste were not bad enough, state hospitals are often forced to refer patients eligible for state health care to private clinics for services such as CT scans or haemodialysis. Private clinics charge around £300 per scan, and at the end of the day the tab is again picked up by taxpayers.
As for the Health Ministry, the other department in charge of ordering the gear, it has yet to secure the following: digital radiography systems, nuclear physics equipment and PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication System). Also, the hospital lacks a phone network, although reports say the ministry has chosen the suppliers.
Meanwhile a string of amendments have been made to the initial contract with the construction company. For example, plans were made along the way for a paraplegic centre, a nursing school and an underground parking space. That alone slapped an additional £10 million to the budget.
Other expenses – including rising costs of construction materials, revised fees for mechanical engineers and land appropriation charges – caused the figure to rise to £70 million by mid-2002. And it is believed the final cost will be around £104 million.
The role of the contractors has been one of the most contentious points in this saga; their contracts have increased in spite of the delays, for which they might have been expected to be penalised. No one in past or present administrations has explained this bizarre state of affairs.
The largest part of the expenses has been secured with loans from the European Investment Bank and the Council of Europe’s Development Bank. Given that about £80 million has been spent on this project so far, it’s easy to calculate that the interest on the loan is £4 million per annum. That’s approximately £300,000 a month for the taxpayer paying for capital that is essentially idle.
