Citizen Online
Thursday, November 23, 2006
CAPE TOWN - About 100 squatters occupying an unused hospital in Mthatha have been given 60 days to clear out, Eastern Cape health department spokesman Sizwe Kupelo said on Wednesday.
He said the Mthatha High Court granted the eviction order on Tuesday.
The squatters at the Mthatha Hospital complex, who included members of the community, hospital workers and Walter Sisulu University students, had converted some wards into bedrooms, he said.
They had been using the hospital's water and electricity, and the department intended to recover those costs from them, even if it meant going back to court.
Kupelo said the department intended revamping the hospital for use as a training facility for doctors. - Sapa