Following the fire that broke out in 2021 affecting the storage facility and adjacent sections of the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital (CMJAH), new general stores were unveiled and handed over by Health Minister Joe Phaahla, Gauteng Health and Wellness MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko and Gift of the Givers founder Dr Imitiaz Sooliman.

The project was financed by Gift of the Givers. R60-million was spent on the development and conversion of the new stores. 

The financing of the project follows previous work the organisation conducted, such as the drilling of boreholes and filtration systems at the Rahima Moosa and Helen Joseph Hospitals. 

Gift of the Givers also assisted displaced families and staff at Tambo Memorial Hospital throughout the Boksburg tanker explosion.

“The newly unveiled stores have more than enough storage, adequate shelving to assist in the organisation and classification of stock, air conditioning and ablution facilities,” Phaahla said.

The facility is equipped with integrated fire water storage tanks which detect and suppress fires.

The facility is host to a variety of storage sections including special dispensary stores, ICT stores and cleaning stores. The sole entry and exit points near transit offices ensure the safekeeping of the goods coming in and out of the building.

“The new Charlotte Maxeke stores are a cutting edge, purpose-designed and -constructed medical facility which should prove to be a precedent to those that will follow. It is out of recognition amongst many of us that this hospital is a critical outpost in the health infrastructure design of South Africa,” Phaahla averred.