By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
President Cyril Ramaphosa officially opened the King Nyabela Hospital, a new 220-bed public hospital in Middelburg, Mpumalanga, on Tuesday, 04 August 2026.
The King Nyabela Hospital is a replacement and upgrade of the old Middelburg Hospital.
The new facility is named in honour of a leader of the Ndzundza-Ndebele people, who was the son of King Mabhoko.
The construction of the King Nyabela Hospital started in 2017.
This new facility is a Level 1 district hospital which will enhance access to healthcare in the Nkangala District Municipality in Mpumalanga. It is situated along the N4 freeway and next to Middelburg Mall.
The new hospital comprises a full suite of clinical departments, including Internal Medicine, Surgery, Paediatrics, Obstetrics & Gynecology, and High Care.
The hospital features three state-of-the-art operating theatres, an Outpatient Services department, and a 24-hour Accident & Emergency department.
The ceremonial opening marks the culmination of significant health infrastructure investment aimed at enhancing healthcare delivery for the residents of Mpumalanga.
Ramaphosa said, opening of the district hospital demonstrated government’s commitment to giving effect to the constitutional right, of providing healthcare for all.
He described the range of services as an example of “comprehensive health care services”.
“Healthcare is not just about calling for an ambulance when we are sick; about fetching ama-pillies every month at the clinic or going to the emergency ward if there has been an accident. Comprehensive health care is about walking alongside our people through every season of their lives.”
“It is about helping people to keep and stay healthy and starting to do so when they are still children. Comprehensive health care is about healing the mind as well as the body.”
“Comprehensive health care is about prevention, early detection and management of all the health issues our people face,” the President stated.
Turning to the National Health Insurance, Ramaphosa noted that at its core, the NHI is implementing the “constitutional right of access to healthcare, without this being dependent on where one lives or one’s ability to pay”.
The NHI is South Africa’s plan to ensure universal health coverage as well as a centralised, national insurance fund from which the government will buy healthcare services from healthcare providers in both public and private sectors.
“The NHI ensures that all people can access the full range of quality health services they need, where and when they need them, without experiencing financial hardship.”
“For the NHI to be a success, we need a healthcare sector that is properly governed and well led. We need a skilled workforce, high standards of service delivery and uninterrupted access to the medicines that people need,” he said.
The President emphasised government’s determination to ensure that as NHI is implemented, “all hospitals and clinics that have been commissioned must be completed to budget and on time”.
Meanwhile speaking on the sidelines of the ceremony, Ramaphosa told the media that he is aware of the Democratic Alliance (DA) view and disagreement on the Expropriation Act, expressing that the party’s decision doesn’t surprise him.
“On the expropriation act, they did express their disagreement with us at a very early stage, and they have problems with certain aspects of that Act, and it’s their democratic right to go to court, to go and have the provisions of the Act tested.”
He reiterated that the government would abide by the ruling of the High Court, and the same is expected from the Democratic Alliance.