WESTERN Cape MEC for health Theuns Botha is set to meet successful bidders for tenders at the new Khayelitsha District Hospital next week to discuss black economic empowerment in the area.

Botha disclosed this at a press conference in Cape Town yesterday. He was briefing the media about the latest developments at the R450-million hospital.

Last week, Botha said surgical operations at the new hospital would not be suspended as this would negatively affect local and surrounding communities.

The hospital was the scene of protests two weeks ago and led to the burning of tyres, the stoning of two ambulances and the arrest of 10 people.

The following week, protesters marched to the hospital to hand over a memorandum demanding that all operations be suspended with immediate effect.

The protesters also demanded that the process of filling vacant posts at the hospital be redone.

Botha said yesterday he would meet successful bidders next Thursday to discuss their plans.

"The catering, security and cleaning tenders have been awarded for KDH. All successful bidders have committed to 100% of their employees being sourced from Khayelitsha. I want people from Khayelitsha to benefit," said Botha.

The department had followed all the prescribed processes, including advertising of tenders as well as evaluation and adjudication of their bids by appropriate departments, he said.

From Monday to Friday, 15 ambulances would be deployed to the day shift and 10 to the night shift.

All patients requiring specialist care would be referred to Tygerberg Hospital, Botha said.

Commenting on allegations by the Khayelitsha Development Forum that black nurses at the hospital had been relegated to assistant nurses, Botha said: "We have black nurses and doctors at the hospital.

"I am frustrated and also sick and tired of people who always bring race into the picture. This is nonsense," he added.