By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
African National Congress (ANC) NEC member and Minister of Health Aaron Motsoaledi says he will be embarking on a national roadshow to meet role-players and stakeholders that have concerns over National Health Insurance (NHI).
Motsoaledi alongside Mmamoloko Kubayi were addressing the media on the sidelines of the NEC Lekgotla in Boksburg East of Johannesburg.
President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the NHI Bill into law ahead of the elections amid grumblings from opposition parties and the private sector.
While the need for universal health coverage is widely accepted, many feel the NHI, in its present form, is unimplementable.
Several organisations claim that NHI will collapse the country’s healthcare sector.
“What do we do with all these huge hospitals in Gauteng, for instance, which is the biggest healthcare system on the whole continent,” Motsoaledi asked at a media briefing.
“Do we just throw them away and say everyone must go private and NHI will pay? That’s not what we are going to do, so it is misleading people and is unacceptable”.
Motsoaledi has fingered Momentum Life for running a propaganda campaign against theNational Health Insurance (NHI).
This after the company said that the NHI would cost a staggering R1.5-trillion, something he claims is far from the truth.
Motsoaledi said he will be embarking on a national roadshow to meet role-players and stakeholders that have concerns over NHI to put them at ease.
“As far as Motsoaledi was concerned, of all people and institutions opposing NHI, none have come out to reject it outright. But disagreements have always been about modalities. As for Momentum, they must be ashamed of themselves for resorting to fear tactics.”
“It is not helpful what happened last week. I received a lot of WhatsApp messages [from] people asking me. Because there is a health insurance company – Momentum Health.
“It produced figures that this NHI is going to cost R1.5-trillion,” charged an irritated Motsoaledi.
“That is three times more than the country spends on healthcare in both public and private. I find this claim extremely unfortunate and in very bad taste.”
During his department’s budget vote in Parliament in July, Motsoledi said that his door remains open to those who are unhappy with the manner in which the NHI is being implemented.
Prior to the May 2024 general election, the Democratic Alliance (DA) was also one of the opposing groups that vowed to take the government to court over NHI.
Some uncertainty has surrounded the DA’s position on NHI following its inclusion in the Government of National Unity (GNU).
Many speculated whether the DA’s partnership with the ANC and other political parties in the GNU would shift its stance on NHI since it has always staunchly opposed the legislation.
However, DA leader and Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen said in mid-July that, while the DA’s new role may have evolved, its “dedication to the people of South Africa has not wavered”.
“The DA is still here, we have not changed, and we are primed to position ourselves within this new paradigm where we will offer our unique vision for the future of our country,” he said.
“This means that we will continue to fight against problematic national policies and legislation such as the National Health Insurance Act (NHI), the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Bill, and any proposal which is anti-constitutional or seeks to divide and regress South Africans.”
Head of the ANC Economic Transformation Committee Mmamoloko Kubayi said lack of implementation of their policies has been hindering plans to ensure a better life for all.
“The issue has been the direct implementation of those policies, and the ANC previously would have acknowledged that from a policy point of view, we have never lacked. What we are seeing is the growth of population between 1996 first Census and 2022 there has been 20 million additional people. That’s huge number for a country to deal with. So, if you have been able to provide houses, the number might be higher but because it is not growing in the manner that the population is growing, it is not showing the impact and that’s why Census 2022 assisted us and that’s why many of us are emphasisng the need to use data in decision-making processes.”
She maintains that its economic policies are still relevant for the many challenges faced by South Africans.
This is despite the World Bank having declared South Africa as having the most unequal society in the world with unemployment reaching crisis proportion.