By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has put on hold the rollout of the National Health Insurance (NHI) Act, pending the Constitutional Court’s ruling on the public participation process.
In a letter dated 20 February that Fullview has seen, the State Attorney confirmed that the president will not commence any sections of the Act before the apex court delivers its judgment.
The court will hear the matter early in May.
There is no clarity yet on whether next week’s stay and consolidation application will go ahead.
The NHI Act was signed into law in May 2024, just before the national elections. Signing the Bill, however, did not mean the system automatically kicked in. The law still needed to be promulgated, which means officially brought into operation.
Now, Ramaphosa has undertaken not to promulgate any provisions of the Act until the Constitutional Court has ruled on pending challenges.
Earlier this month, the Constitutional Court of South Africa deferred aspects of the matter relating to public participation in the drafting of the Act, pending the outcome of other related cases.
In simple terms, the government is waiting for clarity from the courts before moving ahead.
The NHI is designed to reshape South Africa’s healthcare system by establishing a central fund that would purchase healthcare services on behalf of all residents. The rollout was always expected to take a decade or longer, with the Department of Health laying the groundwork, including the creation of an NHI Fund.
Critics says it is unaffordable, unworkable, and constitutionally flawed.
The Act itself gives the government the legal framework to begin building that system. But until provisions are promulgated, the machinery does not formally start turning.