ANC continues with unconstitutional NHI Bill
23 August 2022
Instead of heeding the DA’s caution, the ANC has decided to continue their habit of ignoring the Constitution by deliberating the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill despite the North Gauteng High Court declaring it unconstitutional.
The chairperson of the parliamentary portfolio committee on health, Dr Kenneth Jacobs, ignored the DA’s written request that deliberations on the NHI Bill be pended until the issue of constitutionality is decided upon.
The High Court’s judgement found sections 36 to 40 of the National Health Act unconstitutional. These sections specifically related to Certificates of Need (CON). The NHI Bill relies heavily on these CONs in order to force doctors to work in appalling conditions, without working equipment or adequate supplies in hospitals. The CONs are a fundamental and core part of the NHI and the Bill cannot possibly go ahead now that these sections have been provisionally declared unconstitutional.
To date, Dr Jacobs has failed and/or refused to respond to the DA and instead, the committee will be sitting today from 09:30 to 20:00 deliberating unconstitutional provisions clause by clause. This sitting not only flies in the face of constitutionalism but also is a complete waste of time. Members of the committee should be focusing their attention elsewhere such as the shocking conditions of public hospitals like Livingstone or Pelonomi in the Eastern Cape and Free State, respectively.