NHI violates constitution: AfriForum will lay charges against health departments for misappropriation of R5,8 billion
18 November 2019
During a media conference held today, AfriForum launched a comprehensive report on why the implementation of National Health Insurance (NHI) in South Africa will be unconstitutional. The report further explains why the impact study on which the NHI is based, is totally inadequate which means that the Bill should be set aside.
“According to the report, Section 27 of the Constitution only provides for access to healthcare. Nowhere does it indicate that the state is obliged to provide healthcare to everyone. In fact, if the government’s intervention hinders this access, it is unconstitutional. When one considers the current state of affairs in the department of health, the state most definitely doesn’t have the capacity to provide healthcare services to the whole country. It will therefore be unconstitutional for the state to effectively take control of the private health sector,” says Natasha Venter, AfriForum’s spokesperson for NHI.
The government puts the blame for the poor quality of state healthcare on the private healthcare sector and those with medical aid funds. “In reality, these people are being prejudiced by state interference and misappropriation. Their taxes are already being misused by the department of health and they are resented by government when they purchase private medical services at their own expense. Furthermore, it is largely the government’s fault – due to the overregulation of the sector – that private medical care is so expensive,” says Venter.
AfriForum therefore also announced its plan to visit all nine provinces during the coming week to lay criminal charges will against nine heads of the provincial departments of health in terms of Section 86 (1) of the Public Finance Management Act, 1999 (Act No. 1 of 1999).