Presenting the NHI costing report: budget deficit of R112 billion

12 August 2021

Solidarity announced today that there would be an estimated budget shortfall of at least R112 billion if the government should continue with the implementation of the National Health Insurance. This amount is one of several shocking revelations disclosed in a comprehensive costing report compiled by the Solidarity Research Institute (SRI).

“According to our calculations, there will be a shortfall of approximately R112 billion in the budget when provision is made for the NHI. Our country simply cannot afford this. It is a well-known fact that South Africa’s state coffers have been plundered and are empty, and that most state institutions have been governed into bankruptcy. Borrowing additional money will be fatal for the country’s economy,” said Solidarity Chief Executive Dr Dirk Hermann.

Solidarity claims that the deficit of R32 billion, based on the government’s projections, is unrealistic and that the deficit would amount to roughly R112 billion. In addition, borrowing money to fund this deficit should not be considered because the country already owes billions of rands and cannot afford more debt. Solidarity is also of the opinion that the deficit cannot be supplemented by taxes either as the South African taxpayer is already overburdened. 

“Every single one of us is already bending over backwards to finance deficits in the form of loans that the government has entered into on our behalf. We are paying for the corruption of government officials and cadres, and the services we receive are getting poorer and poorer while the wallets of government officials are getting fatter. We cannot give any more, and we especially cannot give any more for a system controlled by a corrupt and incompetent government. They have already proven during the Covid-19 pandemic that they do not have the capacity or the integrity to manage our country’s health and finances. How can we place our lives in their hands any longer while we also have to pay for that?” Hermann argued.

According to Solidarity, South Africans will benefit more if the state reforms its current public health system by ensuring better returns on investment. In addition, the private sector should be permitted on a permanent basis to alleviate the burden of the public health system by continuing to provide excellent services to those who can afford it.

“Through maintenance, upgrading and more efficient systems, the public health sector will be able to provide better service to millions of South Africans. In addition, medical practitioners must be allowed to provide their service privately to anyone who wants it and can afford it. Forcing the whole country to uniformly depend on the state is not the answer. The ANC impoverishes our health, condemns our economy and once again takes our freedom away from us,” Hermann concluded.

Read the report here.

Issued by Theuns du Buisson, Economic Researcher, Solidarity Research Institute, 12 August 2021