IFP tackles health and welfare of South Africans during summit
The opposition party had an in-depth discussion of the issues that affect South Africans and possible solutions to them.
The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) hosted a two-day health and welfare summit at the Pivot Conference Centre, Monte Casino on Friday, 14 and Saturday, 15 July.
After Parliament passed the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill, the IFP invited various experts and stakeholders to explore how the NHI will be implemented in South Africa, its pros and cons, and how sustainable its system will be, among other crucial topics unpacked on the first day of the summit.
The NHI Bill proposes ‘free healthcare for all’ by giving away medical schemes and redirecting funds from the private to the public health system.
This means, medical schemes would not be able to cover services that are paid for by the NHI and make it illegal for medical aid funds to pay for care and medicines covered by the NHI.
“The NHI tax will replace premiums that members pay to private medical aid fund. Furthermore, the government would levy an extra tax on citizens’ personal income tax and use the money it will save by not giving tax credits for being a member of a medical scheme,” the IFP explained.
That is why the opposition party brought together a panel of experts from various sectors, including health, water, sanitation, and environment for an in-depth discussion on, the NHI Bill, South Africa’s water challenges, ‘and the government’s failure to deliver essential welfare services’.
On the second day of the summit, the IFP discussed the challenges that the country faces when it comes to water
In an overview of South Africa’s water challenges by the opposition party, 70m litres of treated, clean and drinkable water is lost on a daily basis due to leaks that characterise the country’s water pipe system.
“This has caused major water supply issues across the country with some households going without water for days and, in some cases, weeks,” said the IFP.
The IFP unpacked its role as an opposition party and came up with possible solutions to the current challenges faced in South Africa while engaging with South Africans.
“If we were to ask the healthcare practitioners present here today to give us a direct health diagnostic status on the nation, it will read something along the lines of critical and not very pleasant. All sectors are nearly on the brink of collapse and interventions are urgently required, to avoid a total shutdown.
“Our country is pleading jobs, we are shedding electricity and water. We are faced with a disastrous and poorly managed cholera outbreak in Hamanskraal. Access to good healthcare seems to be impossible right now, hence the NHI Bill has been given the go-ahead for national implementation,” said the deputy president of the IFP, Hon. Mzamo Buthelezi.
He added, “The question is how long are we going to allow the current government to break hospitals into the ground? How can we send our loved ones to government facilities that are falling apart? And lacks the basic equipment to operate effectively. This is the reason why the IFP has put together this two-day important summit.”
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