President Cyril Ramaphosa was once again answering questions in Parliament about the NHI. Picture: X/Parliament of RSA
President Cyril Ramaphosa has responded to questions from the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party regarding the funding of the NHI and checks and balances to prevent corruption.
Ramaphosa was answering questions at a National Council of Provinces (NCOP) plenary on Thursday.
The MK party’s Seeng Mokoena began her question: “The National Health Insurance is facing widespread criticism for its feasibility and potential for corruption.”
The MP asked for Ramaphosa to provide clear details on how the government plans to fund the NHI sustainably, ensure accountability and “prevent it from becoming another misguided state programme”.
“What safeguards will be in place to prevent it from becoming the same failures we have seen in the public institution?”
She said while Ramaphosa had said there would be Special Investigating Unit (SIU) interventions to catch those who are defrauding the system, the MK party wished to rather hear about preventative measures.
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Ramaphosa responded that “mishaps in corruption” had occurred in the public health sector in a number of ways and this had taught government lessons about what not to do.
“The NHI process of funding is ongoing… it is being clearly determined. Our Treasury and our health department are working vigorously through a process of doing precisely that,” Ramaphosa said.
The president said other countries fund their healthcare programmes through public funding.
“We will determine how exactly that is going to be done.”
He said a “scare tactic” or concern raised by some was how well the government would manage the funding.
Ramaphosa said checks, balances and systems will be put in place to make corruption difficult or impossible in the scheme.
“If you look at the Act itself, it has a number of checks and balances, and various mechanisms through which we will be able to manage resources well,” Ramaphosa said.
He said these and others will be implemented to keep the corrupt from robbing South Africans of their money.
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Earlier in the day, Ramaphosa told Parliament he had had a “fairly lengthy discussion” with Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi following the minister’s recent comments on the NHI and behaviour in Parliament about the matter.
Last week, Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi slammed a medical aid’s estimation that delivering free, quality healthcare to the entire population would cost South Africa R1.3 trillion per year.
Motsoaledi called the estimate “mathematical hooliganism” but refused to provide his own estimate when asked.
He also refused to answer questions from Shadow Minister of Health, Michéle Clarke, as to how much the NHI roadshow cost taxpayers when civil society groupings and medical stakeholders were not invited to participate.
“Tomorrow there is a debate about the NHI. I am going there and I don’t owe anybody an explanation,” Motsoaledi said while gesturing wildly and raising his voice.
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