Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has been told by President Cyril Ramaphosa he needs to engage with organisation on the NHI. Picture by Alet Pretorius/GALLO IMAGES
President Cyril Ramaphosa told Parliament he had a “fairly lengthy discussion” with Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi after his recent comments on the NHI and behaviour in Parliament about the matter.
The president revealed this while answering questions during a National Council of Provinces (NCOP) plenary on Thursday.
The DA’s Nicolaas Pienaar asked about the Presidential Health Compact and National Health Insurance (NHI), referring to Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi’s “belligerent” responses to questions, or lack thereof, in Parliament 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 gestured wildly, raising his voice.
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“Minister Motsoaledi took a very belligerent stance, in spite of your indication that you were open to discussions and in spite of widespread concerns regarding the NHI,” Pienaar told Ramaphosa in Parliament on Thursday.
“Are you Mr President, and Minister Motsoaledi, not concerned that the NHI Act is a breach of an individual’s right to dignity and freedom of choice as enshrined in section 10 the Constitution?”
In response, Ramaphosa said the process of engagement is “a true hallmark” of how he as a president functions and how the government he leads functions.
“To the extent that you may well have heard Motsoaledi, I want to assure you that he is one of those ministers who is open to engagement, to listening, and to talking.”
The president said he and the health minister had a “fairly lengthy discussion over lunch” the day before, where they discussed the matter.
“We both agreed and underscored the need for exchanging views with those who may well have concerns.
“And those who have concerns are South Africans. They are South Africans whose views we must hear.”
Ramaphosa said Business Unity South Africa and others had written to him raising concerns on the NHI.
Ramaphosa said he had told Motsoaledi they needed to meet these groups.
Nevertheless, the president said Parliament had passed the act having considered various inputs that had been made.
With regards to being concerned about eroding the freedom and dignity of citizens through the NHI, Ramaphosa said he did not believe this would be the case.
ALSO READ: Presidential Health Compact is no longer worth anything – expert
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