Hold Provinces Accountable for NHLS Debt Crisis

Statement by Michele Clarke MP – DA Spokesperson on Health:

The Democratic Alliance (DA) calls on the Portfolio Committee on Health to urgently summon provincial health departments to account for the billions owed to the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS), as well as NHLS to explain how this failure is crippling both the criminal justice system and public healthcare.

We are outraged that the NHLS is being forced to delay the processing of critical forensic and diagnostic cases because provinces are simply not paying their bills. This is a direct assault on justice and patient care. The DA will fight to ensure that the NHLS receives every rand it is owed, as this failure is one of the primary drivers of the delays affecting both court cases and life-saving diagnoses.

During an oversight visit to the NHLS head office in Johannesburg, we found a deeply strained institution battling outdated systems, procurement failures, and a staggering R11 billion debt owed largely by KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. Despite being well received, it is clear that provincial non-payment is severely undermining the NHLS’s ability to function. At the same time, the NHLS is taking steps to modernise its systems, including plans for a major database upgrade and improved integrated digital tracking.

The NHLS plays a critical role in South Africa, including providing toxicology services that detect drugs, alcohol and poison in criminal investigations. Yet the toxicology backlog has reached an alarming 40,051 cases. This is not a technical failure, it is a systemic collapse that delays justice, weakens prosecutions, and denies victims closure.

At the same time, patients in Gauteng are waiting up to three months for critical cancer test results, while private laboratories deliver results within 48 hours. This disparity is indefensible and places lives at risk.

The DA will push for both the NHLS and defaulting provinces to appear before the Portfolio Committee. Provinces must explain why they are failing to pay, and what immediate steps will be taken to settle their debt.

Simultaneously, the NHLS must present a clear, time-bound plan to eliminate the toxicology backlog. South Africans cannot be expected to tolerate endless delays while institutions drift without consequence.

The DA will not allow critical institutions that underpin justice and healthcare to be hollowed out by non-payment. Every delayed test result represents a delayed diagnosis or a delayed court case.

South Africa deserves a laboratory service that supports justice, saves lives, and delivers results with speed and integrity.

Failure to act will deepen the crisis, erode public trust, and further compromise both patient care and criminal investigations across the country. The DA demands urgent action without delay.