Minister Godongwana mum on impending tax hikes for NHI

Dear Editor

Responding to a question on Wednesday 20 March from the Democratic Alliance (DA), the finance minister Enoch Godongwana confirmed that there is no current plan to fund the unconstitutional National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill. The Bill, which awaits the President’s signature, has faced widespread criticism regarding its affordability.

Government has already raided the Reserve Bank, revenue collection has been revised downwards due to lower-than-expected growth, and there is a serious lack of interest from investors in the downgraded bonds of the ANC Government. There is nowhere left to turn other than the pockets of already overburdened South African taxpayers. The Minister knows this and yet he went as far as suggesting the high likelihood of increasing taxes by government.

On Wednesday, the Minister remained evasive, knowing full well that announcing additional taxes before an election would spark outrage among the already burdened and shrinking tax base. This base already supports at least 28 individuals in the NHI sub-programme upper band salary range, who already earn an average of over one million rands annually. South Africans are left wondering what these individuals contribute to justify such salaries. It serves as proof that the NHI is planned as the next facet of the ANC’s cadre deployment strategy.

Funding will not magically appear once the bill becomes law as the Minister claims. Instead, government appears to be readying itself to march headfirst into what it knows will be a constitutional catastrophe. It has become clear that the ANC is grandstanding for the vulnerable South Africans, with the aim to claim a victory when the Bill will get challenged and eventually struck down as unconstitutional.

The DA’s position is clear. We remain committed to the principle of universal access to healthcare for all citizens. But the NHI Bill is unconstitutional and will only serve to further erode an already ailing national public health sector.

Government’s model of centralising all healthcare funding into a new state-owned entity in which private sector resources and state resources will be merged into a single funding pool controlled by the Minister of Health is a recipe for humanitarian disaster.

Instead, our model, presented in the DA’s Manifesto and healthcare policy documents, outlines how sustainable access to healthcare can be achieved by fixing the current district management model through governance reform. By leveraging the strengths of the private sector in partnership with the public sector, a DA government will provide access to high quality healthcare for every South African, without increasing the tax burden.

The Bill now awaits President Ramaphosa’s signature. While the President has been looking for his pen to sign it into law, the DA has sought legal counsel and stands ready to oppose this draconian legislation that threatens to bar access to quality healthcare for South Africans.

Regards

Dr Dion George MP
DA Shadow Minister of Finance