Statement by Michele Clarke MP – DA Spokesperson on Health:
The Democratic Alliance (DA) calls on provincial departments of health to urgently settle the more than R11 billion owed to the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS), as mounting debt and governance failures continue to undermine critical diagnostic services relied upon by millions of South Africans.
The NHLS provides essential public health laboratory testing, including HIV and TB diagnostics, cancer pathology services, and forensic toxicology testing linked to medico-legal investigations. When the system fails, it has devastating consequences for patients and families.
A recent case highlighted by the Sunday Times revealed that an 18-month delay in a toxicology report has left the family of Midesh Singh unable to obtain a death certificate, prolonging their trauma and preventing closure.
Financial pressures on the NHLS continue to escalate due to unpaid provincial accounts. The NHLS previously told Parliament that provinces owed R8.9 billion in March 2025, while the 2024/25 NHLS annual report recorded R9.2 billion owed as of 31 March 2025. According to reports, the debt has now risen to R11.3 billion as of 31 January 2026.
The 2024/25 annual report shows major outstanding debts from several provinces, including:
- KwaZulu-Natal: R4.02 billion
- Gauteng: R1.9 billion
- Eastern Cape: R1.33 billion
- Free State: R523 million
- Northern Cape: R475 million
Notably, according to the annual report the Western Cape does not owe the NHLS.
While financial instability is a major concern, governance failures also persist. The Auditor-General has flagged irregular expenditure and failures by NHLS management to investigate financial misconduct or discipline responsible officials, with procurement processes frequently bypassed.
Last year, the DA also lodged a complaint with the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) after cancer patients in Gauteng were forced to wait up to three months for test results, while private laboratories deliver results within approximately 48 hours.
In August 2025, the NHLS announced the procurement of high-output analytical instruments for laboratories in Pretoria, Johannesburg and Cape Town, alongside the hiring of additional technical staff to help reduce backlogs.
The DA will submit parliamentary questions to determine:
- the current backlog in forensic toxicology and cancer testing,
- whether the new equipment and staff have reduced delays,
- the status of the NHLS partnership with PathCare, and
- the updated provincial debt owed to the NHLS.
Provincial governments must pay what they owe. The continued underfunding of the NHLS places patient care, forensic investigations, and public health surveillance at risk. South Africans deserve a laboratory system that is properly funded, efficiently managed, and capable of delivering timely results.
Chew Chew
Saudi Arabia: You have two cows. Because they are not allowed to be around bulls.
Moonflower
Diary of an Englishman after he moves to South Africa….
**August 1**: Just got transferred with work from London, UK to our new home in Phalaborwa, Limpopo, South Africa. Now this is a town that knows how to live! Beautiful, sunny days and warm, balmy evenings. I watched the sunset from a deckchair by our pool yesterday. It was beautiful. I’ve finally found my new home. I love it here.
**September 1:** Really heating up now. It got to 31 today. No problem though. Living in air-conditioned home, driving air-conditioned car. What a pleasure to see the sun every day like this. I’m turning into a sun-worshipper – no blasted rain like back in London! Had the back yard landscaped with tropical plants today. Lots of palms and rocks. No more mowing lawns for me! Another scorcher today, but I love it here. It’s Paradise !
**October 1:** The temperature hasn’t been below 35 all week. How do people get used to this kind of heat? At least today it’s windy though. Keeps the flies off a bit. Acclimatizing is taking longer than we expected. Fell asleep by the pool yesterday. Got third degree burns over 60% of my body. Missed three days off work. What a dumb thing to do. Got to respect the old sun in a climate like this!
**October 25:** This wind is a bastard. It feels like a giant fucking blow dryer. And it’s hot as hell! The home air conditioner is on the blink and the repair man charged R200 just to drive over and tell me he needs to order parts from @#$# Johannesburg. The wife & the kids are complaining.
**October 30:** The temperature’s up around 40 and the parts still haven’t arrived for the fucking air conditioner. House is an oven so we’ve all been sleeping outside by the pool for 3 nights now. Bleeding R4 million house and we can’t even go inside. Why the hell did I ever come here?
**November 4:** Finally got the fucking air-conditioner fixed. It cost R1,500 and gets the temperature down to around 35 degrees. Stupid repairman. Fucking thief. If one more smart bastard says ‘Hot enough for you today?’ I’m going to fucking throttle him. Fucking heat! By the time I get to work, the car radiator is boiling over, my fucking clothes are soaking fucking wet and I smell like baked cat. Fucking place is the end of the Earth.
**November 9:** Tried to run some errands after work, wore shorts, and sat on the black leather upholstery in my car. I thought my fucking backside was on fire. I lost 2 layers of flesh, all the hair on the backs of my legs and off my fucking behind. Now the car smells like burnt hair, fried bum and baked cat. The Weather report might as well be a fucking recording – hot and sunny. Hot and sunny, Hot and fucking sunny. It’s been too hot to do anything for 2 bleeding months and the weatherman says it might really warm up next week. Fuck!!
**November 15:** Doesn’t it ever rain in this darn place? Water restrictions will be next, so my R5,000 worth of palms might just dry up and blow into the fucking pool. The only things that thrive in this hell-hole are the fucking flies. You don’t dare open your mouth for fear of swallowing half a dozen of the little buzzards!
**November 20:** Welcome to HELL! It got to 45 degrees today. Now the air conditioner is gone in my car. The repair man came to fix it and said, ‘Hot enough for you today?’ I wanted to shove the car up his backside. Anyway, had to spend the R2,500 of the mortgage payment to bail me out of jail for assaulting the stupid fool. Fucking PHALABORWA! What kind of sick, demented idiot would want to live here!
**December 1:** WHAT!!!! The FIRST day of Summer!!!!
You are fucking kidding me, right?