NHI Bill will be enacted despite misgivings from Parly's opposition benches: Godongwana
Answering questions in the National Assembly, the Minister of Finance would not say how much the implementation of the contentious bill would cost or how it would be funded.
FILE: Enoch Godongwana, the South African Minister of Finance, delivers his mid-term budget policy statement in the Cape Town City Hall, which is being used as a venue for the South African Parliament, in Cape Town on 1 November 2023. Picture:AFP
CAPE TOWN - Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana says the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill will be signed into law, despite misgivings from opposition benches in Parliament.
The bill was passed by the house in 2023, but President Cyril Ramaphosa joked during the State of the Nation Address (SONA) in February that he was still looking for a pen to sign it.
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Answering questions in the National Assembly on Wednesday, Godongwana would not say how much the implementation would cost or how it would be funded.
Pushed by the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) Dion George as to whether taxes would be raised to fund the NHI, Godongwana said no tax announcements would be made outside of the annual budget speech.
“At the appropriate time, we will look at the various instruments of raising revenue to fund the NHI, but it will definitely be funded when the president signs it.”
The Inkatha Freedom Party’s Narend Singh questioned whether rolling out the NHI was a wise move given the poor state of and service offered at many public health facilities.
However, Godongwana said this should not be a deterrent.
“Not all public health facilities are incompetent and inefficient. There are services where our people are satisfied with the quality of service they are getting. Where necessary, partner with the private sector.”
Godongwana would not be drawn on a question from the Economic Freedom Fighters about the cost of funding the NHI, and whether estimates of up to R1 trillion were true.
He said this would be worked out with the Department of Health based on planning for various scenarios.