Presidency distances itself from NHI 'side deal' by ANC, DA
News24 has reported that Minister of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, Maropene Ramakgopa and DA leader, John Steenhuisen, agreed to amend Section 33 of NHI Act.
Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni at a Cabinet briefing in Parliament. GCIS/Elmond Jiyane
CAPE TOWN - The Presidency has distanced itself from a "side deal" allegedly reached by the African National Congress (ANC) and the Democratic Alliance (DA) to amend a section of the National Health Insurance (NHI) Act to save medical aid schemes.
News24 has reported that Minister of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, Maropene Ramakgopa and DA leader, John Steenhuisen, agreed to amend Section 33 of NHI Act.
The section threatens the future of private healthcare in the country because it prohibits medical aid schemes from covering services covered under NHI.
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Steenhuisen has confirmed the existence of such a deal.
Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshaveni said she knows nothing about deals reached outside the official communication lines of the government.
“I’m not the Minister of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation. At the (Cabinet) lekgotla, we were not discussing deals, we were discussing a proposal from the social cluster on developing what is the normal process to say we’ve got an act, and we need to put an implementation plan and critical to that action plan is we need to get all stakeholders to engage on and I don’t know of any other side deals.”