The public hearings held in Rustenburg and Potchefstroom yesterday on the ANC government’s proposed National Health Insurance (NHI) quickly turned into nothing more than ANC propaganda sessions.
Apart from the fact that it was poorly organised and started hours late, the submissions made by government representatives were riddled with misrepresentations, misleading assumptions and impractical political promises.
No attempt was made to properly inform the public of the content of the proposed legislation, the financial implications for the country, or the operational restructuring of the healthcare system.
In addition, no mention was made of the fact that the existing provincial healthcare authorities will all be centralised under the new dispensation. That includes all procurement of services and equipment.
Instead, the focus was on shallow ANC slogans, such as “free medical aid for all”.
The fact that a large number of healthcare workers employed by government were allowed to enthusiastically make submissions supporting the NHI is also extremely alarming. It simply confirmed that this so-called “public participation process” is just for show to mislead the public into supporting an impractical system.
It is an absolute disgrace that the ANC government is blatantly exploiting public officials to propagate its socialist policies.
It was also evident that the ANC and its cohorts are exploiting the general public’s ignorance regarding the legislation to further its own interests.
The FF Plus’s delegations highlighted in their respective submissions that the proposed NHI is, among other things, unaffordable. The NHI’s probable unconstitutionality was also emphasised as well as the vague definitions of various aspects in the draft bill which may pre-emptively undermine any attempts to implement the system.
The procedural flaws in the public participation process were further highlighted by the fact that no provision was made for formal objections during the sessions. In this way, the overall impression is created that the NHI was unanimously supported at the public hearings, despite substantive submissions to the contrary.
The FF Plus will continue to fight against this impractical ANC policy which will simply result in the North West, and the rest of the country, toppling over the edge of financial ruin.
North West deserves better than the ANC.
