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Yesterday morning, the DA was hindered from doing Parliamentary oversight by the acting CEO of Rahima Moosa Mother and Child hospital in Gauteng, Dr Arthur Manning, when he refused to meet with DA Shadow Minister and Shadow Deputy Ministers for Health, Michele Clarke and Madeleine Hicklin and had security escort them from the premises.

This apparent fear of oversight is troubling given the hospital’s past troubles and the Health Ombuds’ findings of incompetent leadership, neglect and crumbling infrastructure and the fact that the hospital only had until last month to implement the Ombuds’ recommendations.

Given the hospital’s history of punishing whistleblowers like Dr Tim de Maayer instead of addressing the serious concerns raised, yesterday's action by the acting CEO seems to indicate that all of the Ombud’s recommendations might not have been implemented yet.

In February, Spotlight quoted a doctor anonymously as they feared intimidation and retribution for highlighting the fact that the Gauteng Department of Health seems to be dragging its feet – at the time the hospital’s CT scan had been out of commission for 14 months, a shortage of clerical staff leads to administrative blunders, there has been very little infrastructure upgrades in the decades of the hospitals’ existence, and safety and security are a concern yet again after hijacking attempts at the hospital.

The DA will submit a parliamentary question on the hospital's reclassification process as soon as possible.

It is also this resistance to Parliamentary oversight in Gauteng and other provinces that is one of the biggest concerns with the National Health Insurance (NHI). The ANC government has shown time and again that it abhors oversight, particularly regarding fiscal responsibility and accountability.

Deputy Minister of the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) and ANC National Executive Committee (NEC) member, Parks Tau’s confirmation that the ANC government plans to saddle already overburdened taxpayers with the NHI cost, is yet another indication that the ANC will do everything in its power to loot every last cent before losing at the polls on 29 May.

To quote DA Chief Whip, Siviwe Gwarube, “after letting the public healthcare system fail, the ANC government wants to create yet another State-owned enterprise – the NHI – and expects the country to trust that it won’t end up the same way.”

Issued by the Democratic Alliance