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The celebration of an unrealistic future National Health Insurance scheme on billboards across the country contributes to the injustice towards the South African taxpayer who already has had to fork out millions in preparation for the NHI.

Nonetheless, Solidarity notes how the government not only defends the unworkable NHI plans but even boasts about them, as can be seen on billboards along the highways. 
Theuns du Buisson, economic researcher at the Solidarity Research Institute (SRI), said if the Department of Health were prepared to face reality regarding the NHI, it would have relinquished all marketing of the NHI a long time ago. 

“How does the government justify the costs incurred for giant billboards celebrating the upcoming NHI when it is struggling financially in almost every area?

“The government is marketing a pipedream, while unemployed doctors in the Eastern Cape are protesting, or while hospitals such as Groote Schuur in the Western Cape can now accommodate only a quarter of the number of internships it had available for training three years ago,” Du Buisson said. 

According to him, millions have already been spent on preparations for the NHI, most of which was probably wasted due to the unfeasibility of the plan. 

Du Buisson called attention to estimates from various interest groups opposed to the NHI, which indicate how devastating the financial burden of the NHI would be for South African workers. 

“Where will the state get the funds for the estimated cost, which is between R660 billion and R1 300 billion? These are the latest estimates of what it will cost. The state does not know the answer to this question, and Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi could not care less.”

“According to these estimates, average personal income tax will have to increase by R37 000 per year. This is not only outrageous. It is impossible,” Du Buisson said. 

He warned the Government of National Unity (GNU) not to imitate ANC culture in terms of which taxpayers are expected to dig into their pockets for cents – even when it harmed their own interests. 

In 2025, Solidarity will continue to do everything in its power to stop the NHI plans, and a court application against the NHI Act has already been filed in May 2024.

Issued by Solidarity