Democratic Alliance (DA) Chief Whip Siviwe Gwarube says the NHI Act will not solve the systemic challenges in the public healthcare system in the country. She was reacting to signing into law of the NHI Bill by President Cyril Ramaphosa at the Union Buildings earlier today. The move has received mixed reactions from different sectors with the official opposition announcing its decision to legally challenge it.
Gwarube says the collapse of the public healthcare system can be blamed on government. Speaking at the Union Buildings after the signing ceremony, Gwarube says this will not change.
“It is wrong that there are people who are not getting good, quality healthcare when they go to Baragwanath Hospital. It is wrong that babies are dying at Tembisa Hospital but that omission has been the fault of government.
Yes, a two-tier system is not one that we want, however, what we are saying is that if you are going to fix the healthcare system, you are going to first have to talk about how do you invest in Tembisa Hospital so that you can make sure that the infrastructure problems there are resolved, that you can make sure that you’ve got doctors that are employed. There are glaring systemic problems in the healthcare system in South Africa that are not being dealt with. They’re not going to go away.
Source: SABC
In other news – President Cyril Ramaphosa Expected To Visit George Collapse Site On Thursday
President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to visit the building collapse site at George in the Western Cape on Thursday. The death toll currently stands at 33 with seven South Africans among the deceased. 19 others remain unaccounted for.
There has been eight days of rescue and recovery efforts. So far, 47 of the 62 victims, alive and deceased, have been linked to their families. Read more
