The ease with which the Treasury has been able to fund President Cyril Ramaphosa’s promises to fill 2,200 critical medical posts in the provinces, as well as extra beds and line, shows the slow pace of roll-out of the National Health Insurance initiative.
The Treasury has dug into the National Health Insurance (NHI) indirect grant to fulfil Ramamphosa’s promise to fill critical health vacancies and procure extra beds and linen, which he made when he announced his economic stimulus package in September. Business Day opines that the fact that the Treasury has been so easily able to find the money within the health budget highlights problems with the pace at which the Health Department is rolling out NHI initiatives. ….more