NHI will have lots of checks and balances, says Mkhize

Published Jan 14, 2020

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Johannesburg - Health Minister Zweli Mkhize has emphasised that the government will not allow graft to infiltrate the National Health Insurance (NHI) system.

“We are not going to allow corruption. We are going to fight it,” Mkhize said in a recent interview with eNCA.

Responding to reports that some organisations were not pleased with the NHI and that doctors were threatening to leave the country if it was implemented, Mkhize said the NHI would be structured to offer the best health care to South Africans.

“The bill is at its framework state and there will be large engagements. Doctors must feel that this system will need them and therefore they won’t have to emigrate,” he said.

The NHI as a system is already run in Canada, France, Japan and Turkey, he said, adding that it was a global movement and that most UN countries were moving in this direction.

“We have benchmarked against countries where it’s already been implemented, and are looking at what they are doing. There’ll be lots of checks and balances. Proper qualifications will be looked at. We want to be very firm on how the NHI is done,” he said.

Last year, Parliament conducted hearings on the NHI across the country where communities were asked to air their views.

The government has given itself until 2026 to fully implement the NHI system, Mkhize said.

Political Bureau

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