Johannesburg - The Council for Medical Schemes on Monday assured members that the South African Municipal Workers Union National Medical Scheme (SAMWUMED) was not affected by the union's financial woes.
The South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU) is reportedly insolvent and has been struggling to pay staff salaries since last August.
SAMWU has tasked its national office bearers with dealing with its finances, including ensuring that provincial allocations are paid on time.
On Monday, the medical schemes regulator's spokesperson Grace Khoza said SAMWUMED had 33 000 principal members, R1.3 billion in reserves and a 105 percent solvency ratio.
"This, in our view, should confirm to all current and potential members and service providers that SAMWUMED is able to meet its financial commitments in line with the business of a medical scheme and that it will continue to do so for the foreseeable future," Khoza said.
"SAMWU has no access or control over SAMWUMED's member contributions or reserves and under no circumstances may the SAMWUMED’s member contributions or reserves be utilized to further the business of SAMWU."
Khoza said SAMWUMED did not share any resources with SAMWU and nor did the two share contributions or debts. She said SAMWU had no direct control over the affairs of SAMWUMED except through the trustee representation on the board of trustees.
Should SAMWU be liquidated, this would not affect the financial status of SAMWUMED as medical schemes were governed by the board of trustees and half of the members of the board of trustees were elected by members of the scheme, Khoza added.
The Council for Medical Schemes appointed Joe Seoloane as curator in October 2018 after removing the previous curator Duduza Khosana in the face of allegations of misconduct.