Govt's austerity measures will negatively affect NHI, says Motsoaledi

CAPE TOWN - Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said that government's austerity measures would negatively affect the National Health Insurance (NHI), like all other government projects.

But he said that an increase in tax to fund the NHI, government’s universal healthcare flagship project, was highly unlikely.

Motsoaledi was responding to oral questions in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) on Friday.

The minister said the NHI fund gets money appropriated by Parliament annually in accordance with the act, which was signed by the president this year.

On austerity measures, Motsoaledi said this would impact everyone and not just the NHI, which is yet to take off.

"Austerity measures instituted by National Treasury impacts all activities and programmes of the state and each department, not only the National Health Insurance. Even the work of Parliament is negatively affected by austerity measures."

Motsoaledi also told the council that an increase in personal tax to fund the NHI was not guaranteed, saying this was part of the narrative to turn people against universal healthcare.

"I don’t know about inevitable higher taxes. I don’t know where that comes from. As far as I know, I've been in this government for 30 years now since democracy and I don’t know that last time we increased taxes."