Johnathan Paoli
THE Democratic Alliance (DA) has lodged a complaint with the Public Service Commission (PSC) and called for an urgent investigation into the National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme, signed into law last week.
In a statement on Monday, DA Shadow Minister of Public Service and Administration, Leon Schreiber, said the party’s complaint after concerns were raised by public servants over the possibility of using the NHI to expropriate medical aid contributions, specifically from members of the Government Employees Medical Scheme (GEMS) – the largest medical aid scheme in the country, with over 2.8 million principal members and beneficiaries.
Schreiber said the DA’s complaint is lodged in terms of the commission’s mandate, as outlined in section 196 (4)(a-c) of the Constitution read in conjunction with s 195, which called on the PSC to investigate, monitor and evaluate the organisation and administration of the public service; to propose measures to ensure effective and efficient performance within the public service; and to promote the values and principles of efficient, economic and effective use of resources, and the cultivation of good human-resource management and career development practices, in order to maximise human potential.
He claimed that section 33 of the NHI act has already damaged public administration and labour relations within the sector, with GEMS calling on its members not to cancel their medical aid.
“It is easy to foresee how this reckless act by the President has sown the seeds of labour unrest and a complete breakdown in ‘good human-resource management and career-developing practices’ in the public sector,” he said.
The potential breakdown in labour relations, and possible widespread labour unrest that could follow the bill, will cripple the ability of the public sector to deliver critical services to the people of the country – something which has already been affected by decades of cadre deployment, mismanagement and corruption, Schreiber pointed out.
“The breakdown in relations between workers and the employer precipitated by the expropriation without compensation of public servants’ GEMS contributions, coupled with unbearable tax increases, will push the situation beyond breaking point,” the Shadow Minister said.
Schreiber said as the custodian of the public service, it was the PSC’s urgent duty to take steps to avert possible labour unrest and the outright collapse of the public sector. And that the commission must, as a matter of priority, investigate and propose measures to the government, including the possible repeal or revision of the NHI act, to ensure effective and efficient performance within the public service.
Writing in his latest newsletter, however, President Cyril Ramaphosa has responded to the unhappy responses to the act, by highlighting how the current healthcare insurance situation in South Africa does not serve the poor and middle class majority and hopes the act would prove a “lifeline” for millions who need it.
President Ramaphosa said access to quality and decent healthcare should not depend on a person’s ability to pay, and that the legislation would also assist those who are suffering from increasingly fewer services, despite increases in the amount they pay to medical schemes.
The NHI Bill was signed into law by the President last week, following its acceptance by both the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces.
At the time of publishing, the PSC had yet to respond to the complaint lodged.
INSIDE POLITICS
