The Gauteng health department should be placed under Treasury administration. Chronic medicine shortages have left clinic patients rationing medication or buying it themselves. The editorial says the province can no longer guarantee even basic care. Patients told to split pills Recently, chronic medicine shortages at Gauteng clinics have forced some patients to buy medicines privately or ration their pills. Mamelodi…
Tag: National Treasury
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Healthcare Worker Shortages Demand Bolder Leadership
South Africa’s healthcare worker shortages are arguably the country’s biggest healthcare story, yet government leaders have failed to tackle them, according to an editorial. It accompanies an investigation by journalist Sue Segar into unemployed doctors who protested for jobs in KwaZulu-Natal earlier this year. Unemployed doctors amid staff shortages According to the editorial, many of the protesting doctors are committed…
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Provincial Health Departments Pose a Significant Fiscal Risk
Weak financial controls in provincial health departments pose significant fiscal risks, according to Treasury’s medium-term budget policy statement (MTBPS), tabled in Parliament on Wednesday. Treasury highlighted unpaid obligations, mounting debts and medico-legal claims as key pressures on health budgets. Audit Outcomes and Unpaid Bills Five of the nine provincial health departments received qualified audits for 2025/2026, the Auditor-General told Parliament…
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NHLS Debt Crisis Threatens Public Health Laboratory Services
The National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) is facing an unprecedented financial emergency. Parliament has demanded immediate accountability from provincial health departments for debts of over R11 billion. This huge financial burden threatens the stability of South Africa’s public medical testing network. Understanding The NHLS Debt Crisis Impact The NHLS operates approximately 233 diagnostic laboratories across South Africa. These facilities provide…
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NHI Financial Architecture Shapes Medtech Investment
South Africa’s National Health Insurance (NHI) project is being treated as a political fight. Yet, for many healthcare operators and investors, it looks like something else. It looks like a financing build that was announced before the balance sheet was finalised. The Constitutional Court is scheduled to hear major challenges to the NHI Act from 5 to 7 May 2026.…
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Declaration On Diabetes: Facing a National Emergency
South Africa’s diabetes burden is moving from “silent epidemic” to loud national emergency. Amanda Mashego, diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes six years ago, describes daily management as a 24-hour job with no breaks. Every meal, mood shift, and exercise session requires constant calculation. Yet she says the mental load remains largely unseen by the healthcare system. That invisible workload is…
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Medical Tax Credits Increased Amidst NHI Proposals
In a significant policy shift that has caught the attention of the healthcare sector, the National Treasury has officially resisted Department of Health efforts to scrap Medical Tax Credits. For the first time since 2023, these credits will increase in line with inflation. This move directly contradicts previous proposals to phase out the tax relief to fund the National Health…
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EC Medico-Legal Claims: SCA Overturns Public Care Remedy
The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has struck down a High Court approach that could have reshaped the way the Eastern Cape Department of Health handles escalating medico-legal claims. The appeal court ruled on Wednesday, 11 February 2026, that allowing the department to provide future healthcare services instead of paying damages “violated the child’s best interests”. Appeal Court judge Ashton…
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Mental Health VAT Reform: Cost Trap Deepens Care Gap
South Africans are reporting rising levels of depression and anxiety. Yet access to care is tightening. High out-of-pocket costs and an entrenched shortage of mental health professionals are leaving many people underserved. In particular, those with the greatest need are most affected. A recent advocacy document argues that government VAT rules and medical aid pricing behaviour are actively inflating the…
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Gauteng Health Budget Underspending Exposes Service Pressure
The provincial health department’s failure to spend its budget has once again placed Gauteng’s health system under the spotlight. This comes even as hospitals deteriorate and frontline gaps widen. The Gauteng health department projects an underspend of R725 million for the 2025–26 financial year ending 31 March. This is according to an official reply from the finance and economic development…
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National Health Insurance Negotiations: SAMA Seeks NHI Talks
South Africa’s largest doctors’ organisation, the South African Medical Association (SAMA), is preparing for fresh talks with Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi on the future shape of National Health Insurance (NHI). The move follows a public push by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana for organisations challenging the NHI Act to consider negotiating a settlement, rather than prolonging court battles. SAMA is one…
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Treasury Threatens Health Departments with Takeover
The National Treasury is poised to take drastic action against four provincial health departments, threatening a national takeover following reports of gross financial mismanagement and collapsing service delivery. Treasury will demand fiscal accountability from Health MECs in four key provinces. This forthcoming ultimatum forces KwaZulu-Natal, the Free State, Gauteng, and the Northern Cape to provide immediate recovery plans or yield…