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On 5 September, Solidarity wrote a letter to Dr Nicholas Crisp, deputy director general of the National Health Insurance (NHI), threating legal action if the Department of Health did not withdraw its advertisements for positions within the NHI by Monday, 19 September. This came after the department started advertising 44 jobs in the NHI in August despite the fact that the bill still has to go through parliamentary processes and is nowhere near being finalised.

Dr Crisp’s own statement on the NHI is that no official announcements can be made regarding its rollout or implementation as the bill has yet to go before parliament. Solidarity therefore finds it worrying that Dr Crisp is voicing conflicting opinions and apparently is persisting with the implementation process.

“It is unacceptable that senior government officials voice conflicting statements regarding legislation and the implementation of laws that will have serious consequences for all of us, because it indicates contempt for the legal process,” said Connie Mulder, head of the Solidarity Research Institute. “The same person who has promised to establish a health insurance that will supposedly make the world a better place because it will be watertight against corruption and unlawfulness, is trying to steamroller the implementation of the NHI despite ongoing parliamentary processes, and that cannot be tolerated.”

Solidarity is also of the opinion that the lawfulness of the appointments, as well as the financial impact of such posts on the fiscus should be questioned. The positions that are being advertised are far more involved than requiring mere technical skills as the advertisements are for senior management positions, the remuneration of which amounts to millions per year. 

"Without heeding the impact further expenditure would have on the already ailing state coffers, Dr Crisp is rolling out his NHI. This he does under the guise of efficiency and reinforcing capacity, but how does one want to strengthen the capacity of something that does not yet exist?” Mulder wanted to know. 

Solidarity says these job advertisements serve as a clear indication that the government is determined to implement its plans without regard for established democratic processes. Solidarity is trying to participate in the process by consistent communication that highlights the importance of rationality and reasonableness, but that seems to be impossible. The courts will therefore be the only way to get this government to think reasonably about this unaffordable law that they are trying to push through the legislator.

“We have a mandate to take action against those who try to exert a negative impact on our members and our country, and if Dr Crisp does not reply to our urgent letter, it would be taken as an intention to continue with his constitutionally indefensible and irrational actions. This will result in Solidarity having to resort to the courts to ensure that the law is obeyed and that justice prevails,” Mulder concluded. 

Issued by Solidarity