No ‘dark reason’ behind delays in parliament’s meeting with legal advisers on NHI bill

The chair of parliament’s portfolio committee on health has insisted there is “no dark reason” behind a series of delays in a key meeting with legal advisers on the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill.                

The NHI Bill is the government’s first piece of enabling legislation for its plan for universal health coverage, which aims to provide all citizens with healthcare services that are free at the point of delivery.

Parliament’s portfolio committee on health is in the final stages of its deliberations on the bill but has postponed a crucial meeting with parliament’s legal services and the office of the state law adviser three times in the past month. The meeting, which will guide MPs on the amendments they make to the bill, has now been scheduled for next week.  

Several MPs have privately questioned why work on the bill has slowed, as towards the end of last year the committee was under pressure to finalise the bill before the ANC’s elective conference in December.

DA health spokesperson Michele Clark said she hoped the delay meant the ANC-led government was having second thoughts about the bill.

“We have asked the committee secretary and been told simply that they are not ready for meetings yet. It’s very strange, as last year all these people were constantly available two to three days a week, working until 11pm at night,” she said.

Committee chair Kenneth Jacobs said there was no sinister reason behind the delays. Parliament’s legal services office had informed the committee it was not available because staff were ill or had other commitments. The committee had only one scheduled meeting per week and needed another three or four sessions to finalise the bill, he said.

Once the committee has received legal input on the bill, it will compile its “A-list” of proposed changes. Parliament will then draft a revised version of the NHI Bill, known as the “B version”, incorporating the amendments approved by the committee. It will then be submitted to the National Assembly for a second reading debate and a vote.

Given the ANC’s majority in parliament, the National Assembly is expected to pass the bill and will then refer it to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) for concurrence. While the NCOP is expected to process the bill faster than the National Assembly, which has been considering it since August 2019, it will nevertheless need to hold public hearings in all the provinces.

Clark said it was doubtful the NCOP would complete its work before the end of the current administration.

kahnt@businesslive.co.za