NATIONAL HEALTH INSURANCE
Free education and healthcare for poor, same side of the coin
Education and healthcare are the two issues in which the state has to provide the resources, writes Aaron Motsoaledi
The Department of Health will invest R17bn over the next three years into upgrading public clinics to "workable" levels, in line with a broader preparation for introducing the National Health Insurance (NHI) system. The government has concluded an investigation into the amount required to upgrade the clinics into facilities capable of delivering services to their communities. This figure is insufficient for high-level services, but would hopefully provide key medication and the infrastructure medical staff demand. NHI and the #FeesMustFall campaigns are the same side of the coin, rather than diametrically opposed initiatives. While the world economic systems are divided into communism or socialism and capitalism, education and healthcare are the two indisputable issues in which the state has to provide the resources. Many people criticising NHI are the same who are wholeheartedly supporting the #FeesMustFall campaign without recognising the link between the two. Education ministries...
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