The minister of finance, Enoch Godongwana, took the stand today, Wednesday, 21 February in Cape Town City Hall, delivering the highly anticipated 2024 Budget Speech.
Amidst pressing economic concerns and social needs, healthcare remains a crucial concern for South Africans, and Godongwana’s address shed light on the government’s intended plans for the sector.
In his address, he said that health is allocated a total of R848 billion over the Medium‐Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF). He explained these allocations include R11.6 billion to address the 2023 wage agreement, R27.3 billion for infrastructure, and R1.4 billion for the National Health Insurance (NHI) grant over the same period.
What South Africans can expect from the NHI
“The allocation for the NHI is a demonstration of the government’s commitment to this policy. There remains a range of system-strengthening activities that are key enablers of an improved public health care system that must be undertaken,” he says.
According to him, such activities include:
- Building a national health information system and digital patient records.
- Upgrading health facilities and improving quality of care to ensure that they meet the minimum criteria to be certified and accredited for contracting under NHI.
- Strengthening facility and district management in preparation for contracting.
- Granting semi-autonomous status for central (and potentially other) hospitals.
- Developing reference prices and provider payment methods for hospitals.
Although many of these activities are already underway, Godongwana states that they require further development before the NHI can be rolled out at scale.
Sin tax for smokers and drinkers
Furthermore, Godongwana underlined how the government proposes to increase tobacco excise duties by 4.7% for cigarettes and cigarette tobacco and by 8.2% for pipe tobacco and cigars. This translates to a R9.51 increase for cigars, a 97 cent increase for a pack of cigarettes, and an extra 57 cents for a pipe of tobacco.
Meanwhile, one of the over 2 700South Africans who sent budget tips to the minister, included Kamogelo Mogane from Soweto, who said, “I would suggest an introduction of tax payments for hubbly bubbly, e-cigarettes, and other alternatives. The country has seen an increase in the number of youth smoking these products, and parents are not pleased with this at all.”
In response to this, Godongwana said, “Kamo, as a parent myself, I agree with you. And I am certain the minister of health also agrees.”
He added that people might be happy to hear then that they are also tabling an increase in the excise duty on electronic nicotine and non-nicotine delivery systems, known as vapes, to R3.04 per millilitre.
Salaries for doctors, nurses
The minister also announced that funds would be set aside for salaries of doctors, nurses, teachers, police and other government officials.
“An additional R105.5 billion rand is allocated to provinces over the next three years to cover the cost of implementing the 2023 public-service wage agreement, mainly in the education and health sectors.”
Throughout the government’s commitment to improving the quality of care, it remains to be seen whether the government’s plans will be successful in addressing the challenges facing the healthcare sector.
ALSO READ: Sona 2024: Ramaphosa shares triumphs and trials in healthcare
Get the Health For Mzansi newsletter: Your bi-weekly dose of kasi health, wellness and self-care inspiration.
