The Presidency confirmed on Tuesday that following consultations with Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, President Cyril Ramaphosa has officially agreed to delay the proclamation of any sections of the National Health Insurance (NHI) Act until the Constitutional Court has handed down its judgments in May.

Further, it assured that the decision taken by Ramaphosa will not affect the timetable for the implementation of the NHI.

This comes amid several legal actions from various civil society groups, arguing that the NHI Act is unconstitutional and irrational.

Last week Ramaphosa confirmed that he would not promulgate any provisions of the NHI Act prior to the Constitutional Court handing down judgment on the public participation challenges, and that he would not enforce any part of the Act until he was requested to do so by the Minister of Health. 

The court cases relate to the public participation process that led to the adoption of the NHI Bill by Parliament, with arguments that they were not properly followed.

The Department of Health (DoH) has indicated that preparatory work for the implementation of the NHI has been ongoing, such as the improvement of health services before any sections of the NHI Act are ready for commencement.

Meanwhile, one of the litigators, Solidarity, has threatened legal action against government should it fail to comply with Tuesday’s High Court order. Opponents to the NHI and government reached an agreement to cease legal action on condition that the implementation and further development of the NHI ceased immediately.

“Any further implementation of the National Health Insurance Act (NHI) must now be stopped with immediate effect, following a court order.

“No further budgetary concessions may now be granted in respect of the NHI,” it said.

Following the issuance of the court order, Solidarity has sent a letter of demand to Ramaphosa, the DoH, the National Treasury, and the relevant Ministers, warning them against any disregard of the NHI court order.

Solidarity welcomed the provisional suspension of the NHI, saying the ruling is a major breakthrough in its opposition to the NHI.

“…it is beyond comprehension that taxpayers’ money is being used to establish a system that faces such extensive litigation,” said economic researcher at the Solidarity Research Institute Theuns du Buisson.

He claimed the NHI would never be realised, because it was simply “unworkable, unaffordable, and irrational”.

“It is deeply concerning that anyone could regard it as a sound policy, particularly given that billions of rands have already been spent on it.

“Yet these billions of rands in costs would be only a fraction of the far greater sums and the irreversible loss of life were the NHI package to be implemented,” he stated.