Pretoria – The Gauteng Provincial Government has set up a Dispute Resolution and Debt Management Committee to help fast-track the payment of debts owed by government departments and state-owned entities to the provincial Department of Health.
Responding to questions in the provincial legislature on Tuesday, Premier David Makhura said he was concerned the department is owed a combined figure of R1.5 billion by national departments, provincial health departments and state-owned entities such as the National Health Laboratory Services, Workmen’s Compensation and the Road Accident Fund.
Premier Makhura said the debt undermined the department’s ability to deliver quality service.
In January this year the Premier petitioned the Ministers of Health and Finance to solicit their assistance in making sure all monies owed to Gauteng are settled.
“I have received written confirmation from the Minister of Finance [Pravin Gordhan], whom together with the Minister of Health [Aaron Motsoaledi] agree that we should set up a Dispute Resolution and Debt Management Committee.
“Both Ministers are keen to ensure that this matter is resolved and monies owed to our province are settled in line with the terms agreed,” said Premier Makhura.
The first meeting of the committee will take place before the end of November 2016. The meeting is expected to be attended by Minister Motsoaledi, Minister Gordhan, Premier Makhura and MEC for Health Qedani Mahlangu.
Gauteng has seven hospitals that are dealing with tertiary services. These hospitals provide support to provinces such as Mpumalanga, Limpopo, North West and Free State.
National government departments and state-owned entities also use Gauteng public health facilities.
In addition to this, as a result of the quality of healthcare provided by Gauteng health facilities, many people in the SADC region and Sub-Saharan Africa come to Gauteng for treatment.
Premier Makhura said he was convinced that the committee will help to collect outstanding debts through ring fencing and direct payments by national departments and state-owned entities.
“The experience of the progress we have made in paying the municipal debts is an illustration of the effectiveness of this approach,” he said. – SAnews.gov.za
