The announcement was made on Wednesday at a media briefing held outside the derelict Kempton Park Hospital in Johannesburg, in the Gauteng province, a setting AfriForum described as a symbolic warning of what it believes could happen to the country’s health sector if the NHI is implemented.
AfriForum said the legal action marks the first formal court challenge against the NHI Act since it was signed into law. The organisation argues that the Act threatens taxpayers, violates constitutional rights and risks collapsing SA’s already strained health system.
Louis Boshoff, AfriForum’s health Spokesperson, said the country’s political and economic climate cannot sustain a single‑payer NHI model that would require vast public funds.
“In light of SA’s current political and economic climate, the worst thing that can happen to taxpayers is the allocation of funds equivalent to 10% of SA’s gross domestic product to a health financing system that will never function effectively,” Boshoff said.
He added that the true cost of NHI extends beyond its financial implications. “The loss of constitutional rights and patients’ freedom of choice will ultimately result in a much higher price being paid.”
AfriForum argues that the Act centralises power within the state, undermines medical‑aid schemes and removes patients’ ability to choose healthcare providers. The group said the planned litigation will focus on constitutional infringements, governance failures and the financial sustainability of the proposed system.
–SABC/ChannelAfrica–
