The ANC’s National Health Plan is back in the news after the party’s spokesman said the scheme would be implemented with “prudence”.
With the announcement, without offering new details, the ANC once again raised the smoke clouds, doctors who are busy packing them to leave the country.
The ultimate cost, when the plan is fully operational, could amount to as much as R400 billion a year, which the planners say will only result in a “small increase” in income tax for individuals.
Experts say the ANC has come up with an idea that will not work as long as hospitals and health clinics are in the current chaotic state, unemployment is still at 30%, and the country’s expertise in managing the comprehensive service, still missing.
The promise that the Plan will be implemented gradually is only a root for taxpayers, and when failures take its toll, reversal is not possible.