Parliament, Tuesday, 1 October 2019 – The Chairperson for the Portfolio Committee on Health, Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo, has welcomed the launch of the Health Sector Anti-Corruption Forum by President Cyril Ramaphosa, which is intended to focus on fighting fraud and corruption in the health sector.
President Cyril Ramaphosa's Health Sector Anti-Corruption Forum was launched in Tshwane on Tuesday. The forum comprises various stakeholders, including the Department of Health, the Council for Medical Schemes, the Health Professions Council of South Africa, the Special Investigating Unit, the National Prosecuting Authority and Corruption Watch.
A presidential health summit called by President Ramaphosa last year resulted in stakeholders signing a health compact, which committed to improving South Africa’s healthcare sector. “Today we witnessed yet another milestone, in the launch of a new anti-corruption forum with important stakeholders committing to the noble programme,” Dr Dhlomo said.
“We are extremely humbled and encouraged by this gesture, because it goes a long way towards addressing some statements in the media regarding the potential for corruption in the National Health Insurance (NHI). This forum will be an anti-corruption enabler that will actually remove any taint of corruption in the NHI.
“We will now have an anti-corruption watchdog as we implement NHI. I want to urge all South Africans to feel confident in the president’s anti-corruption initiative as we embark on the NHI process. We will have confidence, if we put these measures in place,” said Dr Dhlomo.
“We therefore urge all South Africans to dispel any further doubts that the NHI will not work due to corruption. This is a mechanism to prevent and actually remove corruption in the health sector in general, including new initiatives such as the NHI,” Dr Dhlomo said.
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, DR SIBONGISENI DHLOMO.
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