I am getting confused about the significance of petitions. The National Health Insurance (NHI) petition has gathered more than 65,350 signatures as more people become aware of it.
This is a second indication of how people feel about the negative effects NHI will have on our healthcare system. The first was made clear when 83% of people who participated at The Big Debate that was launched by Redi Tlhabi a few years ago, voted against implementation of NHI without taking all measures necessary to fix all the problems plaguing our health services.
After the debate, I submitted a detailed report on how to fix all those problem areas that needed to be fixed. However, we all know that no effort was ever made to fix those problems. The pilot projects that were conducted by the department of health also failed spectacularly, which also proved SA was not capacitated to roll out NHI. What is the point of consulting the populace if their opinions will be ignored as the government forges ahead with its wishes, good or bad? What does that mean? Do we have a democratic government or a dictatorship?
Cometh Dube-Makholwa, Midrand.
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