Thread by @Sakeliga

🔴 BREAKING: Minister of Health attempts to halt court challenges to NHI

The Minister of Health wants to pause all court challenges to the NHI Act while continuing to implement it.

Should the court process be paused, NHI implementation should also be paused.

Here's why 🧵

What's Happening?

The Minister of Health is trying to halt six constitutional challenges against the NHI Act, claiming it's to "conserve public resources"

They want to stop judicial scrutiny while NHI implementation continues unchecked.

This is an abuse of process.

Why This Is Dangerous:

The government's tactic would:
🚫 Shield the NHI Act from judicial constitutional review indefinitely
🚫 Allow implementation to proceed without accountability
🚫 Further the initial harms of the Act (e.g. doctors leaving, reduced investment in the sector)
🚫 Deprive citizens of their right to timely judicial review

Sakeliga's Two-Pronged Approach:

We are opposing the Minister's tactics with:

1️⃣ Opposition to the Minister's stay application

2️⃣ A conditional counter-application for an interdict to halt NHI implementation if the court grants a stay of the challenges

If the constitutional challenges are paused, implementation must also be paused.

The Irony:

The government claims it wants to "conserve public resources" by pausing challenges.

But allowing NHI implementation to continue would:

🔵Waste billions on a demonstrably unaffordable scheme
🔵Cause deterioration in healthcare access
🔵Risk unprecedented economic contraction

It is not the constitutional challenges that should be halted - it is the implementation of the NHI itself.

Faced with widespread resistance, the government is now resorting to procedural manoeuvres to delay resolution of the real issues.

Constitutional accountability cannot be suspended while the government proceeds with potentially unconstitutional conduct.

Sakeliga's broader case against the NHI is one of several major challenges brought by civil society, business organisations, and healthcare stakeholders to prevent catastrophic collapse of healthcare access and economic welfare.

🎥 Watch our 5-min NHI explainer:

Support:

This litigation protects what still works in South African healthcare and prevents an unprecedented economic disaster.

📖 Read Our Full Press Release: blog.sakeliga.org.za/43pxtKI

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