Yesterday the heath portfolio committee was informed that the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) is owed R1 billion by eight of the nine provinces for services it has provided to them. Only the Democratic Alliance's administration in the Western Cape is up to date on its payments.
This is the second year in a row that the NHLS has had to cope with such enormous unpaid bills, and it is yet another indication of the collapse of most provincial health departments' financial management capacity.
Other provinces must get their acts in order, follow the Western Cape's lead and pay off their debts.
The Democratic Alliance will be asking questions to Minister of Health Aaron Motsoaledi to ask him what he is doing, in his oversight role, to ensure that provincial health departments pay their bills.
Typically, provincial health departments ignore the bills they think they can get away with not paying, until they receive their funds for the next financial year. They then pay the bills, but out of money intended for future services. So they become ever more deeply in debt, until the national government provides a bail-out.
This pattern has to be stopped.