Commissioner admits Compensation Fund is in shambles

19 May 2015

The Commissioner of the Compensation Fund, Shadrack Mkhonto, admitted yesterday that the Fund is indeed in a dire situation, as it faces a fundamental problem with the payment of doctors and hospitals for claims lodged.

This concession follows yesterday’s release of the findings of a DA-mandated research investigation into the current state of the Compensation Fund, and its effect on access to healthcare for injured South Africans in need of medical care.

The research indicates that the Fund has become one of the greatest barriers to access to medical care for South African workers who are injured on duty and often require emergency medical care and treatment.

Many doctors and medical practitioners are not being paid for treatment and care given to injured workers, with some waiting for close to a decade to receive the amounts due to them. This has led to doctors and medical practitioners turning Compensation Fund patients away in order to avoid the near certainty of not receiving money owed to them timeously, if at all.

The Commissioner conceded that the problem is not that there is no money available to the Fund – which has assets of R52 billion available to it – but rather that operationally the Fund is struggling to keep up with the volume of claims, suggesting that its new electronic claims system will alleviate much of the operational bottlenecks.

This commitment to a new system is nothing new – it has been repeated since 2009, to no avail. All previous attempts to turn the Fund’s fortunes around have not shown success. Moreover, the DA-Mandated research shows that the new electronic claims system is already collapsing with doctors reporting no improvement and extreme difficulty in submitting claims. The problem is simply the shortage of skills and operational ability of government to run this Fund.

This untenable situation cannot continue any longer at the expense of injured workers who desperately seek medical care and treatment.

The DA’s solution to this operational failure is clear - we call for the privatisation of the medical aid division of the Compensation Fund as an immediate remedy to bring about the efficiency that the Fund so desperately requires.

I have today made submissions to the Minister of Labour, Mildred Oliphant, in this regard.

Minister Oliphant, acting on behalf of an ANC government that claims to support workers’ rights, must now promote and defend those very rights by ensuring every worker is not barred from receiving due medical treatment and care that they need while in the line of duty.

The DA will continue to ensure that all South Africans, including injured workers, have access to the medical care for which they pay for every month.

Statement issued by Ian Ollis MP, DA Shadow Minister of Labour, May 19 2015