Gauteng health may end up with deficit of R2 billion due to civil claims

25 June 2018

In the 2018/19 financial year, the Gauteng Department of Health will most probably have to spend more than half of its budget on settling civil claims of approximately R22 billion relating to medical treatment, should the claims be successful.

The Department must also pay an amount of R161 million to the families of the victims of the Life Esidimeni tragedy.

If most of the claims are successful, the Department will have a measly R24 billion left of its total allocated budget of R46 billion, which is the largest amount allocated in the provincial budget. It will be insufficient to deliver the basic services in hospitals and clinics in Gauteng.

This amount is very little seen in the light of the fact that the maintenance of hospital equipment, like the repair of equipment used to treat cancer, is extremely expensive. The contracts for removal of medical waste must also be renewed and salaries must be paid.

The Department’s wage bill amounts to R26 billion for the current financial year. If the claims are successful, the Department would have a deficit of R2 billion just to pay the salaries. The procurement of medicine for the various hospitals will also be adversely affected.

It is clear that the Gauteng Department of Health is beyond saving and the provincial government’s current efforts to help are too little too late. The FF Plus believes that the Department’s days are numbered and that health services in the province cannot be salvaged.

The possible deficit of R2 billion for salaries may have a negative impact on the budgets of other departments if the MEC for Finance, Barbara Creecy, decides to use the budgets allocated to the departments of transport, local governance and housing, education, social development, infrastructure, community safety, agriculture, rural development, sport and arts and culture to make up the deficit.

The FF Plus is concerned that if the budgets allocated to other departments are used to make up the deficit, various important projects like the construction of roads and bridges as well as the building of schools and houses for the poor will be adversely affected. The latter are basic needs that require urgent attention in Gauteng.

Issued by Philip van Staden, FF Plus MPL: Gauteng Legislature, 25 June 2018