The Health Department says budget cuts are having a huge impact on its capacity to deliver services as well as rolling out some infrastructure.
The department has briefed Parliament’s Standing Committee on Appropriations on how it will spend money allocated to it for the current financial year.
Senior management says they hope that with time and as the economy improves, they will be able to attract and fund the required specialists, doctors and nurses.
Director-General Sandile Buthelezi says there’s a backlog in infrastructure rollout and the private sector is currently skeptical to invest.
“Infrastructure is one of the areas where we are not doing well. (There’s) quite a lot of backlog and when we get cuts, it becomes hugely problematic. However, we are trying as much as possible to come up with some innovative mechanisms in terms of seeing how we can get the private sector involvement and for them to invest. They need to see quite a huge investment from the fiscus when it comes to infrastructure.”
Last week, Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize said R9 billion had been allocated to the Department of Health to urgently focus on fighting COVID-19 through its comprehensive local intervention programmes.
Mkhize was delivering his budget vote speech during a hybrid National Assembly sitting.
Video: Dr Zweli Mkhize says R9 billion has been allocated to Health Department to tackle COVID-19
The minister had tabled the department’s R62.5 billion budget for the 2021/22 financial year on Thursday.
“Over the medium term, the department’s most urgent focus is combating the coronavirus through our comprehensive local intervention programmes, for which R9 billion has been allocated,” he said.
