The National Treasury has shifted unspent National Health Insurance funds to provinces so they can fill critical posts.
The development is consistent with the emphasis President Cyril Ramaphosa has placed on tackling the crisis in healthcare, and suggests a pragmatism about the NHI in the face of problems gripping the sector.
“Implementing NHI is a policy priority for the sector.
“However, the government needs to address staff shortages and other problems in public health facilities before the policy can be fully rolled out,” the Treasury said.
Listen to further analysis of the budget here:
Addressing journalists ahead of his budget speech, finance minister Tito Mboweni said one of the most pressing issues was the poor state of public hospitals.
“There is nothing difficult about getting a hospital to run properly – it’s management.
“Don’t get caught up too much in conceptual debates.”
He struck a practical note in his speech when he turned to health, saying: “We need simple, effective interventions. We need more doctors and nurses.”
The Treasury has moved R2.8bn out of the NHI indirect grant over the next three years to fill critical public-healthcare posts, including interns and community service positions.
The NHI indirect grant is, however, allocated an extra R1.4bn to build a new academic hospital in Limpopo and improve existing tertiary hospitals in the province.
The comprehensive HIV, Aids and TB grant has been restructured to include malaria and community outreach programmes.