SA is allocating around R20bn a year in the Government’s budget to NHI, which is essentially being wasted, economist Dawie Roodt told Sakeliga. -Daily Investor (12 January 2026)
According to Roodt NHI can never become a reality as the state simply lacks the money to implement it or raise additional costs.
Although the NHI was signed into law in 2024, Government is yet to release a detailed Money Bill or similar funding plan for the policy.
Momentum Health Solutions has estimated that it would cost between R900bn and R1.3trl per year for the NHI to provide each South African with the same quality of care received under the private health system. The Health Funders Association (HFA) has estimated that funding the NHI would require personal income taxes to increase by between 1.5 and 2.2 times the current rates.
Raising the value-added tax (VAT) rate is an option, but SA’s budget debacle at the
start of 2025 showed that this would also be a highly unpopular decision that is unlikely to pass Parliamentary muster.