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Health department to start charter hearings this week
Tamar Kahn
2005-08-26

The health department announced yesterday that it would begin hearing industry presentations on the draft health charter later this week.

Industry groups and civil society organisations hope to lobby the drafting task team, headed by department deputy director- general Kamy Chetty, to make significant changes to the charter, which includes ambitious targets for increasing black ownership of health-care businesses. Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang published the draft charter on July 11, and gave the health sector until August 15 to submit written comments. Her spokesman, Sibane Mngadi, said more than 50 written submissions representing the views of more than 100 organisations including labour, professional bodies, civil society organisations and a range of players from the private health-care industry had been received.

Many organisations have complained about the drafting process so far, saying the task team did not consult widely enough, while others have voiced concern about the charters empowerment targets. The charter says historically white-owned health-care businesses should aim to be 26% black-owned as soon as possible, and 35% black-owned by 2010. Mngadi said the department hoped the verbal presentations, which begin on Thursday behind closed doors, would help achieve consensus on most of the issues covered by the charter. The task team planned to invite various parties to negotiate any outstanding issues, he said. The department is committed to ensuring that all stakeholders play a meaningful role in the development of the health charter and that their views are considered in the finalisation of this document, he said.

Private Healthcare Forum chairman Dr Fazel Randera declined to comment until the forum had formally discussed the departments approach for negotiating the charters content. Black Healthcare Caucus chairwoman Yvonne Motsisi said the caucus had no complaints about the departments approach to developing the charter, nor did it feel the empowerment targets were too steep. But she said the caucus was concerned about how deals were to be financed.

(Source: BusinessDay, 23, August, 2005)

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