Cape Town – The GOOD party says the Western Cape Government’s Constitutional Court challenge of the validity of the National Health Insurance (NHI) Act is a “smokescreen” to obstruct long-overdue reforms to South Africa’s deeply unequal healthcare system.
Earlier this week, on Tuesday, 2 September 2025, the Democratic Alliance (DA) led Western Cape Government cited alleged failures in the public participation process as the reason for opposing the NHI.
Not surprisingly, the DA, which is the second largest party in the Government of National Unity (GNU), said it welcomed the Western Cape Government’s court challenge against the NHI.
However, the GNU’s largest party, the African National Congress, is pressing ahead with plans for implementation of the NHI.
Commenting on the matter on Wednesday, 3 September 2025, GOOD Secretary-General and Member of the Western Cape Parliament, Brett Herron, said the DA-led Western Cape Government “is using procedural concerns as a smokescreen to obstruct long-overdue reforms to South Africa’s deeply unequal healthcare system”.
Herron added: “Its decision to approach the Constitutional Court to challenge the validity of the NHI Act, citing alleged failures in the public participation process, appears to be little more than a political tool by the DA-led province to rally support from those opposed to meaningful transformation.
“The NHI is not perfect.”
Herron said the GOOD party has consistently acknowledged that the legislation requires refinement, particularly in addressing concerns raised by healthcare professionals, economists, and administrators.
“We have also warned that the system’s success hinges on competent, corruption-free implementation and the rebuilding of public trust in the state’s capacity to deliver,” he said.
“But make no mistake, the principle of universal healthcare is sound, just, and constitutional.”
Herron pointed out that for decades, our healthcare system has entrenched inequality where a privileged few access world-class treatment through private insurance, while the majority queue for hours in under-resourced public clinics.
This is a historical injustice that cannot be defended under the guise of legal technicalities or “provincial autonomy”.
However, the Western Cape Government says it filed papers with the Constitutional Court to challenge the validity of the NHI Act “in order to defend the constitutional right of every resident of the Western Cape to take part in the lawmaking process and to be heard by Parliament”.
The Western Cape Government said the implementation of the NHI Act will involve a major and complex restructuring of healthcare services in South Africa, including the services which are currently provided by provincial governments.
The provincial government said it believes that the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) failed to consider the views of the people of the Western Cape when it deliberated on the NHI Bill, and hence did not meet its obligation to facilitate meaningful public participation in the legislative process.
Western Cape Minister of Health and Wellness, Mireille Wenger, said: “The NHI is likely one of the most significant and controversial statutes in South African democratic history, which was rushed through the NCOP without considering, debating, or deliberating on any substantive input arising from the public participation processes in the provinces.
“We bring this challenge in the interests and on behalf of the people of the Western Cape, given our role in the provision of public health care in the province.”
Western Cape Premier Alan Winde said: “We are standing up for the right of every South African to have a meaningful voice in how laws are made.
“This is not just a Western Cape issue — it is about preserving a cornerstone of our democracy: that Parliament must be willing to listen.”
He said the Western Cape Government is seeking relief from the Constitutional Court to declare that the flawed public participation process renders the NHI Act unconstitutional and invalid.
