Central SA
Implement NHI, Bela Act immediately – Free State SA Communist Party─── KEKELETSO MOSEBETSI 10:07 Mon, 24 Mar 2025
The South African Communist Party (SACP) in the Free State has called for the immediate implementation of the National Health Insurance (NHI) and Bela Act, emphasising the importance of these policies for social equity and transformation.
SACP Provincial Secretary-General Bhekumuzi Stofile delivered these remarks during the 35th-anniversary celebration of the South African Democratic Teachers Union in the Free State on Human Rights Day (21/3) at Harmony Primary School in Virginia.
He stressed the urgency of reinstating the suspended clauses of the NHI and urged for it to be fully implemented, as it is crucial for the well-being of every South African citizen.
“The other thing we must be bold about and call on our government, the ANC, is to not compromise on the Bela (Act). The Bela Act must be implemented as it is because it speaks on the transformation of our kids and children in this country,” said Stofile.
“It is important therefore, as we celebrate the 35 years, to look back and remind ourselves that there is nothing free that we have achieved until the Bela Act is implemented, until NHI is implemented.”
Stofile also reflected on the global push from capital interests to control states throughout Africa, noting the situation in Burkina Faso offers a stark contrast.
He praised the bold leadership of Burkina Faso, saying it has prioritised improving the living conditions of its people, addressing hunger, and building resilience to combat capitalist forces.
“Here at home, the World Bank and IMF are beginning to determine what our South African government must do, which as workers – wherever we are – we must oppose, we must confront it, and we must not agree with it,” Stofile said.
“Part of that is the World Bank, IMF asking our people to pay VAT at 1%, and as you roll it out, it will be 2% at the end of the day. The increase of 12.4% on electricity and 16 to 18% on water gives a total quantum of what needs to be paid today in a household in South Africa to be anything between 38, 39 to 40%. How will our middle structure survive if we put all these pressures instead of taxing the already rich individuals who are exploiting our minerals?”
Stofile added the realisation of human rights in South Africa and globally will only come when oppressed people around the world are free. He used the platform to call for an end to the suffering of the people in Palestine, Yemen, and Syria, urging America to stop interfering in these nations’ internal affairs.
