House Chairperson, the Bill that is before the House is a good Bill on paper to get South Africa prepared to deal with a major epidemic outbreak like the coronavirus which is knocking on our front doors.
This Bill will on paper organise various role-players like the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, NICD, the National Cancer Registry, NCR, and others to collaborate and to work together towards a common goal but we must not forget that this sector should and must have a joint operations committee and I hope that the aim of this Bill is to do exactly that.
Attention should and must be given to the concerns of Cancer Association of South Africa, Cansa, about the cancer registry. We all know that this registry was out of date and of limited use, so we hope that this problem will receive attention.
The FF Plus has a few concerns with this Bill which is the following; firstly, the institute must not become another state entity as stated under section 2 of this Bill; secondly, the power vested on the Minister to appoint members of the board as stipulated in section 5 of the Bill is a bit problematic as we believe that these powers must not be vested in one person alone but in a broader base of stakeholders.
The question must be asked if there will be any money available in the health budget after tomorrow's Budget Speech to get this institute running and begin its work. This Portfolio Committee on Health or this Sixth Parliament must monitor the Department of Health regarding the implementation of this institution. Therefore, time will tell if this institute will be a success or not. Thank you, House Chairperson.
Ms M E SUKERS / VW// (Eng) 26/02/2020 @ 13:32 / TAKE ENDS AT 15:26:51