Hon member, indeed, the basis of the Health Sector Anti-Corruption Forum is collaboration across various departments. It is also about ensuring that the various Ministers are available to offer support in the event of some logistical or whatever form of challenge that each unit involved in this case is experiencing.
So, for example, if there is a problem in the capacity of the investigators, the matter gets tabled at that level and the relevant department can then assist in solving the problem, rather than wait until we find out long after there was a problem. With this, we try to expedite that situation.
Beyond that, there has recently been the Health-Market Inquiry that has pointed out malfeasance and a lot of irregularities that
relate to the private sector, as such, particularly, the issue of inflated prices and the issue of overutilisation. Regarding these issues, the department is now involved in a process of ensuring that there is a satisfactory legislative framework that will be able to curb all of those excesses by legislation. Therefore, that makes it easier to take the matter up at the level of the police criminal investigation processes.
So, as we move into the future, as we implement the requirements or the recommendation of the Health-Market Inquiry, we are going to be attending precisely to those issues.
It is important to say that when you talk about health-sector corruption, we are talking about the health sector, both public and private. It is just as bad on either side. Therefore, we deal with it as corruption and we should not create an impression that corruption only exists in the public sector. It is actually rife in the private sector as well.
So, in this case, we will therefore announce the specific provisions that we need to implement to reduce those kinds of problems by strengthening particular legislations or regulations, to curb some of those excesses.
The rest of the issues will have to be dealt with as criminal investigation. This forum is equally capable of dealing with the corruption, even if the cases are reported in the private sector. So, hon member, we will actually use this platform to deal with the problem in its width and breadth and make sure that there is no corruption in the health sector. Thank you very much.