National Treasury is preparing to intervene in four provincial health departments - KwaZulu-Natal, Free State, Gauteng and the Northern Cape - after severe financial mismanagement and failing service delivery. - Business Day (8 Dec 2025)
Treasury will issue letters demanding immediate fiscal recovery plans; failure to comply could trigger a Section 100 national administration. Officials warn that hospitals in these provinces risk running out of essential medicines due to chronic late payments to suppliers, worsened by salary overspending linked to absorbing temporary COVID-19 staff, persistent critical vacancies, and deteriorating infrastructure.
Public Service Commission commissioner Anele Gxoyiya highlighted a sharp decline in financial discipline, with late payments increasing by 32% in 2024/25. A Section 100 intervention would enable the national executive to take control where constitutional obligations are not being met, particularly in cases of financial collapse.
“The escalating crisis underscores the widening gap between struggling public hospitals and the rapidly advancing private sector. Restoring public healthcare performance has become a key priority for the Government of National Unity, amid political fallout from deteriorating patient care.”