“Amid ongoing legal battles over NHI, hopes for a truce dwindle as political motives complicate negotiations on universal healthcare.” Daily Maverick 19 Jan 2026
Last year, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana refused to implement the MHI’s call for the medical aid tax credit to be cancelled, saying that doing so would be an “attack on the middle class”.
“Meanwhile, Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi has consistently been a strong proponent of the NHI and would be risking his political career to accept many concessions during negotiations. In addition, it sometimes appears that the ANC is not 100% behind the NHI.
“They might see Godongwana’s call for a truce as a concession that the ANC knows it cannot win this battle.
“All of that said, some kind of truce, perhaps a pausing of the court cases, might well provide space for cooler heads to prevail.”