Who and what is AfriForum?

AfriForum is an Afrikaans civil rights organisation that protects the rights of minority groups at national as well as provincial level, and anyone who can identify with AfriForum’s principles and objectives may join the organisation. AfriForum’s community plan focuses on mobilising communities to thus take control of their own streets and neighbourhoods again. AfriForum ensures that your constitutional and civil rights are recognised and protected at national level.

Wie en wat is AfriForum?

AfriForum is ’n Afrikaanse burgerregteorganisasie wat die regte van minderheidsgroepe op sowel nasionale as provinsiale vlak beskerm, en enigiemand wat met AfriForum se beginsels en doelstellings kan identifiseer, mag by die organisasie aansluit. AfriForum se gemeenskapsplan fokus daarop om gemeenskappe te mobiliseer om só weer beheer terug te neem oor hul eie strate en woonbuurtes. AfriForum verseker dat jou grondwetlike én burgerregte op nasionale vlak erken en beskerm word.

AfriForum lays charges over nearly R170 million wasted by Limpopo Department of Health

AfriForum laid criminal charges today against Dr Ntsie Kgaphole, Head of the Limpopo’s Department of Health, as part of the organisation’s national campaign against the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill. This follows the organisation studying the Department’s annual report and finding that Kgaphole is guilty of offences in terms of Section 86(1) of the Public Finance Management Act, 1999 (Act No 1 of 1999).

AfriForum will visit all nine provinces between 18 and 22 November 2019, during which criminal charges will be laid against the heads of each provincial Department of Health.

“The squandering of taxpayers’ money is a national crisis and the responsible parties should be brought to book. That is why we laid these charges today. This misappropriation of funds is one of the main reasons why we cannot rely on the government to implement NHI: They have shown that they cannot be trusted with taxpayers’ money,” says Marié Naudé, AfriForum’s Head of Community Structures for the northern region.

The Limpopo Department of Health’s annual report indicates that this Department incurred irregular expenditures of almost R166 million in the 2017/2018 financial year. The department also incurred fruitless and wasteful expenditures of more than R3,5 million in the 2017/2018 financial year.

Irregular expenditures comprise all expenses that are inconsistent with what the Act prescribes. Fruitless and wasteful expenditures are expenses made in vain but that could have been prevented if reasonable precaution had been taken. This excessive expenditure could have been prevented, had Kgaphole fulfilled his duties.

“The charges against the department heads are based on alleged financial misappropriation in terms of the above-mentioned Act. They must prevent irregular, fruitless, wasteful and unauthorised expenditures and must hold guilty parties accountable. The department heads are letting taxpayers down by failing to fulfil their duties,” Naudé concludes.

AfriForum encourages the public to oppose the NHI by giving AfriForum their mandate and submitting their comments on the NHI on AfriForum’s website at https://afriforum.co.za/en/divisions/campaigns/national-health-insurance/.