MEC Monyatso Mahlatsi tabled the department’s budget vote in Bethulie on Thursday (7/5). He said the department’s work is about preserving lives and ensuring residents receive healthcare at the right place, at the right time, and with respect.

The budget includes R6.8bn for district health services, R3.6bn for central hospital services, R2bn for provincial hospital services, and R1.1bn for emergency medical services.

The funding would support medicine availability, digital transformation, infrastructure upgrades, and improvements to emergency response services across the province, said Mahlatsi.

“Our work is about preserving lives, restoring dignity, and ensuring that every person in our province can access care when they need it, at the right place, at the right time, and with respect.

“Our priorities for 2026/27 are clear: infrastructure, primary healthcare, emergency medical services, medicine availability, financial stability, and improving the overall patient experience of care.”

The task before us is not simply to spend more, but to spend better, govern better, prioritise better, and deliver better. “Healthcare is a constitutional right, and the people of the Free State deserve services that are reliable, dignified, responsive, and accountable.”

Emergency medical services remain a key priority, with the department announcing the procurement of 105 new ambulances, of which 15 have already been delivered.

The department also reported progress in reducing outstanding accruals and payables from R1.5bn in 2023/24 to R888 million by December 2025.

A total of 2,224 permanent appointments were made during the previous financial year, including doctors, nurses, and community health workers, while another 326 posts are expected to be filled in 2026/27.

“We cannot continue to measure progress in healthcare by budgets alone while systems on the ground remain weak and unresponsive,” said Free State DA health spokesperson David Masoeu.

“Access to adequate healthcare services in the Free State is not a privilege; it is a fundamental necessity that speaks to the dignity and well-being of every resident.”

This department has developed a troubling pattern of starting projects and failing to complete them, while communities continue to suffer the consequences of deteriorating healthcare infrastructure, he said.

OFM News/Zenande Mpame sm

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