A multi-departmental parliamentary meeting is expected to be held over the precautionary suspension last week of Dr Stan Moloabi, principal officer of the Government Employees Medical Scheme (GEMS), reports Sunday Tribune.
Pinky Kekana, deputy minister of the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) has proposed a joint parliamentary session involving the Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration, the Portfolio Committee on Health and the Standing Committee on Finance, to discuss the issue.
Moloabi has been in the public service unions’ crosshairs in the wake of a series of successive increases in GEMS contributions, including a 9.8% hike, later partially adjusted to 9.5%, for 2026. This followed a 13.4% increase in 2025.
Unions and major labour federations slammed the increases as economically unjustifiable amid raising living costs.
GEMS had sought to reduce the weighted average contribution increase to 7.5%, but the Council for Medical Schemes (CMS) rejected the proposal, warning that such a reduction could threaten the scheme’s long-term solvency and financial stability. The 9.5% increase therefore remained in place.
Concerns around GEMS’ governance and oversight, as well as the broader challenges facing the scheme, are to be tackled at the meeting, which has been welcomed by Public Service and Administration Portfolio Committee chairperson Jan de Villiers. He said it was important because, although GEMS was not funded directly from the fiscus, it received contributions from both members and the state as employer.
The scheme was also established through an Act of Parliament, giving Parliament an oversight role, he added.
“GEMS had reported member fraud. The scheme managed to recoup these funds,” said De Villiers.
The proposed intervention comes as GEMS insists that Moloabi’s precautionary suspension was not related to the scheme’s financial position, reserves or solvency.
Earlier this year, GEMS reported a funding shortfall of about R2bn after healthcare claims outpaced member contributions in 2025. It paid more than R67bn in claims during the year, while receiving about R65bn in contributions.
The gap has raised concerns about the scheme’s long-term financial sustainability and was among the factors cited in the wider debate around contribution increases.
However, GEMS’S latest statement sought to separate those financial pressures from the suspension of Moloabi.
Sunday Tribune PressReader article – GEMS suspension sparks parliamentary scrutiny (Open access)
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