Hon Chairperson, I just want to call over members of the opposition, specifically in this case the DA, that as we debate these issues we must be painfully aware of who we are. We are elected here to represent all the people of South Africa. Once the elections are over and we are in these Houses, we represent all of them.
Now the DA likes talking about the Constitution, the country and that we must follow it to the letter. They don't want us to deviate even a bit. Firstly, we remind you that we held up the Constitution, because you had no way. All you need to do is support, but you are not going to pick and choose which part of the Constitution you support.
The issue of health care is in section 27(1) of the Constitution. It says, and I am reading for you directly from the Constitution, "Everyone has the right to have access to health care services, including reproductive health care." It is a right. Section 27 (2) says, "The state must take reasonable legislative and other measures, within the available resources, to achieve the progressive realisation of each of these rights."
It is our responsibility as the state to make sure that people have equal access to health care. It's an imperative of the Constitution; we have got no choice in the matter. [Interjections.]
We are faced with a situation where 41 million people in our country - that is 86% of the population - are not able to exercise this right. Unlike you, I know no member of the DA in this House, not a single one, who's not covered by medical aid, not a single one, and I know no single ANC member who is not covered by medical aid. In other words, all of us elected members are covered by medical aids.
When our children are sick, they know where to go to; they are safe as we are sitting here, but the people who voted for us can easily die. As with the example of this woman, they can easily die, very easily. The example people like giving here about what happened last week - it's not the first time. It's not even happening for the second time.
Let me remind you what happened next to a private hospital in Johannesburg. I don't remember whether it was in 2007 or 2008, but it was around about there, when somebody got into an accident next to a private hospital and he was asked whether he had medical aid and, on saying no, he was rejected and driven to the public hospital. He died on the way to the public hospital.
Now tell me: If this is not primitive, what is it? When a human being is about to die, you ask them first how much they have got? Tell me if this is not primitive. That is why a person no less than the Secretary-General of the United Nations Mr Ban Ki-Moon, on 15 June, not a long time ago, at the United Nations said, and I quote him directly, "Out-of-pocket expenses are the worst form of health care financing and it must be discouraged."
You can't keep on financing health care by saying people must pay out of their pockets when they are sick. Nobody decides to get sick. In the same speech he says that in the whole world, every year, a hundred million people are forced into poverty because they are forced to fork out money for their health when they are trying to defend themselves from dying and they get into poverty.
So we talk about health care financing. Let's forget about being in the opposition and face reality. Let's forget about which party we belong to. Let's think about the poor people of this country and show that ... [Interjections.]