The Centre for Social Sciences Research (CSSR) and the  Institute for Democracy, Citizenship and Public Policy in Africa  (IDCPPA) at the University of Cape Town invite you to join us for a lunchtime seminar on 13 May 2025 at 12:45pm. The seminar will be presented by Mr. Jesse Zhou.

About the Seminar:

Challenges in implementing redistributive policy in a capitalist economy-A case study of the National Health Insurance Bill (NHIB)

This presentation is based on my ongoing PhD research, which explores the vested interests involved in the legislative process of the National Health Insurance Bill (NHIB). Specifically, the study seeks to understand the challenges the state faces in implementing redistributive social policies like the NHIB within a capitalist society. The NHIB aims to centralise health financing at the national level and claims to advance South Africa toward Universal Health Coverage. However, resistance to the Bill has largely stemmed from the significant influence of the private sector.

This leads to the central research question: What are the challenges of pursuing redistributive social policy such as the NHI within a broader capitalist economy like South Africa? While contemporary literature often attributes South Africa's limited progress in redistribution to its adoption of a neoliberal development model post-1994, the case of the NHI reveals a more complex reality. The NHI is structured to appease private health service providers while simultaneously attempting to regulate— or even nationalise-the private health financing sector.The state appears to be constantly navigating a tension between pursuing redistribution and preserving economic growth. This is evident in the state's dual approach: involving the private sector in the implementation of the NHI while centralising the financing function.

This study contributes to the literature by interrogating how the capital interests of the private sector have shaped the NHI discourse and by examining the state's constrained role in pursuing redistributive reform within a capitalist framework.

Speakers

Jesse Zhou is a PhD candidate at the University of Cape Town, with a research focus on the challenges of implementing redistributive policies — specifically the National Health Insurance—in the context of South Africa's capitalist economy. His academic journey has spanned critical areas of health and social policy: His Master's research examined the recruitment of foreign health professionals within South Africa's immigration policy framework, while his Honours research explored the dynamics of domestic violence in same-sex relationships.

 13 May 2025
 12:45 - 14:00 SAST
  CSSR Seminar Room, 4.29 Robert Leslie Social Science Building, UCT

Hosted by the Centre for Social Science Research and the Institute for Democracy, Citizenship and Public Policy in Africa