JOHANNESBURG - Limpopo Health MEC Phophi Ramathuba is slamming African leaders who go abroad to seek healthcare.
She is challenging them to rather build healthcare systems on the continent.
Ramathuba is also touting legislation to force leaders to use domestic services.
"It is important for us to be honest with each other, to say we do not have confidence in ourselves as a continent. We are not taking ourselves serious as leaders in this continent and we continuously expect others to take us seriously," she said.
"If we look at the universal healthcare coverage, that the continent, including the United Nations has declared that every country must make sure that move towards implementing that and as you will know, as South Africans we have looked at the National Health Insurance as one of the methodologies, the funding model that will lead us to the universal health coverage.
READ: Phaahla pins hopes on NHI to resuscitate health system
"So, one had to raise this and say let it start with us in the leadership and let us be honest with each other," she said.
"In my entire life, as medical student or as a healthcare professional working before I was even a politician, I have never read or heard any leader in another continent except Africa, seeking healthcare in another continent.
"Leaders within their own continents they would assist each other in building their own health system and they depend and believe in their own continents.
"So, it is high time that as African leaders, we should stay away from lip service and focus on building our own health system... which we will be proud of – because it does not assist that a leader can be safe when they are sick because they have options of flying overseas whereas citizens that we must look after, are struggling in accessing healthcare in our different countries within our continent."