The Portfolio Committee on Health has expressed serious concern and frustration over the Interim Traditional Health Practitioners Council of South Africa's continued lack of impact, noting that despite the Council having been established in 2014, critical regulations required to operationalise the Traditional Health Practitioners Act of 2007 remain outstanding.
The committee received a briefing from the Traditional Health Practitioners Council of South Africa on its mandate and challenges. The Council briefed the committee on its role in regulating traditional health practitioners, setting standards of practice and protecting the public. The meeting will also give an opportunity for the Council to outline the key challenges affecting its ability to fulfil this mandate.
During its engagement with the Council, the committee highlighted that no functional national register of traditional health practitioners exists, enforcement mechanisms are absent and the Council remains unable to effectively regulate the sector. Members stressed that this prolonged regulatory vacuum has undermined Parliament's intention to formalise and professionalise traditional health practice and has exposed communities, particularly in rural areas, to unregulated and potentially harmful practices.
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Committee chairperson Ms Faith Muthambi said it is unacceptable for legislation passed by Parliament to remain largely unimplemented more than a decade later, adding that the failure to operationalise the Act amounts to a serious governance gap that places the public at risk and erodes confidence in regulatory oversight.
The committee raised strong concerns about budgetary contradictions facing the Council, questioning how it is expected to regulate an estimated 300 000 traditional health practitioners nationally with limited allocations of approximately R6.7 million in 2024 and projected amounts of under R10 million in subsequent years.
Committee members expressed dissatisfaction with the expectation that the Council should rely on practitioner registration fees to sustain its operations, particularly given that many practitioners operate in economically marginalised and rural communities. The committee warned that this funding model raises serious concerns about feasibility, equity and long-term sustainability and risks undermining compliance and enforcement.
Mr Moshome Motubatse, a committee member was concerned about the Council's failure to demonstrate measurable progress in preserving indigenous knowledge systems beyond consultations and codes of ethics, the absence of integration of traditional health practice into broader health reforms such as the National Health Insurance framework, and the lack of a dedicated budget for indigenous medicine research, intellectual property protection and product development.
Another committee member, Dr Karl le Roux, expressed concern about public safety and drew attention to harmful and unsafe practices associated with unregulated traditional healing, particularly involving children, and questioned how the Council intends to protect the public without a register, adequate enforcement capacity or sufficient resources.
Committee member Ms Naledi Chirwa-Mpungose cautioned against colonial bias on the use of traditional medicine. She stressed that recognition of traditional medicine must be accompanied by proper institutional support, adequate funding and effective regulation.
Committee members also noted with the Council's continued interim status since 2014, stating that prolonged interim arrangements have weakened accountability, delayed institutional development and contributed to a lack of tangible outcomes.
Responding to the questions and concerns, the Council and the Department of Health attributed the delays to the absence of promulgated regulations, limited funding and human resource capacity, and outstanding procurement of registration systems. The department informed the committee that a Traditional Health Practitioners Amendment Bill is being processed to transition the Council from an interim to a permanent structure and extend its term of office, and that a national policy on traditional medicine aligned with World Health Organisation strategies is at an advanced stage.
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While acknowledging stakeholder engagements and provincial roadshows, the Council conceded that practitioner registration has not yet commenced and that enforcement remains impossible without regulations and systems in place.
The committee resolved to request detailed written responses from the Council and the department, including outstanding annual reports, financial statements, regulatory timelines and a clear, time-bound strategy to establish a fully functional and sustainable regulatory authority.
Yoliswa Landu
