Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Health has raised concerns over the systemic ICT infrastructure weaknesses in the Council for Medical Schemes (CMS).
This, as it became apparent the entity relies on outdated, 20-year-old IT systems, which committee members feel pose a barrier to effective service delivery.
The CMS is statutory body created by Parliament to regulate medical schemes in South Africa.
The umbrella body yesterday briefed the portfolio committee on its 2026/2027 annual performance plan and budget for the 2026/27 financial year, providing details on its ICT systems, turnaround strategy, litigious matters, as well as overstaffing concerns.
During the briefing, the CMS conceded that using an outdated ICT platform has contributed to a decline in its complaint resolution target from 85% to 75%.
The committee said the entity must urgently prioritise upgrading its ICT requirements to improve efficiency and protect sensitive data.
Furthermore, committee chairperson Faith Muthambi questioned its preparedness to respond to cyber attacks, given some of the ICT limitations.
The CMS said it’s committed to upgrading the IT infrastructure, indicating it’s currently working with State IT Agency to finalise the procurement process for a new IT platform provider within three months.
Concerns over the statutory body’s ICT infrastructure comes as South African companies and medical aid schemes are increasingly being targeted by cyber criminals.
Earlier this month, Polmed, the medical scheme serving members of the South African Police Service (SAPS), confirmed it was probing a suspected data breach after a threat actor issued it with a ransom demand.
Polmed is a closed medical scheme registered under the Medical Schemes Act, with membership limited to SAPS employees and their dependants.
The medical aid scheme received a direct claim of breach from the threat actor on 25 March. The incident originated in the context of an extortion-type communication from a threat actor.
In addition to ironing out ICT infrastructure challenges, Muthambi told the entity that its strategy must address high budget allocation to employees.
The committee was told that approximately 72% of CMS’s budget is spent on compensation of employees. Additionally, it has a consultant budget of R4 million.
According to the entity, it employs a highly-skilled workforce of professionals essential for its regulatory functions. It said its turnaround strategy includes organisational efficiency reviews to ensure staff are fully utilised before filling critical vacancies, thereby addressing concerns about potential overstaffing.
It also indicated the budget covers essential services, such as outsourced internal audits, appeal board fees and human resource policy reviews.
The committee stressed that consultancy services must provide tangible value for money and that skills are effectively transferred to in-house staff.
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