News24 reports that the Government Employees Medical Scheme (GEMS) will be appealing a North Gauteng High Court ruling on Thursday that granted the Public Protector (PP) jurisdiction over it.  

"We will appeal the North Gauteng High Court ruling and we have already notified the Public Protector's office of this fact prior to her press statement.  We have been advised that we have good grounds for an appeal," the scheme indicated in a statement on Tuesday.  “We are confident that the appeal will be favourable to GEMS,” its principal officer, Gunvant Goolab, added.  The PP’s spokesperson, Oupa Segalwe, noted that the court had ruled in the PP’s favour, which “paves the way for advocate [Busisiwe] Mkhwebane to carry on with an investigation that was deadlocked for nearly two years, leaving the complainant in the matter in the lurch.”  The PP received a complaint by a dependent of a GEMS member alleging that the scheme had refused to admit him as the beneficiary after the member's death.  Gems then claimed that its regulatory body, the Council for Medical Schemes (CMS), had already brought the matter to a close by ruling in favour of GEMS.  But the High Court ruled that the case, which was in the interest of the public, should be investigated further to determine whether the complainant was unlawfully excluded from the scheme and if this amounted to improper prejudice.

• Read the full original of Canny Maphanga’s report on the above story at News24

Read the Public Protector’s press statement on the ruling at Public Protector News

Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page