[ Home ] [ Speeches & statements ]

29 June 2006

Programme Director
MEC for Health
Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee
Honoured guests
Ladies and gentlemen

I am honoured to be part of this critically important gathering. The Indibano takes place at a time in our country and the province when all eyes are fixed on the performance of our health turn around strategy.

Our motto is: "building quality healthcare in Eastern Cape". As a provincial government, we entertain no illusion that we can face these gigantic challenges alone, but only with the full and transparent involvement of our partners. Many health problems lie outside the direct control of the health sector and affect the most vulnerable populations, inadequate water and sanitation, improper waste disposal, overcrowded homes and the dependence on available transport systems, require our urgent attention. I am therefore excited to see an entire spectrum of our partners ready to do battle with us.

Healthcare is a partnership between those that need care and those that get it. In that regard, if we are to succeed, we have a challenge to conscientise our communities on critical issues such as healthy lifestyles, increase physical activities, immunisation of all children as well highlighting the dangers of high alcohol and tobacco usage.

The first theme of the Indibano is: "Strengthening quality of care in clinics, community health centres and hospitals of the Eastern Cape". The challenge is obviously a judicious use of our primary healthcare so that we prevent undue density experienced by hospitals. We need to work on shifting the minds that say a clinic is less equipped both professionally and in terms of quality of dispensaries than hospitals.

However, when that is done, it would be fruitless that when people visit the clinics they would be vindicated in their old beliefs. We would have wasted money and energy to have tried to change their minds in the first place. I hope that our collective wisdom would produce workable solutions in strengthening quality care in primary services.

We have come a long way from 1994 when we had four administrative authorities under which health services were managed. We now face challenges of a different sort. Having created seven health districts, which coincide with the six district municipalities, our challenge is now the harmonising of relationships between district hospitals and district management needs. Cross boundary health districts with KwaZulu-Natal need to be rationalised.

I am aware that Commission five will pour their minds on human resource capacity. We also need to focus on the challenges of migration of skilled medical personnel who leave our shores to sell their skills overseas. It is true that this is a challenge experienced by all free market systems, to sell your wares or skills to the highest bidders.

However, the government invests huge amounts of money in the studies of those graduates before they disappear to Europe and elsewhere outside the country. But perhaps we need to strengthen our systems so that there is enough attraction to stay home through competitive remuneration.

On 21 June 2006, we celebrated the 'Africa Public Service Day'. In her keynote speech of the day, the Premier, honourable Ms Nosimo Balindlela emphasised the fact that as Africans, we are guided by the spirit of Ubuntu. When people who need our service visit our institutions they should first be cured by our ubuntu attitude to them. By the time they are medically treated they would already be half cured.

As we celebrate the youth month, we need to motivate youth to go out and preach the gospel of abstinence, be faithful and condomise. We need to help our rural areas by extending our services to where they are.

When we look back, we begin to appreciate the achievements in the field of health made because of the calibre of our National Health Minister, our Premier, and MEC in Health and every stakeholder in the province since 1994. As we celebrate the 30 years of June 1976, the 50 years of the Women's March, let us honour those who fell for the freedom we are enjoying by working together so that the vision of our Provincial Growth and Development Plan (PGDP) of:

* reducing by three quarters the maternal mortality rate by 2014
* reduce by two thirds the under-five mortality rate by 2014
* halt and begin to reverse the spread of HIV and AIDS and tuberculosis by 2014 can become a reality.

I wish you a fruitful and successful conference.

I thank you!

Issued by: Department of Health, Eastern Cape Provincial Government
29 June 2008
Source: Eastern Cape Provincial Government (http://www.ecdoh.gov.za/)