S Belot: 2005 SAIGA awards

13 September 2006

Programme Director
Prof Dieter Gloeck, Executive President of SAIGA
Dr Arrie Schoonwinkel, Chief Financial Officer and other members of top
management of the department
Ladies and gentlemen

It is indeed a great honour and achievement to represent the Free State
Department of Health here this afternoon and to stand before you humbled by
this award bestowed upon us by the Southern African Institute of Government
Auditors. We indeed receive this prestigious award with humility and grace as a
token of our endeavours towards quality health service delivery. I am extremely
proud of this achievement and dedicate this success to the hard work and
dedication of our team of personnel, management leadership and a firm
commitment to excellence.

Ladies and gentlemen, the preparation and production of an annual report,
like any other activity or function in an organisation, is indeed a team
effort. A strong emphasis must be placed on the way in which the department
reported in the 2005 annual report on the financial performance of the
department. Dr Schoonwinkel has shed some light on the processes and procedures
that the financial team of the department goes through and has put in place to
achieve excellence. This is what we need to be constantly mindful of. Without
team spirit and team work there is in no way that we can reach this
achievement.

Programme director, this award that the department has scooped must continue
to serve as a constant reminder of the necessity and significance of teamwork
for years to come. As the political head of this department I want to take this
opportunity to express my gratitude and appreciation to all the men and women
in this department who have dedicated themselves to their work unwaveringly. I
want to thank the personnel and management for their daily endeavours and
selflessness in our pursuit of quality service delivery geared towards the
patient.

Ladies and gentlemen, the department has not only managed to achieve the
first place in the Free State but also achieved the highest overall score among
all national and provincial government departments and this is truly the
manifestation of the hard and good work that has gone into the production of
this report and the financial statements encapsulated therein.

Now, ladies and gentlemen, I want to underscore this point, that the matter
of financial statements is a critical matter. We are required by legislation,
the Public Finance Management Act in particular, to account on our performance
as various government departments in line with our strategic plans based on
budget statements. This is therefore a necessary and crucial exercise of
accountability. It is also interlinked with our mission of quality service
delivery because it enables us to take stock or report on our achievements and
challenges.

An annual report also serves as a communication tool between ourselves as
the department and our direct stakeholders as well as the public in general.
The issue of communication, ladies and gentlemen, cannot and should not be
underrated. Without communication misperceptions and distortions abound. It is
therefore necessary that we should communicate through every means possible and
available, including annual reports, about our achievements in bringing
services to the people as well as challenges that confront us. What is more, we
should be able to do so frankly and honestly without sweeping anything under
the carpet, so to speak. I am glad that the Department has been able to do just
that through this report for which we have been bestowed this prestigious
award.

In concluding allow me again to thank those who were directly and indirectly
involved in the production of this report. Overall, it is the contribution of
each and every single individual in this department that has ultimately led to
this achievement and I thank you indeed.

I thank you.

Issued by: Department of Health, Free State Provincial Government
13 September 2006