Four Districts of the North-West province gathered on Saturday at the Emergency Medical Rescue Services (EMRS) College in Orkney to bid farewell to 35 aspirant Doctors who made it into the South-Africa-Cuban Medical Programme. The new intakes is the 14th group in the province since the inception of the programme in 1998 to qualify for studying medicine in Cuba.
Giving a keynote address at the farewell function, MEC for Health, Dr Magome Masike said the future of our country depends on how well we educate our youth because they are the ones who will be running this country and province in future.
“We have called you here to bid you farewell and to wish you well but also to tell you that the country and the province is investing in you because we have over the years experienced a dire need and shortage of health professionals.
Since the inception of the South Africa-Cuba Medical programme between the years 1998 - 2003 the numbers recruited ranged between 10 and 21. Total number recruited between 1998 and 2003 was therefore only 85.
From this 12 affected the performance of the programme due to various reasons like poor performance; deaths and demarcations among others. There was no recruit for the Province between 2004 and 2007 and this also affected the performance of the programme. Recruitment started in earnest in 2008 and the number recruited between 2008 and 2014 was 463.
“We took a conscious decision to drastically increase the numbers of intakes because we believed that it was a necessary step towards reducing patient doctor-ratio in the province in the near future,” lamented the MEC.
To date the Province has produced 84 doctors trained in Cuba. There are those that have already completed their obligations but still working for the Province; some on internship whilst others have been deployed in various hospitals. The province has 417 students still in Cuba whilst 30 are in the local universities doing their final rotations.
“You need to know that, once you qualify as doctors you will be obliged to serve the Province for the numbers of years that you have been funded. We give learners from disadvantaged communities’ priority particularly because we believe they will understand when we say they need to go back and serve the same communities they come from” exclaimed Masike.
“We continue to see steady progress in addressing related challenges of scares skills and training of health professionals. One of the initiatives that government started to address this challenge was to attract health professionals from other countries on a sound diplomatic bilateral relations approach” he said.
“I get excited because it always gives me great pleasure to make a difference in someone else’s life. I wish to say to these aspirant doctors that the Cuban Medical Scholarship is quite a significant initiative for us as Bokone Bophirima Province.
Masike urged students to conduct themselves in a way that shows commitment to the programme.
“Once you have decided to enroll in this programme, it means you must be willing to sacrifice some of the things you are used to. You are going into a foreign environment and your ability to adapt quickly will serve you well. You must see this opportunity as an investment of your time and energy and understand that there will be time to reap the reward,” emphasised MEC Masike.
He also condemned ill discipline vehemently.
“We previously had a problem of ill-discipline where students would over indulge and abuse alcohol. Some students when they get to Cuba it’s now all night parties and books are secondary. These are things that embarrass us and I condemn all forms of ill discipline. Don’t embarrass us and don’t embarrass you parents! I wish you all success and the best in everything on your journey. Remain proudly South African all the time! Represent your country, your community and family very well!’’ concluded MEC Masike.
Enquiries:
Tebogo Lekgethwane
Cell: 082 929 9958
E-mail: tlekgethwane@nwpg.gov.za
