Programme Directors,
Mayor of Greater Taung Local Municipality, Cllr Kaone Lobelo
Local Councillors present here today,
Motlotlegi Kgosi Motlhabane le ba ba mo emeng nokeng
Tlhogo ya lefapha, Dr Kgabi Mogajane
Government Officials
Bana ba rona ba e leng karolo ya lenaane la gompieno
Members of the Media
Ladies and Gentlemen
Good Day to all of you!
Many centuries ago, when Government first came into being, individuals gathered together to discuss issues on how they must protect themselves with regard to issues of health, their enemies and any other matter that can be of a hindrance to their wellbeing. This was because these people believed that the first and primary duty of any state is to make sure that its citizens are safe, sound and healthy.
This was the case then, and it is still the case even today. Between every Government and its citizens there is a social contract, Government on its part should keep its citizens safe, and citizens on their part must obey the law of the country and assist the Government in making sure that its mandate is achieved.
Ladies and Gentlemen, today marks a very important day in the calendar of Veterinary services worldwide, as countries are like us today, hard at work conducting public education about the deadly rabies disease. Critical about this day is also that it is the last phase of the month long campaign and commemoration of both the Heritage and Rabies month. This means a made an informed decision, when we chose Taung as a place to celebrate all these.
You will remember that it was here in Taung where Prof Raymond Dart discovered the lime encrusted skull of a child in 1924. This opened an important global development of research and discovery about human evolution. As the old saying goes “great events cast their shadows before they happen”, now today we are in Taung in an effort to educate, advocate and advice each other about the scourge of Rabies disease, which has claimed a lot of ordinary peoples’ lives because most were taking it for granted.
Now as Government we realised that we have to act decisively on this matter. The intervention we are coming with today is just one amongst many that our eighteen year old democratic government has been doing since 1994, in trying to make sure that the safety and the health of our people is not compromised.
It is in that spirit of caring that today we bring to you the message that says “prevention is better than cure”. I am glad that we have managed to garner school children, whom we believe will all be Rabies Agent from today onwards. Fa a bontsha botlhokwa jwa ngwana mo sechabeng, Motswana a re “Ntime, mme o mphele ngwana”. Ke na le tumelo ya gore se re se jetseng gompieno, se wetse mo mmung oo nonneng, mme dikuno tsa teng e tla nna tse di itumedisang. Re rutile bana, re rutile bokamoso.
I am of the opinion that with everything that has been said you will be able to help spread the word amongst the communities you are living in. Bagaetsho ke nnete gore bolwetse jono jwa Rabies bo a bolaya, e bile go begilwe fa batho ba ka nna dikete di le 55 lefatshe ka bophara ba tsweletse go tlhokafala ngwaga le ngwaga, ka ntlha ya bolwetse jono. Diperesente di ka nna 44 tsa dikgetse tseno di begilwe mo kontinenteng ya rona ya Afrika. Ke ka moo go leng botlhokwa gore jaaka naga, re dire go menagane go lwantsha bolwetse jono, mme maikarabelo a tiro eno ke ame le wena, gonne re amega.
Re utlwile mo kgweding ee fetileng gore bolwetse bono bo ne bo runtse kwa profenseng ya KwaZulu-Natal le kwa Gauteng, mme go nnile le pego ya go tlhokofala ga batho ba le nne (4) monongwaga kwa KZN ka ntlha ya bolwetse jono. Re utlwile le mo bobegadikgannyeng gore motsadi wa yo mongwe wa baswi o kaile fa a ikaelela go tsaya dikgato tsa semolao kgatlhanong le mong wa ntja ee tshwaeditseng le go tlhola loso la morwa wa gagwe. Ka jalo re a le kopa bagaetsho, dirisang tirelo ya lefapha ya go enta diruiwa tsa lona, segolo jang ka tirelo eno e le ya mahala.
Ba ditirelo tsa Netcare Travel Clinics, ba begile mo bekeng eno fa dikgetse tsa bolwetse jono mo nageng di tsweletse go gola. Seno se supa fa go tlhokega gore puso e matlafatse mananeo a go sedimosa bagaetsho ka bolwetse jono, gore ba itse gore ba ka itshireletsa jang kgatlhanong le bona.
In our province, we had three cases of domestic rabies outbreak in dogs in the Bojanala Platinum District. Two cases affecting wild animals were recorded in Dr Kenneth Kaunda and one in Ngaka Modiri Molema district.
In one of the Bojanala district cases, there was a human being who was bitten by an infected dog but fortunately, that person received medical care from the Department of Health. Immediate medical care is also want we encourage.
As Africans, we love our dogs, cats, horses, cows, goats and many other domestic animals; however it is important for us to love them enough and ensure that they do not miss their life saving vaccination. Bagaetsho, re boleletswe gore ntja kgotsa katse ee tshwaeditsweng ke mogare wa Rabies, e kgona go fetisetsa mogare ono mo mothong. Re boleletswe ka matshwao le botlhokwa jwa go enta diruiwa tsa rona kgatlhanong le bolwetse jono. Ka jalo, a re thuseng diruiwa tsa rona bagaetsho, ke maikarabelo a rona ao.
Yes, as a province we have this disease under control, but more still needs to be done. We want to continue eliminating challenges that might rob our society of its right to a healthy living. We must all pull together, and commit to make sure that Rabies is eliminated. Just as we have fought the might of the colonial and apartheid rule amongst the nations of the African continent, I am greatly inspired that we will overcome the struggle against Rabies and the course of an African Dream shall triumph.
Much as there is poverty and underdevelopment in our communities, we are here to remind each other that, if we work as a solid unit in the fight against all our social challenges, ours will be a prosperous society. We are on course as government to ensure that together we reach the desired destiny, where there shall be enough for all of us to share and survive.
Now let us all stand-up and declare war against Rabies, let us educate our children in order for them to be able to teach the next generation as well. As government we will continue to research and identify the dynamics of our society and the trends that have been brought along by change.
We will embrace change and respond positively to it by always being innovative and coming with ways that will make the lives of our people better and developed. I must admit though that at times there are challenges in the field of animal health care, but we are not giving up just yet. We encourage people from the Veterinary profession to help us in both designing and delivering policies that will make a difference in a long run. Local Veterinary practices remain the first port of call for animal owners, therefore your diligence, professionalism and influence in upholding standards and promoting animal health and welfare is essential.
You are also one of our first lines of defence during times of disease outbreaks, and your daily presence in our different farms, communities, schools must be immeasurable. In conclusion Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to thank the schools, principals, parents, communities and government officials in making sure that they too carry the message of Rabies across. Furthermore, I would like to thank all other government Departments, the Local Municipality, our Traditional Authority, and all other stakeholders, for their continued support and contribution towards the success of this public education campaign.
To the Media who constantly make sure that our people are updated about information on animal diseases and latest trends on preventing and curing them, we are forever thankful. Let me take this opportunity to thank everybody who embraced this education driven initiative.
I hope and trust that everybody will carry the message back to their communities. Kgetse ya tsie e kgonwa ka go tshwaraganelwa.
Ke a leboga.
