Member of the Mayoral Committee for Health and Social Development in Emfuleni Local Municipality, Clr Sello Pitsi;
Local Councillors present;
Ms Angie Maloka, Acting MTN SA Foundation General Manager;
Ms Judy Makelana, MTN SA Foundation Stakeholder Relations Manager;
Mr Lesimola Selepe, MTN SA Foundation Coordinator of Community Projects;
Ms Meisie Lerutla; Chief Director of Gauteng Department of Health District Health Support Services;
Ms Salamina Hlahane, Sedibeng Health District Director;
Managers of Clinics in Sedibeng Health District;
Ladies and gentlemen.
In the 2009 ANC Election manifesto we promised to go beyond increasing access to Primary Health Care services. In this year’s election manifesto we further committed ourselves to strengthen and expand the free primary health care services.
We also committed our Government to improving the quality of services that are rendered at clinics and hospitals. We are consciously moving away from a hospicentric approach to delivery of health services.
Our focus is to reach our people where they reside before they become sick. That is the essence of being a Department of Health, which is to ensure that we reduce the incidence and prevalence of preventable illnesses.
When we took over the reins of government in 1994, we committed ourselves to provide health services where people live. We said: “The District Health System will be a vehicle through which we will deliver Primary Health Care services”.
Therefore provision of suitably qualified health professionals and appropriate tools of trade are non-negotiable if services that are rendered at our clinics have to inspire confidence among our people.
The partnership that we have entered into with MTN SA Foundation is significant because it has resulted in provision of medical equipment that is crucial to delivery of services in our clinics.
Nurses will attest to how their morale is affected by either unavailable or malfunctioning medical equipment. The equipment that is being handed over today will go a long way towards reducing waiting times at our facilities. This in turn will boost staff morale as patients will be receiving quality health care.
We made a conscious decision to prioritise those clinics that are located in far flung corners of our province. This is aimed at dispelling a false perception that we only concentrate on equipping facilities which are located in larger cities.
Program Director, When our clinics function optimally, patients will not clog hospitals and access services inappropriately. Therefore we have a responsibility to ensure that services that are rendered at clinics inspire confidence. This is the gist of the National Health Insurance. That is why we have also prioritized equipping those clinics in Tshwane District which are part of the National Health Insurance pilot.
We also laud MTN SA Foundation for being developmental in their approach to social responsibility. They allowed us to prioritize our needs without being paternalistic. They did not even dictate to us which clinics should benefit from their generous donation.
We therefore value this partnership because it is evidence of social compact in action. Before I take my seat I will plead with facility managers working with district managers to develop maintenance plans for this equipment. It would be a sad day to hear that this equipment is lying unused because it is not being maintained.
We hope that this is not the end of our partnership with MTN SA Foundation. The ANC government believes that expenditure on health services is an investment for the future. A health population is a productive population.
