Madlala-Routledge, at the Impumelelo Awards, Cape Town City Hall
17 February 2007
Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to join you tonight to pay tribute to the
individual projects that have achieved recognition by the Impumelelo Innovation
Awards Trust and to the initiative that created and nurtured those endeavours.
We are gathered here tonight to celebrate our individual and collective
imagination, as well as the hard work that went into bringing these projects to
fruition.
After eight years these awards have become an annual Cape Town event devoted
to celebrating worthy projects and good news. Good news can sometimes be in
short supply. Tonight's good news is directly attributed to the exercise of our
imagination and says much about the sort of society we aspire to be.
Government welcomes innovation from within our corridors, it can be
difficult to be creative, as officials are required to be compliant with
legislation and protocols. Too often in the humdrum of daily life we forget to
dream. But when we use our imagination we can solve problems that may seem
intractable.
Albert Einstein thought that imagination was more important than knowledge.
Often imaginative responses to demanding social issues can go unrecognised and
unsung. Over the years these awards have recognised hundreds of initiatives and
that acknowledgement has meant a great deal to the individuals and institutions
concerned.
Innovation breeds and stimulates more innovation. As people we are
inherently optimistic, but sometimes we need to applaud ourselves for the good
things we do. Innovation can lead to best practice models which can be used
across disciplines. As an example, the recruiting procedures or educational
methods of an HIV/AIDS awareness programme might be applicable to early
learning projects. This cross-fertilisation of ideas is another area where
Impumelelo has made a valuable contribution. The Trust's annual magazine is a
compendium of best practice models and the Impumelelo Case Studies for the
different sectors such as justice and security, water, environment, sanitation
and waste, HIV/AIDS, housing and public works are invaluable sources of ideas
and best local practice. Often there is no need to reinvent the wheel. A couple
of hours reading through the Impumelelo magazines or case studies will produce,
if not an answer, then at least the way to an answer.
I have been reliably informed by Rhoda that again this evening we will be
awarding a number of HIV/AIDS, housing, environmental and conservation projects
which are at the cutting edge of best practice, not only in southern Africa but
internationally. These awards recognise the commitment we have as a country to
finding best practices in various fields. I am pleased to see that the
innovative Phelophepha Health Care train is being recognised. I visited the
train and was most impressed by the way specialised scarce healthcare services
are offered to rural areas all over the country in partnership with the health
department, health professional volunteers and the communities.
I believe we are not given nearly enough acknowledgment for the way we have
responded to the HIV/AIDS pandemic, particularly in our attitude as a caring
society. We have evolved extraordinary ways of caring for our orphans. At
grassroots we have put in place simple projects that do not involve major
finance but seek to use the local resources. Often these are poor communities
with scarce resources, but having big hearts and enormous commitment to provide
care and support for those in need.
Clearly our task is to look at ways to multiply and replicate these
exemplary models throughout the public sector. We may not immediately see the
answers to the multiplicity of problems that face us. What we need is to
sharpen our imagination to see those answers. Public servants are people with
ideas - as this evening will demonstrate. They represent a public service at
its best when they serve the public with their imaginations and overcome their
fears to be creative and innovative. This approach can become an essential
aspect of the public service. Increasingly it can be the way government does
its business.
The Impumelelo record has shown that government can innovate. We need to
extend our reach throughout the bureaucracy. This can be done by forming
partnerships with businesses and civil societies. The private sector is often
more adventurous than government but government can institutionalise
innovations and best practice and take them to scale. Public-private
partnerships have proved particularly successful, as the Impumelelo Awards have
frequently demonstrated. I believe that some of the projects around the country
have been successful because of innovative strategies and the solid backing of
their respective provincial departments. These projects show how effectively
money can be spent when the endeavour is creative and focused.
'An annual celebration' was the title of a Cape Times editorial of 2004.
"The awards are a celebration of selflessness, creativity and excellence." It
went on to say that "Impumelelo itself probably deserves an award." I
agree.
The South African National AIDS Council (SANAC), under the leadership of
Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, is overseeing the process of
developing the HIV and AIDS National Strategic Plan (2007-2011). The
development of the Strategic Plan is a co-operative effort between government
and civil society. The creative energy that is being unleashed by this process
is amazing.
Each person has a particular role and responsibility in the task of
overcoming HIV/AIDS. This role may be in our capacity as medical professionals,
as communicators in the media, as NGO workers or as civil servants. It may be
in our role as researchers developing HIV vaccines, as mayors and local
government employees taking public HIV tests or as leaders in the community
communicating the common strategy and implementing the plan that is presently
being developed,.or it may be as young people taking the lead in mobilising
other young people to speak openly about sex and HIV/AIDS and behaving
responsibly in relationships. It may be as parents communicating effectively
with our children and as all of us caring for those who are infected.
My dream is that by next year Impumelelo would be able to consider for an
award the process in developing the National Strategic Plan because of the
innovative ideas developed through really listening to one another and
deliberating. I also dream that in not too many years Impumelelo will be able
to award all the people of the nation for their imagination, creativity,
selflessness and excellence in overcoming the HIV/AIDS pandemic. It is
possible.
I want to end by emphasising a point in the editorial of the latest issue of
the Impumelelo magazine. "When government serves the public, what happens is
that people are given the opportunity to prosper and flourish. When ordinary
citizens achieve their potential then the whole country thrives. Creating the
environment for this to happen takes thought, planning and money, but more than
anything it takes imagination. Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in
congratulating those we honour tonight for showing us new ways of doing
things.
I thank you
Issued by: Department of Health
17 February 2007
