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Celebration of Cecilia Makiwane
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Speeches and Media Releases
 Health

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THE ADDRESS BY THE HONOURABLE MEC FOR HEALTH DR. B. GOQWANA ON THE OCCASION TO CELEBRATE CECILIA MAKIWANE HOSTED BY DENOSA AT ALICE – 
14/08/1999



Master of Ceremonies:
 Distinguished Delegates:
 Ladies and Gentlemen:


" It is in the most unassuming spirit I want to thank to organisers of this event and the general membership of DENOSA for inviting me to 
this, a very important occasion.

I am privileged to grace this circumstance with my presence personally and in my capacity as the member of the Eastern Cape Executive 
Council for health.

When you voted us into the Provincial Legislatures, Parliament and Government, you assigned us to represent your needs and interests. It is 
therefore most fitting that I get an opportunity like this to interact with you on this the day to honour one of Africa’s greatest 
daughters. To celebrate Cecilia Makiwane is to solemnise the nursing profession. It is most fulfilling to note that the name Cecilia 
Makiwane is also uttered in the same breath as the likes of Edith Cavell and Florence Nightingale. The significance of this day therefore 
is not just a memorial to her but a symbolic accolade to the nursing services across the world over.

It is also most fitting that we are meeting at this an institution and town of historical significance. It is here that the seeds of 
emancipation, consciousness, competitiveness, and empowerment were sown. It is also in the same Eastern Cape province the legacy of poor 
working conditions for the nurse is amongst the most prevalent in the country. The irony in that, however, is the fact that a departure is 
being arrived at today in this very province in platforms like this.

It is on occasions like these we should engage each other proactively on the matter most pivotal to us. That of absolute and unreserved 
serve to the patient. We have since 1994 made significant incursions in so far as the uplifting of the health standards in our country. We 
all have been rigid about addressing the fundamental aspects of Health provision as a right rather than a privilege. The last five years 
have also seen progress unheard of or beyond imagination in this an exciting but challenging chapter in our country’s history.

The last term set the foundations for this realization with hundreds of clinics and other health facilities being availed even to the 
remotest part of the country and in this case our province.

We seek continuity in building on that.

In the spirit of nation building, we are aware of the unpleasant affray we may have had in the past. That is regrettable. It is, however, 
up to us to find a common ground through which communicative engagements and not confrontation should take place. I am of the opinion that 
a DENOSA is a product of transformation and an essence of the legacy we are designing, it is and should remain in the forefront of the 
progenitors of change. This, of course, is being realised but the pace of change has to be more hastened with particular emphasis on being 
all-inclusive and representaive.

We are aware that the nursing profession has and remains one of the most under-compensated vocations in the country. This is the legacy of 
our country and in particular the patriarchal notion of associating nursing with domestic work. To harbour such notions today is primitive 
not worth serious consideration. These are the very ethos we talked about when we spoke of freedom.

Ladies and Gentlemen : Let me take this opportunity to salute you the nurses for being the backbone of our health Services, Clinics and 
hospitals. Without your unreserved and undoubted dedication we would still be talking in medieval language in terms of health standards. 
Your efforts and commitments shall never be in vain. We are taking your plight very seriously and are concerned about your exodus to the so-
called greener pastures in the private sector and abroad. This will lower our standards because we lose the cream of our crop in the 
process which also happens to be our most sacred pride. We shall do everything in our proficiency to stem that.

There is an old adage that the nurse’s place is next to the patient. We still believe in that. The patients, however, are not only in urban 
but also in rural setting up to the remotest areas of our country. Incentives and other measures are still in the process if formulation to 
be availed to draw health professionals into these areas.

We are also closely watching with enthusiasm progress in the labour sector in all respects as far as representation from being in the fact 
that DENOSA is transforming the union representation from being a hierarchy-based institution into an organisation with management and 
other key representation at lowest nursing levels. That is the way to go.

We also assure the objectivity within which DENOSA takes you role in the fraternity. The fact that all nurses union is united over the most 
fundamental aspect of the profession is strength and I congratulate you on that. It is a fact also that there shall always be exceptions 
but that should not be an emphasis. The essential right for employees to have freedom of choice in so far as union affiliation is only to 
facilitate union complementation rather than competitiveness.

Ladies and Gentlemen : Let me take this opportunity to share with you the envisaged vision which seeks to guide the program we strive to 
realise in this, our beautiful province of the Eastern Cape.

We have adopted a multi-pronged approach to the key areas of implementation.

These are, firstly, Hospital Administration; generally, levels in our hospitals are not up to ideal standards. This is attributed to three 
things, namely; Lack of capacity of competently trained health professionals and officials such as doctors who are trained for something 
else but find themselves dealing with problems associated with the unavailability of coal. Deliberate poor management on the part of the 
assigned officials so that government is perceived to be failing; and contracted managers or superintendents who are afraid to make 
unpopular decisions because their contracts may not be reviewed.

For this we, as part of our broader human resource development, are intending to engage in the process of training professionals displaying 
capabilities as far as key management disciplines is concerned. This will not only be a doctor as is general perception but necessary 
qualified nurses and other officials. The ultimate purpose of this exercise is the absolute corporate and cost-efficient administration of 
our hospitals and their subsidiaries.

The job evaluation process, with its built-in incentives, which may be monetary or non-monetary, is in the process of application to reward 
every individual’s performance. An across the board consultative process is also already underway. Together we shall build the Provincial 
Health Department into a model for the other departments and the whole of South Africa.

Secondly, With the HIV outbreak and its consequent scourge, it is worth reminding that the impact of this disease could be the most 
devastating or catastrophic experience to befall modern mankind. This horrible scourge but none like the health department will affect all 
government ambits. I take this opportunity to call on you, guardians of this critical sector of society, to hold steadfastly and never 
despair. People with HIV and AIDS are our people and the backbone I earlier spoke about should hold firm.

Thirdly, we have completed the strategic formulation to determine our programme. Most glaring, however, is the crippling aspect of backlog 
in terms of budgetary expenditure as well as completion of the reationalisation process.

Fourthly, concern areas such as the availability of drugs or medication at our health centres, as well as their theft is receiving top 
priority. We shall never accept late payments cause by bureaucrative bungling to pharmaceutical companies. There are better things to be 
concerned about.

Lastly, let me conclude by stating that I personally take interest in occupational health crisis that exists in our province. The fact that 
there is little or no occupational support to the health workers has far-reaching consequences in terms of lost worker hours. It just does 
not make sense for the health fraternity not to have an occupational structural support for our employees. I want to place it on record 
here that I will take every possible means to ensure that all Health centres will have this facility as soon as possible.

In conclusion, may I take this opportunity to say that I look forward to closer co-operation and constant engagement with you especially 
the labour movement. To you DENOSA, I wish to remind you by quoting one old but very wise man in former President Nelson Mandela during you 
launch back in 1996. He said; "We have great and realistic expectations of DENOSA and so does the rest of the country. You dare not let us 
down"

"On that not I thank you"

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