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MEC's address at the PRHC meeting
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Speeches and Media Releases
 Health

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EASTERN CAPE PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT

THE WELCOMING ADDRESS OF THE MEC FOR HEALTH DR BM GOQWANA

AT THE PRHC MEETING

13  14 JANUARY 2000



The Director-General of Health, Dr Ayanda Ntsaluba
 The Heads of Departments
 Officers of the various National and Provincial Governments
 Ladies and Gentlemen:

The Department of Health in Eastern Cape is proud that the first PHRC meeting of this millennium is held in this Province. We are grateful 
to that. This I believe will bolster the efforts of the Eastern Cape government and the Department of Health in particular in its effort to 
ensure that the destitute, the poor and the rural not only know what the government is doing for them but that they receive quality health 
services. Your presence here is like a breeze in the morning, that everyone would like to have.

Meetings of this nature are an important feature of our emerging democracy. As we have committed ourselves to the transformation of our 
beloved country, it is important that we should from time to time sit down and find common approach to sustainable health policies. The 
importance of this forum can never be emphasized.

The Eastern Cape presents a very interesting challenge of our time. Despite being the province that has always been the epicenter of our 
struggle since the arrival of colonialists, it remains the most disadvantaged in terms of resources that characterize a developing country.

Like other provinces, the Eastern Cape government inherited three different administrations, which were not only politically antagonistic 
to each other, but also had totally different cultures. That cultural identification has continued to exist despite attempts to inculcate 
new ethos. The situation has been worsened by the fact that one of the administrations had within itself not only racial segregated service 
delivery institutions, but also fragmented and duplicated services. The Eastern Cape Department of Health falls within this ambit.

What defines Eastern Cape from other provinces is the following:
 With population of  7 million, nearly 63% is rural. 54% of the total population lives below poverty line. Being a labour reservoir for 
richer provinces, has not only robbed the province of its human resources, but also has further impoverished the province. We are the 
recipient of economically inept people from these provinces and impact negatively on our health budget. Today most of the people with 
chronic diseases are those from the mines, the farms, the fishing industry, the chemical and other heavy-duty industries.

The province also shows a dichotomy of two worlds in one nation. With these two worlds emerged the legacy of the past. This explains why 
80% of the people in Eastern Cape depend on Public Health for their livelihood.

Considering the latter, the ECDOH is faced with severe budget cuts which continue to frustrate our efforts in dealing with urgent 
priorities like backlogs, equitable allocations of resources, maintaining the present deteriorating facilities, etc. This is the same for 
the whole province.

The continuous under funding of the department, taking into account the socio-economic condition outlined above, leaves us with fewer 
options in meeting the health demands of our people. However, we are trying our best in the circumstances to make hard choices and adopt 
cost effective measures.

Conclusion

The brief above was intended to highlight and give a picture of the health service delivery in the Eastern Cape. Delegates should not 
regard this as a lament but as an attempt to share our experience with you. As a young administration we are on a learning curve. While we 
recognise that the legacy of the past is still with us, we will be doing injustice to the people of the province not to do what we can 
under the circumstances. We have commitment and the spirit to carry on.

We must be cautious that these forums do not generate into talk shows. We have to honestly sit and evaluate the options available to us so 
as to advance the cause of the ordinary people. It would be a tragedy if during this time of transition we engage ourselves in fruitless 
talks that do not yield the desired outcomes. Whatever we do we must ensure that our people come first. The principles of Batho Pele must 
not decorate our walls but must be practiced in their entirety.

With these few words I wish to say you are welcome to the House of Phalo, Hintsa, Rharabe and other great generals who pioneered our 
struggle for decolonilisation. The most common figure of speech that is used to welcome the visitors is " khululani iibhatyi zenu". It 
means that feel free, hang your jackets, and you are at home.

I THANK YOU



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