Chairperson, while there have been a few triumphs in the past year, most notably the new strategic plan on HIV and Aids, which was a triumph for stakeholder consultation, our healthcare system does not meet the standards that our citizens deserve. At the very heart of the problem in the public sector is the human resource crisis. The public sector is short of close to 40 000 nurses and there is a vacancy rate of 30% in the national department, so the skills crunch cannot be underestimated.
Notwithstanding the presentation this morning to the Health committee on the department's human resource plan - a plan which is far from being fully implemented - there is no sense of urgency on this matter. No norms and standards, let alone a complete audit of required skills, have been completed. Many health indicators remain poor or are worsening. The TB cure rate is currently 56%, which is below the national department's own target of 65% and far below the World Health Organisation's target of 85%. Linked to this poor rate are the growing incidents of XDR-TB.
The department continues to have a qualified audit report and must do more to bring provincial departments in line with regard to business plans associated with conditional grants.
With regard to the private sector, the department insists on overly regulating it and frustrating its ability to flourish - this, despite the government not being able to run a quality public healthcare sector itself. The Department of Health, both as a regulator and a service provider, has a long way to go before it realises its vision of creating an accessible and caring healthcare system. I thank you.