NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
WRITTEN REPLY
QUESTION 942
DATE OF PUBLICATION: FRIDAY 28 AUGUST 2009 [IQP No 12 -2009]
FIRST SESSION, FOURTH PARLIAMENT
Question 942 for Written Reply, National Assembly: Mr. P J C Pretorius (DA)
to ask the Minister for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries:
1) Whether newly qualified veterinarians are required to do a period of
compulsory community service; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant
details;
(2) whether it is the intention to introduce compulsory community service
for newly qualified veterinarians; if not, why not; if so, (a) why will
such a service be necessary, (b) when will it be introduced and (c) how
long will the service be;
(3) whether all stakeholders have been consulted; if not, why not; if so,
(a) which stakeholders have been consulted and (b) what were their views in
each case? NW1040E
REPLY:
(1) Newly qualified veterinarians are not required to do a period of
Compulsory Community Service at the moment. The programme will require
additional funding for implementation and the amendment of the Veterinary
and the Para-veterinary Act.
(2) It is the intention of the Department to introduce a compulsory
community service for newly qualified veterinarians.
a. Such a service will be necessary in a short term to address:
i. skewed distribution Veterinarians in the rural areas
ii. the migration rate of newly qualified Veterinarians
iii. Expose newly qualified Veterinarians to challenges facing the
country with regard to rural areas and research
b. As soon as the Department gets funding for the programme, the
programme will be implemented.
c. As agreed with all the stakeholders, the compulsory community
service will be for one year only.
whether all stakeholders have been consulted; if not, why not; if so, (a)
which stakeholders have been consulted and (b) what were their views in
each case?
3. Almost all the stakeholders have been consulted.
a) The stakeholders were consulted through facilitator-formatted-tailored
workshops, open-ended questionnaire-based surveys, semi-structured
interviews. The lists of the stakeholders consulted included:
⢠Veterinary students (Faculty of Veterinary Science of the university
of Pretoria)
⢠Parastatals and government agencies such as Agriculture Research
Council (ARC), and Onderstepoort Biological Products (OBP)
⢠Veterinary academics (Faculty of Veterinary Science of the university
of Pretoria)
⢠South African Veterinary Association (including various specialist
groups and private practice owners)
⢠Various Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) such as animal
welfare organizations including National Society for the Prevention
of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA), Peoplesâ Dispensary for Sick Animals
(PDSA), Animal Anti-cruelty League (AACL), Community Veterinary
Clinics (CVCs), etc
⢠Animal Health Forum (which include all industry players such as Red
Meat Producers Organisation (RPO), Red Meat Abattoir Association
(RMAA), SA Ostrich Chamber (SAOBC), Milk Producerâs Organization
(MPO), SA Pork Producers, etc)
⢠South African Veterinary Council
⢠Various government departments including all 9 Provincial
Departments of Agriculture, South African National Defence Force
(SANDF), South African Police Services (SAPS), etc