House Chairperson, hon Minister Dr Dlamini-Zuma, hon Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, members of the NCOP, my colleagues, MECs from various provinces, directors-general, and heads of departments and former colleagues ...
... ha ke latele basebetsi mmoho le nna ho lelapa la Dr Molefi Sefularo ya seng a re siile, ka hore kannete re re phephi ka sena se etsahetseng, mme le rona re utlwile bohloko jwalokaha ba bo utlwile. (Translation of Sesotho paragraph follows.)
[... let me follow my colleagues and say to the family of Dr Molefi Sefularo who has left us that we truly sympathise with you about what has happened; we also feel the pain just as much as you do.]
Chairperson, 15 years ago we set out on a journey to change the health system in this country. We constructed clinics and hospitals and supplied them with health workers and medicines so that our people could have easy and free access to health facilities so that they could improve their health and the quality of their lives.
The Budget Vote presented by the Minister in the National Assembly and in this august House vindicates the path that we chose many years ago and affirms that it is indeed the correct one. The right to health for all is a fundamental necessity in our quest to build a prosperous South Africa. The challenges facing our health system cannot be overemphasised. The biggest question, though, is what to do to resolve those. The Minister has correctly captured this in his speech. Accordingly, it was only logical and correct that the ruling party, the ANC, took a decision to place health high on the national agenda.
The Budget Vote presented by Dr Aaron Motsoaledi is an indication of the visionary leadership and the decisiveness of this government to overhaul the health system for the better. In December 2009 on the occasion of World Aids Day, the President of the Republic of South Africa announced the steps government was going to take to strengthen the fight against HIV and Aids, including TB. This is particularly important because South Africa is experiencing unacceptably high levels of infection, with young people being the most affected.
In the Free State - not the imaginary province that the hon member referred to - we have taken steps to respond to the challenges of the day. As a result, our TB cure rate has stabilised and our defaulter rate has decreased from 4,9% to 4,7%. This is so because we have strong TB defaulter tracer teams, which we are going to increase during this financial year.
In addition, a new multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, MDR-TB, unit is being built in Welkom in Lejweleputswa District and is expected to be completed by the end of August this year. As part of strengthening our infection control to prevent the TB spread, we will be rolling out a massive TB awareness campaign in the Free State. This campaign will be launched in Phiritona, Heilbron, on Saturday, 17 April 2010.
It will primarily target school-going and out-of-school youth under the theme "Motjha o reng" [What do the youth say]. The aim here is to empower the youth with the knowledge and skills to prevent the spread of TB infections at their schools and communities.
As the province, we have also taken steps to respond to the call by the President of the Republic to mobilise our people to respond in their numbers to the call of the national HIV counselling and testing campaign.
To this end, we have already set up the nerve centre co-ordinating structures at provincial, district and institution levels. In addition, we have increased the number of sites that provide treatment. The availability of drugs, including ARVs, has since stabilised in our facilities. We started at 40% and have improved to a comfortable 90%, but we are still aiming to achieving 100%.
As part of our efforts to respond to one of the critical outcomes the Minister spoke about - that of increasing life expectancy - we have taken seriously campaigns to immunise our people. In this regard, I am proud to share with this House that, on the first day of this programme, we registered the following progress in terms of children who have received vaccines: Regarding polio, we have, to date, been able to provide the service to 1 800 infants 0-59 months of age; regarding measles, we have, to date, been able to provide the service to 1 875 infants 6-59 months of age; and with the 5-15 years group, we have reached 3 799 children.
As part of our response to one of the critical priorities of the 10-point plan, namely improving human resource planning, development and management, we have taken a conscious decision to reopen hospital-based nursing schools. To this end, one of the schools was opened two days ago, on 13 April 2010, at the Dr J S Moroka Hospital in Thaba Nchu.
We reopened a school with learners already recruited and ready to be taught and lecturers ready to teach. As we speak, the school is up and running. We did this with the conviction that nurses play a critical role in securing sustainable care for all. In addition, the Free State government has issued 184 bursaries to deserving medical students as from the beginning of this academic year. We have also moved swiftly to fill our critical attrition posts and, to date, we have made appointments in about 1 329 posts in different categories.
During 2009, the occupation-specific dispensation, OSD, for medical doctors - one of the key categories in the department's workforce - was processed. The department has spent R111,3 million on this endeavour. Other critical categories such as specialists, dentists, pharmacists and emergency medical services, EMS, have also benefited from this dispensation.
With regard to the 2010 Fifa World Cup extravaganza, we, as a province, are ready. The experience gained during the Confederations Cup has put us in a better position to perfect our systems and facilities. The recent inspection by the late Deputy Minister of Health, Dr Molefi Sefularo, and the NCOP delegation on 8 April 2010, confirms that we are ready to deliver on our commitment to ensure availability of a comprehensive response on a 24-hour basis for the duration of the tournament.
We have noted, however, the concerns which were raised by the NCOP delegation regarding the following: our ability to contain communicable diseases like Rift Valley fever; the shortage of personnel in the ICU at the Pelonomi Regional Hospital; general security; and additional beds for casualty at the Pelonomi Regional Hospital. I must tell this House now, however, that we are trying, using all means, to rectify the situation and make sure that everything is in place. I would also like to remind my colleagues here who said that they will make sure that we are given something, to engage with those in power to assist us to achieve what we really need to achieve.
We have also intimated to the delegation that we are faced with a shortfall of R100 million to adequately address the following imperatives related to the tournament: medical equipment, including ambulances; personnel; and payment of additional overtime.
However, we want to assure this House that these matters are receiving our undivided attention and will be resolved long before the tournament. In addition, 60 ambulances have been procured already and we are awaiting delivery. The process is currently under way to appoint 200 additional emergency medical services and equipment to the value of R18 million. These will be delivered and placed at hospitals along the N1, N3 and N8 before the tournament begins in June 2010.
We will maintain a balance between catering to the Soccer World Cup as well as our day-to-day emergencies. However, I want to assure this House that our emergency services will never interfere with our day-to-day services. We support the Budget Vote. I thank you. [Applause.]