More resources will be released to address a R10-billion backlog to improve the public health care infrastructure, Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang said on Thursday.

She was speaking at the opening of the Colesberg Hospital in the Northern Cape.

The hospital is the first to be opened of 27 hospitals that were built and improved through the Hospital Revitalisation Programme.

Department spokesman Sibani Mngadi said more than R1,6-billion had been spent on the programme so far.

Tshabalala-Msimang said fiscal discipline and sound economic policy adopted by government over the past few years made it possible for more resources to be released to address the backlog.

Mngadi said in a statement the revitalisation programme was launched after a 1995 assessment of public hospitals indicated that between R8-billion to R10-billion was needed to bring the health infrastructure to an acceptable level of health care delivery.

He said a total of R911-million was allocated for the programme for the 2004/2005 financial year, starting on Thursday.

"The budget will increase to R1-billion in the next financial year (2005/2006).

"Over and above the infrastructural improvement, the programme ensured that health equipment of good quality was provided and it improved management capacity of hospitals."

Tshabalala-Msimang said that while trying to improve service delivery over the past 10 years, the government also had to focus on fiscal discipline which included tackling debt inherited from the apartheid government.

"This has to a large extent been achieved. We are therefore able to release more resources to improve the delivery of social services including health, social development and education."

She said much progress had been made in improving the health infrastructure with more than 700 clinics built since 1994.

The minister said the per capita expenditure on primary health care had improved from to R58 in 1992/93 to R141 in the 2002/03 financial year. This was set to increase to R183 by 2005/06.

"These are the fruits of our 10 years of democracy. They were not achieved by magic or default. They are an outcome of the strategic thinking and hard work of the leadership and the people of South Africa as a whole," said Tshabalala-Msimang - Sapa.