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Date : 28/02/2006
Source: Northern Cape Provincial Government
Title: Peters: Sod turning for new Petrusville clinic


  Speech by Premier Ms Dipuo Peters at the sod turning for the new Petrusville clinic

Honorable MEC: Ms ES Selao
Mayor,
Councillors,
Department of Health officials,
Health workers,
Honoured guests,
Ladies and gentlemen

It is a great honour and pleasure to be here today for the sod turning for a new Petrusville clinic.

This initiative is part and parcel of our vision 2014 health plan in terms of which we intend to revitalise all our facilities, especially primary health care facilities and the provincial health system.

We know that quality of care depends firstly on primary health care services being available, accessible and affordable. Secondly it depends on the quality of the interactions between health staff and patients or community that receive such services.

Building new clinics, upgrading existing facilities and making personnel, equipment, drugs and transport availability, should all directly improve service provision in the province.

But in addition to building new clinics, government is working hard to improve the quality of care that is provided within all our clinics. This is in line with our new vision as expressed in the banners before you, namely “Health Service Excellence for All.”

We must also strengthen partnerships with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in areas such as in the provision of support for home based care interventions, facilitating community involvement by strengthening clinic committees, establishing support groups for people affected by specific diseases and helping to continually institutionalise and strengthen the district health information system.

Disease such as Tuberculosis (TB), HIV/AIDS and the Foetal Alcohol Syndrome remains a major challenge for our people. The Foetal Alcohol Syndrome is particularly a serious problem here in the Pixley Ka Seme District.

This is as a result of mothers who drink liquor during their pregnancy and thus harming the mental state and physical health of the unborn baby.

Programme Director, I would like to emphasise and remind everybody that we are still heavily engaged in the process of transformation.

We must remain committed and provide the necessary leadership to ensure that we achieve the goal of a quality Primary Health Care (PHC) services to our communities.

As the African National Congress led government we believe that the people must continue to be their own liberators. Therefore it is critical that they be part of processes concerning their own development and service delivery.

Community participation is crucial in the management, provision and monitoring and evaluation of PHC services. Communities must have a say in the manner in which PHC services are provided and to ensure constant feedback to health care providers, through appropriate and effective communication channels.

I want to challenge you as a community to become even more involved in matters that relate to your health.

You as the communities voted us into power and we want to express my unconditional commitment to put the necessary systems and processes in place to ensure that quality PHC services are rendered.

We must work together as communities and government to improve lives and create the much needed jobs. This new clinic that would be built must empower the local people of Petrusville. The contractor must use labour intensive methods and employ local people of Petrusville.

As part of the health sector contribution to the Integrated Sustainable Rural Development Programme, we have re-prioritised our budgets to improve access to, and the quality of health services. Hence today we are turning sods here in Petrusville and Phillips Town.

It is in this regard that I would like to commend the MEC for Health and the department in this province for the manner in which this challenge is being addressed.

The planned new clinic is a beautiful new facility. It will provide state of the art technology and will definitely raise the confidence of the people in our district health system; thus amongst others improving our referral system.

The people of Petrusville should be confident enough to see the clinic as the first point of call or entry to access public health services.

Lets work together to ensure that we also eradicate the spread of HIV/AIDS and other diseases influenced by our lifestyles; diabetes is becoming a major problem even amongst young people.

This vulnerability to diseases is reflective of how we live, many of us don’t eat healthy, they don’t exercise, and they abuse substances and liquor.

The spread of HIV/AIDS also tells us that many of our people do not abstain and condomise, they do not remain faithful to a single partner.

The continued challenge of teenage pregnancies also says to us that many of our girls, including boys engage in sex at a very young age.

It is advisable for the youth to remain in chastity, abstain as long as it is possible, focus on your education our province needs, mathematics teachers, engineers, doctors and many other professionals if you are distracted by other things not related to your development you will not grow in life, you will only grow in terms of age and problems.

These projects, the two clinics, we are launching today and others initiated as part of vision 2014 are a living example that this ANC led government cares about the poorest of poor and people in desperate need of essential services.

We want to make a difference at a local level where the people live; even the most remote parts of our province are a priority for the ANC as the ruling party.

The implementation of these initiatives calls for commitment and dedication and we must therefore be able to build on our achievements to ensure a better quality of life for all people.

It gives me great pleasure to officially turn the Sod for the new Petrusville clinic and I trust that the services rendered here will meet your needs. These are moments that all of us have been waiting for, with this sod turning we the people can certainly say that the ANC government has once more strengthened their hope under its leadership.

I thank you

Issued by: Office of the Premier, Northern Cape Provincial Government
28 February 2006
   

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