Programme Director;
The Chief Executive Officer of Kalafong Academic Hospital;
Representatives from South African Medical and Education Foundation;
Members of the Hospital Board present;
Distinguished guests;
Members of the media;
Ladies and gentlemen;

Let me at the outset state that I am both humbled and privileged by the invitation to deliver the keynote address at this august occasion. It is most fitting that today’s event takes place on the eve of International Mandela Day.

In honour of late former President Mandela’s 67 years of service to humanity and in celebration of his birthday, Mandela Day represents a global movement for good which recognises the positive change that begins with small, selfless individual actions.

Tomorrow marks the first year that South Africans and the world celebrate Mandela Day without Nelson Mandela, our beloved icon and leader of our liberation struggle. We owe it to Madiba to continue to build and promote a society that cares for the wellbeing of one another.

We are all urged to give 67 minutes of our time to performing acts of kindness and service in our communities, to make whatever small difference we can in the lives of our people.

We will continue to draw inspiration, courage and confidence from the legacy of Nelson Mandela and other leaders of our liberation struggle. Programme Director and distinguished guests, as we celebrate Mandela Day, we should all be heeding the call to action to recognise our individual powers to make an imprint and change the world around us. I believe that if we all join hands and do our little part, we will ensure that South Africa becomes a better place for all of us.

In the words of Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s rallying cry “Do your little bit of good where you are, it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world”.

Archbishop Tutu’s message should resonate with all of us because irrespective of where you are in the food chain your role is just as important as anyone else’s; from the highest level to the lowest level everyone plays a critical roll in our success as a nation. Together as a team, we will achieve our goals and the load shared will be a lot lighter, together as one.

We stand at a moment of exceptional possibility. A moment when public health and development goals that long seemed unattainable has moved within our reach. A moment that calls us to shed resignation and routine, to rekindle the ambition that has marked the defining chapters of a better and healthier South Africa.

A generation must rise that will end the scourge of inequality that divides and destabilises our society. We can be that generation. I would like to quote from the wise words of our late former president, Nelson Mandela, when he said “our human compassion binds us the one to the other-not in pity or patronising, but as human beings who have learnt how to turn our common suffering into hope for the future”.

You and I should be part of that selfless generation Mandela referred to, a generation that works tirelessly to bring effective health services to every person in every community and in every ward of our country. We should all be part of that generation, and we should all lead the way as together we move South Africa Forward.

I am optimistic about the future. I’m optimistic because I know what public health has achieved in the 20 years of our young democracy. As we celebrate 20 years of democracy, our people affirmed the progress we are making in building a healthy society. Our people re-affirmed our commitment to continue the journey of ensuring that all South Africans have access to healthcare when on May 7, 2014 they voted overwhelmingly for the African National Congress.

We have a good story to tell. It pleases me, for example, to share with you that in our last term of office, the average life expectancy reached 57 years, an improvement of five-years since 2009. The mother to child transmission rate has fallen to 90 percent. In the 10 years since South Africa scaled up antiretroviral treatment for people living with HIV and AIDS, over one-million people in Gauteng have gained access to this life-saving therapy. These are just some of the strides made possible by the concerted efforts of men and women who work hard to improve the quality of lives of our people.

Let me convey our sincere gratitude and appreciation on behalf of the Gauteng Provincial government, to the South African Medical and Education Foundation (SAMED) for this R6-million contribution and making the launch of this project a resounding success.

Ladies and gentlemen;

Tshwane is a key strategic area within Gauteng and it is very appropriate that we open the Kalafong hospital emergency and accident unit here today. We must drastically reduce Mother and Child Mortality over the next 500 days to achieve our Millennium Development Goals. This can be achieved without the need to significant increases costs. It is a matter of providing transport, emergency facilities, well trained and properly resourced community health care workers in all 508 wards across the province.

Tshwane has one of the highest incidents of injuries in the country, as reported by the Medical Research Council. It is worth noting that disabilities and deaths due to violence and trauma are caused mainly by poor access to adequate services. Ironically; maternal mortality and trauma deaths are now referred to as ‘deaths of distance' - death because of distance from health facilities. These two are part of what is called quadruple burden of diseases.

We need to recognise the power of partnerships in expanding access to goods, services and opportunities, and spreading development to the marginalised and poor.

Tshwane is also one of the National Health Insurance (NHI) pilot sites. In this regard; we have started making huge rapid infrastructure investments in order to upgrade health facilities so that they conform to the National Health Core Standards, and to enable full implementation of NHI.

In addition to the rehabilitation of the existing buildings and equipment, there is a need to add additional capacity to fully enable all facets of the NHI programme, including maternal and child health services, school health and community outreach services, district health specialists and staff accommodation and infection prevention and control in health care facilities.

We truly appreciate the contribution of over R6-million SAMED and our other sponsors Rand Water, Truworths, Road Accident Fund, and Nedbank have made in the overall delivery of healthcare in Gauteng and Tshwane in particular.

We are confident that the new facility at this hospital will radically improve and change the quality of service and infrastructure for patients and staff both in the immediate future and in the years to come.

We must acknowledge that partnerships can improve accessibility and delivery of health care, increase access to finance, transform business, and create much needed jobs.

It is not surprising therefore that Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 8 calls for greater partnership with the private sector, and the results of such collaborations are impressive as we witness today.

The central message for those of us delivering services is clear. Improving quality and safety requires a culture of care and compassion. A culture of care and compassion means that the patient is at the centre of service delivery. Patient care must be on top of the agenda in all our health facilities; it must be the first concern of health workers; it must be understood as a responsibility shared by all.

However; we cannot expect professionals to deliver compassionately if the environment in which they operate is not conducive for them to function optimally. A culture of care and compassion means listening to the experiences of people who experience care. That is why patient experience forms a key component of any system for measuring quality.

Programme Director; we all know that the health sector is dynamic. Health technology is changing; models of care are changing to meet new conditions and take advantage of new opportunities; demographic shifts are taking place, for example, the Gauteng population is growing rapidly. Economic pressures are likely to be with us for the foreseeable future.

In conclusion we are confident that our continued partnership with SAMED through such projects will grow and assist us in finding common solutions to the challenges we face in the health sector.

Let us work together to move South Africa forward!

Thank you!