Date: 19/11/2002
Source: Ministry of Health
Title: Alfred Nzo Environmental Health Award Ceremony
ADDRESS BY THE MINISTER OF HEALTH AT THE ALFRED NZO ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AWARD CEREMONY, ICC Durban 19 November 2002
"He worked quietly to persuade us to understand the cruel errors of the smallminded people, teaching us to assert our own humanity by respecting the right of all our people to life, liberty and happiness.
He showed us by example that we needed no high sounding titles to discharge our obligation faithfully to serve the people of South Africa."
Programme Director, Mayor of Ethekwini Municipality, President of the South African Institute of Environmental Health, delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen. This is how our President, President Thabo Mbeki summed up the humble life of our former Minister of Foreign Affairs, comrade Alfred Nzo.
Comrade Nzo was well-known for being the longest serving Secretary-General of the African National Congress. He worked tirelessly alongside Oliver Tambo and many other leaders of the ANC set up the structures of our movement in exile. He was one of the key figures in sustaining the organisation's cadres during the difficult times when the ANC was a banned organisation. He showed dynamic and fearless leadership, travelling across the globe lobbying support against apartheid.
In 1990, he was part of the ANC delegation that participated in talks with the apartheid government paving the way for our democratic breakthrough in 1994. After the 1994 elections, Cde Nzo was appointed as the first Minister of Foreign Affairs in a free South Africa. In this capacity, he made an immense contribution in the shaping of post apartheid foreign policy of this country.
But what made this humble man to dedicate almost his entire life to the struggle for freedom in South Africa? It was Cde Nzo's experiences as a health inspector in Alexandra that forged much of his understanding of the lives of millions of South Africans in the 1950s. His daily exposure to the frustrations and bad living conditions of people in the township paved the way for his entry into politics.
He was one of the early African pioneers in environmental health and is among the first Public Health Inspectors employed to render of environmental health services in the neglected townships of that time.
Born on the 19th of June 1925, Nzo did his secondary education in the Eastern Cape before registering for a Bachelor of Science in Fort Hare in 1945. Already groomed into the ANC Youth League, he left Fort Hare during his second year and took up a diploma in Public Health. He worked as a health inspector at KwaDukathole in Germiston and was later transferred to the Alexandra health and community centre.
That is where he became very active, participating in the Defiance campaign of 1952. He was one of the organisers of the 1957 PUTCO Bus boycott, successfully mobilising township people to walk nine miles to and from town everyday for three months. Putco had no option but to reverse the fare increases that have led to the boycott.
His struggle against social injustices cost him his job as a health inspector. But his respect for the right to life, liberty and happiness, his faithful obligation to serve our people were to be the basic principles guiding his life ever after.
Respect for life and commitment to serve people need to guide all of us as health environmental officers and health workers in general. These are the principles that should drive our work. As health workers, our daily activities have serious impact on the lives of millions of our people. They, in many cases, determine whether somebody lives or die.
Monitoring the environment under which people live is not just a routine activity. But it is an act of preserving life, ensuring that our people are not expose to the environment that may lead to life threatening illnesses. Little innovation and commitment that we add to our daily work activities means that a few more people will not die of diarrheo or acute respiratory infections. A few more people will live a healthier life.
We know our health workers have much respect for life and are dedicated to serving our people. It is for that reason that the Department of Health and various other partners have initiated awards to recognise our dedicated workers in various fields of practice within the health sector. In this regard, I would like to thank the South African Institute of Environmental Health for being our valuable partner.
Last year we launched the annual Cecilia Makiwane awards to honour nurses that have demonstrated dedication and hard work. There are District Health Awards to recognise good work that is done at a district level. Our colleagues in the South African Medical and Dental Practitioners give awards to doctors and dentists for excellence demonstrated in their respective fields.
Today, we pay tribute to our environmental officers. Whether as a collective in your respective municipality or as an individual, we say thank you for your best practice in environmental health services. We hope that you find inspiration and recommit yourselves to convictions and interventions aimed at creating of a better health for all.
Environmental Health Practitioners have always been a backbone of environmental health services in South Africa, providing services across the length and breadth of the country. With their training related to a broad cross-section of development sectors and a special focus on inter-sectoral liaison, community participation, and health promotion, environmental health practitioners are well placed to lead the way in new approaches to environment and health management.
The Alfred Nzo Award will be a burning flame reminding us of the contribution made by this health officer in the struggle for the well-being of his people. Comrade Nzo's life and ideals have had effects far beyond the parameters of environment and health. His journey to freedom has creating a favourable environment for all of us to serve our people with dedication and, thereby, demonstrate our respect for life.
In conclusion, let me congratulate in advance the nominees and the winner of tonight's award. I know that you were selected because of high standard of service, a contribution to the development of environmental health and a track record in working with communities.
Like Comrade Alfred Nzo, you showed us by example that we need no high sounding titles to discharge our obligation faithfully to serve the people of South Africa.
Thank you
Source: Ministry of Health
Title: Alfred Nzo Environmental Health Award Ceremony
ADDRESS BY THE MINISTER OF HEALTH AT THE ALFRED NZO ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AWARD CEREMONY, ICC Durban 19 November 2002
"He worked quietly to persuade us to understand the cruel errors of the smallminded people, teaching us to assert our own humanity by respecting the right of all our people to life, liberty and happiness.
He showed us by example that we needed no high sounding titles to discharge our obligation faithfully to serve the people of South Africa."
Programme Director, Mayor of Ethekwini Municipality, President of the South African Institute of Environmental Health, delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen. This is how our President, President Thabo Mbeki summed up the humble life of our former Minister of Foreign Affairs, comrade Alfred Nzo.
Comrade Nzo was well-known for being the longest serving Secretary-General of the African National Congress. He worked tirelessly alongside Oliver Tambo and many other leaders of the ANC set up the structures of our movement in exile. He was one of the key figures in sustaining the organisation's cadres during the difficult times when the ANC was a banned organisation. He showed dynamic and fearless leadership, travelling across the globe lobbying support against apartheid.
In 1990, he was part of the ANC delegation that participated in talks with the apartheid government paving the way for our democratic breakthrough in 1994. After the 1994 elections, Cde Nzo was appointed as the first Minister of Foreign Affairs in a free South Africa. In this capacity, he made an immense contribution in the shaping of post apartheid foreign policy of this country.
But what made this humble man to dedicate almost his entire life to the struggle for freedom in South Africa? It was Cde Nzo's experiences as a health inspector in Alexandra that forged much of his understanding of the lives of millions of South Africans in the 1950s. His daily exposure to the frustrations and bad living conditions of people in the township paved the way for his entry into politics.
He was one of the early African pioneers in environmental health and is among the first Public Health Inspectors employed to render of environmental health services in the neglected townships of that time.
Born on the 19th of June 1925, Nzo did his secondary education in the Eastern Cape before registering for a Bachelor of Science in Fort Hare in 1945. Already groomed into the ANC Youth League, he left Fort Hare during his second year and took up a diploma in Public Health. He worked as a health inspector at KwaDukathole in Germiston and was later transferred to the Alexandra health and community centre.
That is where he became very active, participating in the Defiance campaign of 1952. He was one of the organisers of the 1957 PUTCO Bus boycott, successfully mobilising township people to walk nine miles to and from town everyday for three months. Putco had no option but to reverse the fare increases that have led to the boycott.
His struggle against social injustices cost him his job as a health inspector. But his respect for the right to life, liberty and happiness, his faithful obligation to serve our people were to be the basic principles guiding his life ever after.
Respect for life and commitment to serve people need to guide all of us as health environmental officers and health workers in general. These are the principles that should drive our work. As health workers, our daily activities have serious impact on the lives of millions of our people. They, in many cases, determine whether somebody lives or die.
Monitoring the environment under which people live is not just a routine activity. But it is an act of preserving life, ensuring that our people are not expose to the environment that may lead to life threatening illnesses. Little innovation and commitment that we add to our daily work activities means that a few more people will not die of diarrheo or acute respiratory infections. A few more people will live a healthier life.
We know our health workers have much respect for life and are dedicated to serving our people. It is for that reason that the Department of Health and various other partners have initiated awards to recognise our dedicated workers in various fields of practice within the health sector. In this regard, I would like to thank the South African Institute of Environmental Health for being our valuable partner.
Last year we launched the annual Cecilia Makiwane awards to honour nurses that have demonstrated dedication and hard work. There are District Health Awards to recognise good work that is done at a district level. Our colleagues in the South African Medical and Dental Practitioners give awards to doctors and dentists for excellence demonstrated in their respective fields.
Today, we pay tribute to our environmental officers. Whether as a collective in your respective municipality or as an individual, we say thank you for your best practice in environmental health services. We hope that you find inspiration and recommit yourselves to convictions and interventions aimed at creating of a better health for all.
Environmental Health Practitioners have always been a backbone of environmental health services in South Africa, providing services across the length and breadth of the country. With their training related to a broad cross-section of development sectors and a special focus on inter-sectoral liaison, community participation, and health promotion, environmental health practitioners are well placed to lead the way in new approaches to environment and health management.
The Alfred Nzo Award will be a burning flame reminding us of the contribution made by this health officer in the struggle for the well-being of his people. Comrade Nzo's life and ideals have had effects far beyond the parameters of environment and health. His journey to freedom has creating a favourable environment for all of us to serve our people with dedication and, thereby, demonstrate our respect for life.
In conclusion, let me congratulate in advance the nominees and the winner of tonight's award. I know that you were selected because of high standard of service, a contribution to the development of environmental health and a track record in working with communities.
Like Comrade Alfred Nzo, you showed us by example that we need no high sounding titles to discharge our obligation faithfully to serve the people of South Africa.
Thank you
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