Issued by: Office of the Premier Gauteng Province
JOHANNESBURG 28 OCTOBER 1999
MEC's
Mayors and Counsellors
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
I have been asked by the Premier to deliver an opening address on his behalf. He would have loved to be here because of the seriousness with which the Gauteng Provincial Government takes the fight against HIV/AIDS. Unfortunately he has to address the NCOP, where the President is delivering his address followed by inputs by Premiers on work in progress towards a better life for all our people.
Chairperson, the time has come when we should stop contemplating what to do about the AIDS epidemic. Statistics show that if we do not move faster as an entire nation to reduce the prevalent rate of HIV/AIDS infections, our hopes of building a united nation will be shattered. How can we be a nation at work for a better future when thousands of people get infected with the deadly virus of AIDS on a daily basis? This disease has placed our nation under siege. Let us reduce the amount of time we spend in conferences and devote more time, energy and reasonably resources in educating our people about the brutal scourge of AIDS and their role in its eradication.
As you all are aware, this is not the first time we gather to discuss the strategies to defeat this disease. The Gauteng Provincial Government has adopted an inter-sectoral programme to deal with HIV/AIDS. This programme involves all provincial departments and a whole range of sectors. Already there is a lot of voluntary work being done by ordinary citizens to create awareness of this pandemic. Many NGOs and enterprises have embarked on their own initiatives. We now require a strategy that can combine these different efforts, senyergise them so that the impact can be even much greater. The Gauteng five-year AIDS Strategy seeks to bring local government and community structures on board so as to direct government programmes towards local conditions and initiatives.
This strategy will, amongst other aspects, put emphasis on changing the behaviour of our people to reduce the possibility of infection. But for people to change behaviour they need to be educated about the dangers and risks of indulging in unprotected sex. So education and awareness campaigns will continue to feature prominently in all our HIV/AIDS programmes.
There are other entities that have been of tremendous help that we will continue to work with. In this regard we acknowledge the role played by the media, the churches and a variety of organs of civil society. We call upon all these structures to fight on and reach even the most remote of areas in our province, making sure that the message is spread across all sectors of society.
Our strategy will remain focused on vulnerable target groups such as the youth and women. Schools and tertiary institutions should be central in raising youth awareness about AIDS. We hope to receive maximum support from teachers and principals as has already been displayed so far.
The provision of condoms to the public and at schools will remain an essential element of this strategy. We will increase the condom supply in different parts of the province. In line with our commitment to create a better health care system, we will make sure that we create a friendly hospital and clinic environment so that people can feel free to get to any of these institutions in the province to collect condoms, seek counselling and converse about AIDS.
We will in the same way target such affected groups as sex workers, hostel dwellers and prisoners, expanding current projects in these areas in the next three years.
Chairperson.
It is no longer helpful to refrain from talking about these matters. Let us get our province talking about HIV/AIDS and work together to reduce infection. Talking about these issues will surely reduce the culture of promiscuity prevalent in many of our communities. Through such engagements we will be able to dismantle gender stereotypes, which contribute to the vulnerability of women in so far as infection is concerned. We must remove the stigma society has attached to this silent but highly dangerous disease. Let us all say with one voice that AIDS is a disease, not a disgrace.
Our President, Mr Thabo Mbeki, in his address to parliament has called upon us to build a caring society. Amongst other things this means that we should take more care of our HIV infected citizens. We have to support our community builders who have set up centres for the support of people living with AIDS. We should educate our society to refrain from ostracising those who have fallen victim of the AIDS virus. We will support those who continue to work hard to enhance the research capacity in our country so that more and more drugs can be invented to reduce and ultimately destroy the pains suffered by the victims of AIDS.
A Gauteng Government Workplace AIDS Programme has already begun and it will be extended to involve all government employees over the next three years. We will also work closely with the private sector, particularly those with a higher than average HIV risk profile to ensure that effective programmes are established.
Integrated planning and implementation of government AIDS programmes maximises results. It is thus imperative to encourage inter-departmental collaboration and closer alliance between the provincial and local government. Local Government has to prioritise the programmes as it is directly in touch with communities and the people who are in danger of contracting the virus. As we have done in the past, we will continue to pledge political support for programmes that are aimed at eradicating this disease.
HIV/AIDS is not a mystery; it is a disease that has declared war on humanity. We are duty bound to save the human species, for life cannot be normal when our families are getting destroyed every day. We cannot allow this epidemic to oppress us anymore and shatter our dreams as a nation.
I am pleased that we have come here today to announce a very clear and comprehensive strategy to deal with AIDS. We have set our targets and timeframes. When we meet again next time let it be because we want to report on the progress made and not to plan afresh.
Thank you.