Address by Honourable Premier R.M. Mtshweni-Tsipane on the occasion of the official opening of the Botleng Clinic

1. Programme Director, it is an honour to join the community of Botleng on this momentous day as we take another step in our collaborative commitment to partner with all spheres of government and the private sector to provide quality healthcare for our people and ultimately create a “better life for all” as envisioned by the glorious movement on whose deployment and mandate we diligently serve the people of Mpumalanga.


2. The fact that we are gathered here today to officially open this clinic is practical evidence of what can be achieved when all material stakeholders collaborate in a coordinated and integrated manner to implement the ideals of the District Development Model as championed by His Excellency, President Cyril Ramaphosa in order to remove bottlenecks and expedite the delivery of services to our people.


3. We wish to thank General Electric Vernova (GE Vernova) and Eskom for their generous and practical investment in the community of Botleng.


4. The impact of your R75 million investment in this community will be heralded for generations to come.


5. Thank you for leading by example and being a prime example of how the private sector and the SOEs can significantly aid our efforts, not only to construct healthcare facilities but also to serve as catalysts for the creation of the sustainable employment opportunities for the people of this beautiful community.


6. The construction of this healthcare facility has created 15 employment opportunities during the commissioning and an additional 203 employment opportunities during the construction.


7. Your generosity has shown us that the sustainable development of our communities is the responsibility not only of government but also the responsibility of all who derive a semblance of benefit from the commercial activities within our beautiful Province.


8. Programme Director, we have the unique privilege of unveiling this healthcare facility in the month wherein we commemorate the birth of uMama Albertina Sisulu, who was born on the 21st of October 1918.


9. uMama Sisulu was an embodiment of peace, unity and selflessness and subscribed fully to the ethos of the Freedom Charter which states that “free medical care and hospitalisation shall be provided for all” closed quote.


10. Programme Director, as a caring ANC-led government, we fully subscribe to the ethos of the freedom charter. The provision of efficient primary health care services and the eradication of infrastructural backlogs within the healthcare sector remains an important strategic deliverable of our healthcare policy and will continue to be prioritized for the duration of this Administration.


11. Kubahlali base Botleng, sithi namhlanje, size ukuzokwethula umthola-mpilo wekuniphilisa, uma ngabe nigula.


12. Lomthola-mphilo usezingeni eliphakeme. Loko kusho ukuthi nosizo eniyolithola, lisezingeni eliphakeme.


13. This area, Programme Director, has an estimated population of roughly 33 000. As such the clinic is designed to operate 8 hours a day and 5 days a week, in keeping with the set norms and standards.


14. It is equipped with facilities that will enable the treatment of, amongst others;
• Emergency care services;
• Management of chronic conditions;
• Integrated management of childhood illnesses
• Mental health care services ; and
• Antenatal and post-natal care services.


15. The clinic also houses 3 dispensaries as well as a pharmaceutical store room. Through the Department of Health, we shall ensure that the facility has the appropriate volumes of medication at any given time to meet the needs of our people and preserve their right to health care services.


16. Programme Director, this healthcare facility is intended to benefit this community. The healthcare practitioners who will work at this facility must remember that ours is a human anchored government that must prioritise the people at all times.


17. Let us be remember the batho pele principles we have adopted in public service. You must provide healthcare services with the necessary compassion, care, sympathy and professionalism because our people, are the most important asset our Province has.


18. Programme Director, as we hand over this clinic to the community, we are mindful of the risks associated with public institutions.


19. In recent times, our health facilities in Mpumalanga, were visited upon by criminal syndicates who threatened the lives of our health workers on duty.


20. If it is not criminals, then it is the community that use these health care facilities, to ventilate their anger for service delivery dissatisfaction.


21. Sishaya izandla bakwethu kini nonkhe bahlali base Botleng.


22. Let us protect this clinic from unsavoury elements who will seek to destroy your facility during instances of community unrests. Let us report any act of vandalism to the police.


23. It is our joint responsibility to preserve the facilities that deliver services to our people.


24. Ladies and gentlemen, as I have indicated earlier, we will continue to invest significantly in healthcare infrastructure.


25. We have commenced the process of constructing the Linah Malatjie Tertiary hospital that will service a larger cohort of people around Emalahleni and Victor Khanye Local Municipalities.


26. We will continue to foster the strategic collaboration between all spheres of Government, the Private sector and the institution of traditional leadership in the construction of the hospital in accordance with the ideals of the District Development Model.


27. I thank you.