DRDAR Compulsory Community Service (CCS) for Veterinarians keeps growing in leaps and bounds
The directorate for veterinary services hosted a function to bid farewell to the 23 Compulsory Community Service (CSS) Veterinarians who were stationed in various parts of the Eastern Cape to provide Primary Animal Health Care (PAHC) services to mostly rural areas of the province. The 12 month CCS Vet program is coupled with the original aim of the national Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry to facilitate the provision of Veterinary clinical service to the previously disadvantaged communities using well-equipped, state of the art mobile clinics and surgical theatres. This was the third group of CCS Veterinarians after a group of 16 and 19 in 2016 and 2017, respectively worked in the department. Addressing the group, MEC Xolile Nqatha praised them for work they have done in the rural communities of the Eastern Cape. “The Compulsory Community Service fits in very well with what we ought to be doing as the people of this province, which is to be of service. If we want to upscale the implementation of the department’s Agricultural Economic Transformation Strategy we need capacity, and vets are critical in our commercialisation efforts”, he said. Speaking during the farewell event held at the Bhisho Showgrounds Dr Bradley Taylor who was deployed in Komani, said he was grateful to work in the province. “There were challenges here and there, actually the highs were very high and the lows very low. However, I was fortunate to work in a well-equipped clinic. Overall, I have worked and served well,” Taylor said.” The MEC highlighted the shortage of vets in the province, and urged the CCS Vets to apply for positions advertised by the department. Provincial Chief Director for veterinary service Dr Lubabalo Mrwebi said the 12-month Compulsory Community Service is the last step for the Vets in order to acquire professional registration. “In the three years of the CCS program the province has welcomed veterinarians from all the country’s provinces and SADC region… I can say without fear of contradiction that the 2018 CCS Vets have been wonderful”, said Dr Mrwebi. The department has hosted 16 CCS vets from Gauteng, 11- Eastern Cape, three from KwaZulu-Natal, seven from Western Cape, three from Free State, three from Limpopo, the North West and Northern Cape provinces had one each while five were from other SADC countries The department will once again gather in Komani on the 2nd of January to welcome 25 new CCS vets.