Gauteng MEC focuses on health, forgets about social development
IN THE Star of December 28, 2011, a letter from Gauteng MEC of Health and Social Development Ms Ntombi Mekgwe has attempted to provide the readers with a positive “spin” on all the achievements in the health sector.
Sadly, she (just like her predecessor) has fallen into the trap of just looking at only one facet of her portfolio.
She has ignored social services completely. She has failed to take note of some very serious issues relating to services rendered to people in the province by the NGO sector.
The 2010/11 annual report for social services states that 15 old-age homes stopped receiving subsidies because the department officials were of the opinion that the unit cost of more than R5 000 a person a month was excessive.
Readers should know that cutting a subsidy to the 15 oldage homes meant that persons who received only an old-age grant and were living in the affected homes were automatically excluded from benefiting from the subsidy system.
It is also important to note that officials state that if an old-age home does not have 75 percent of its residents as recipients of an old-age grant then the old-age home concerned will, in fact, either not receive a subsidy or will lose its subsidy.
We are informed of the cooperation of the Gauteng Department of Finance and the premier relating to a plan to deal with the financial challenges and the reprioritisation of the budget.
The MEC has also stated that she is enlisting help from other departments to sort out health finances.
Unfortunately (or perhaps conveniently), we have not been given an honest and true picture of all that affects the health and social development portfolio.
From 2008 until now the subsidy for old-age homes has remained unchanged. Before the recession in September 2008, old-age homes received R1 523 a person a month. Since then there have been year-onyear increases in services, fuel, and food prices.
It is good news to note that the maternal mortality rate is as low as 144 to every 100 000 births, but what is the use of people being able to live longer if their quality of life is poor when they get old?
Can we be happy with the news that we have a reduced child mortality rate due to the increased availability of antiretroviral treatment and educational programmes at clinics when services to children in must cut their programmes?
Another factor that needs to be considered relates to the disabled people in our province. What proper provision is made for them?
In my opinion, the MEC has responded to the health issues because of the pressure brought to bear as a result of the poor image of medical facilities as presented by the media.
I would dare to say that if the media had to pay more attention to the social services in our province we would be presented with a picture of a sector that is in fact on the brink of total collapse.
I do, however, believe that the sector can be saved if:
The department accepted the NGO sector as an equal partner. With NGOS, it determined the services required as well as realistic costing models. Now the department needs to assist the NGOS to access funding and with broad-based black economic empowerment registration, and to encourage corporates to fund NGOS.
Joburg