By Tabisa Mntengwana
17 February 2009

NEW health care centres had been established in Eastern Cape, while the province had prioritised better drug supply management and would soon manage the distribution of pharmaceuticals from depots to health service sites around the province.

This was said by Premier Mbulelo Sogoni, who highlighted Eastern Cape’s successes during his State of the Province address in Bhisho on Friday, 13 February.

Sogoni mentioned the new community health care centres in Mount Coke, Dimbaza and Nontyatyambo, all of which are in Buffalo City. Here residents had access to primary health care, family planning, maternity care and pharmacy services, among others. There were also doctors on stand by.

However, he did not shy away from challenges, speaking about the shortage of doctors and nurses in clinics and hospitals. “The shortage of doctors and nurses to serve in public hospitals and clinics is also a major concern,” he said.

The fight against crime was another key issue, with Sogoni saying that the province had, over the years, managed to fight crime through mobilising communities. “The backbone of this approach is the establishment of vibrant and functional community policing forums.”

These forums focused on the abuse of women and children and had established mobile victim centres at 25 police stations, including Buffalo City’s Cambridge Police Station.

To speed up service delivery, Sogoni said he would look into poor governance and instability in municipalities. “In the quest to achieve service delivery excellence, the Eastern Cape government has initiated various interventions to improve the effectiveness of the public service,” he said.

In line with widening access to education, the government had improved its performance regarding the provision of learner and teacher support materials. The materials, textbooks and stationery were delivered to “at least 95 percent” of schools in the province in October 2008.

Levels of poverty and unemployment had dropped, he said, adding “much has been achieved with respect to efforts to stabilise the macro-economic environment, as a response to globalisation but also to ensure a sustained economic growth rate higher than four percent”.

Turning to the provision of basic services such as water and electricity, Sogoni said a number of areas in the province had access to clean water and free electricity.

“The successes and challenges of the province highlight the commitment to promote growth and development, improve equality of opportunities, root out hunger and disease and protect the marginalised and the poor,” he concluded.

BUFFALO CITY
METROPOLITAN MUNICIPALITY
A City growing
with you