Speech by the Honorable MEC for Health and Social Development Mr Seaparo Sekoati on the Occasion of the Third Auxiliary Nurses Certificate Award Ceremony

DATE: 16 March 2007
VENUE: Thohoyandou Town Hall

Programme Director
The Executive Mayor of Vhembe
The Honourable Mayor of Thulamela Municipality
Head of Department: Dr. J. Dlamini
Head of Health Branch: Dr. Nkadimeng
Head of Social Development Branch: Mr. Mogane
Principal of the Nursing Colleges
Chief Executive Officer
Senior Managers
Councilors
Graduates
Ladies and Gentlemen

This graduation ceremony takes place two weeks after the Nursing Education and Training in Mokopane. The occasion also takes place at time when there is shortage of health professionals. Today we are proud to announce that the department is awarding three hundred and eighteen (318) candidates who satisfied the South African Nursing Council requirement for enrollment as Auxiliary Nurses. They represent a ninety two percent pass rate (92%).With the opening of the two campuses in Sekhukhuni and Waterburg this year, we expect the numbers to double in future.

The department initiated the programme of Auxiliary Nurse Training as a poverty alleviation programme in 2003, taking students from needy families. What makes this occasion special is that the graduates’ achievement is a success to what we initiated and most of all it is a relief to the backlog and strain experienced by health workers in our institutions, in particular nurses.

The Health Department National Strategic Plan’s key priority is to restore the dignity of our people by improving the quality of our Health Care system. This occasion serve as testimony and a step towards restoring that dignity and in so doing we are at the same time pushing the frontiers of ill-health and poverty in this province.

In congratulating you I would like to thank the Nursing Directorate, the principal and vice principals, tutors, nurses and all those who were involved, for the sterling work you have done in ensuring that these graduates are well skilled and ready to do their work as Auxiliary Nurses. The process of identifying vacancies in institutions, identifying and selecting students, formations of selection committees, working with councilors, mayors, social workers, religious leaders and many others, was laborious but we can now look back with pride. Let us go and work as team and improve on what we have already started because we have taken a step in the right direction.

To you graduates, your life and that of your families will change and we hope that you will occupy your rightful place in your communities. The people you are going to serve have expectations from you and you need not fail them. You are celebrities today because of your commitment, determination and continued motivation to achieve your goal of becoming Auxiliary Nurses. Nurses are the backbone of our national heath care strategy.

I am confident that you will make your mark by serving our communities with dignity and respect. Your skills as Auxiliary Nurses will contribute significantly to our efforts to promote good health and manage various diseases affecting our communities.

Lastly, take note that learning does not stop with graduations, it is on-going and you still have a lot to learn as nurses. You are going to work under ever-changing environment and you therefore need to be prepared to learn, to be flexible and aspire to be multi-skilled in your profession.

Once again let me take the opportunity to congratulate you for your achievements as Auxiliary Nurses and we are looking forward to your contribution in a better life for all.

I thank you .

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