Speech by Gauteng Health MEC Brian Hlongwa at the Chris Hani Memorial Award Ceremony

10 April 2008

Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital
Programme Director;
It is an honour for me to speak at this occasion marking 15 years since the brutal murder of one of our most exceptional leaders, the courageous Martin Thembisile Chris Hani .

It is more of a special day also because today we are recognising dedicated and tireless workers.It is important to mention that all nominees are all winners, and must record this as a great achievement especially since they are being honoured at the time when we are faced with many challenges associated with customer service.

Not all members of the public are aware that there are special people like you - workers who are not only aware of their rights -people who are more aware of their responsibilities.Comrade Chris would have been content to have his name associated with all of you, as he was a hard working and dedicated man. He was not an ordinary person; he was someone whose work made an indelible footprint in the struggle to free the people of our country.

 Programme Director;

I think the question we must all ask ourselves today is, what can we learn and do to ensure that his dreams of always reaching the most vulnerable, the sick and the needy in our society is achieved.

Chris Hani was a selfless and a dedicated person, and someone who always fought for the poor in particular. For him, a better life would mean that patients are attended to on time; public servants redouble their efforts to curb long queues at our clinics and hospitals. Most important is the issue of wisely using resources at our disposal to deal with day to day challenges confronting us.

Achieving that dream would not only be in the best interest to Chris Hani's vision. It is also part of accomplishing our commitment to Batho Pele principles. We need public servants who will stand in front and be the commander of high quality.

Programme Director;

The Batho Pele Principles remain relevant as our guiding force. Allow me to remind you. They are:

Service Standards: Citizens should be told what level and quality of public services they will receive so that they are aware of what to expect.

Consultation: Citizens should be consulted about the level and quality of the public services they receive and, wherever possible, should be given a choice about the services that are offered.
Courtesy: Citizens should be treated with courtesy and consideration.
Access: All citizens should have equal access to the services to which they are entitled.
Openness and transparency: Citizens should be told how hospitals and clinics are run, how much they cost, and who is in charge.

Information: Citizens should be given full, accurate information about the public services they are entitled to receive.
Redress: If the promised standard of service is not delivered, citizens should be offered an apology, a full explanation and a speedy and effective remedy; and when the complaints are made, citizens should receive a sympathetic, positive response.
Value for Money: Public services should be provided economically and efficiently in order to give citizens the best possible value for money.

Encouraging Innovation and Rewarding Excellence: Innovation can be new ways of providing better service, cutting costs, improving conditions, streamlining and generally making changes which tie in with the spirit of Batho Pele. It is also about rewarding the staff who "go the extra mile" in making it all happen.

Customer Impact: Impact means looking at the benefits we have provided for our customers both internal and external - it's how the nine principles link together to show how we have improved our overall service delivery and customer satisfaction.

Leadership and Strategic Direction: Good leadership is the most critical ingredients for any organizational success.  Institutions who do well in serving their customers can demonstrate that they have leaders who lead by example, who set the vision, and ensure that the strategy for achieving the goals is owned by all and properly deployed throughout the organisation.  They play an active role in the institutions' success.

Chris Hani would not have been pleased to see an unfriendly or arrogant health worker servicing a patient. He would not have loved to see public servants moan endlessly about inadequate resources.

He would have preferred to see a committed public servants working and delivering against deadline by using the resources at our disposal. A committed servant is someone readily accessible when called on duty - irrespective of the time of the call - someone who regularly consult with customers and understand what their needs and expectations are, as opposed to being in denial if or when failure and fault occurs - someone who is customer driven with an ambition to lead by example.

Let us continue to do our ordinary work in an unordinary style and make the difference in our people's lives.

Keep up the good work.

I thank you!