Special Hearings — Health Sector Hearings — 1997-06-17

GEN M KNOBEL: Madam Chair I am very upset to hear this because the next two projects impact on some of the presentation that we had this morning.  I will try and do it as quickly as I can, but I would like to mention them.
 Project Curamus, a number of shortcomings and deficiencies in the management of disabled persons in the South African Defence Force led to the launch of Project Curamus in April 1990.  The object of this Project was prevention of disability, treatment and stabilisation; rehabilitation; retraining and employment; continuing care and material compensation; equal opportunities, spiritual care and so on.  I am not going to mention them all. 
 Participation by the disabled and acceptance of their own responsibility were attained by funding or founding a Curamus Association.  All office bearers are themselves rehabilitated persons.  The Association aims to allow serving and former serving disabled members of the National Defence Force, Police Service and Department of Correctional Service to achieve the highest possible level of independence.
 May I just sum up then as you asked me.  It deals with physically, psychologically and socially disabled members of the Defence Force.
 I am sorry that Sean this morning had to say that he was turned away from the Defence Force.  He should have been included in this programme of Curamus and then we would have been able to deal with his post-traumatic stress.  We are dealing with a number of them at the moment.
 I am not going to say more about that, but just the following.
 At the moment the Medical Service is involved in the National Integrated Stability Strategy on an on-going basis and we are awaiting new legislation which will enable us to include all the ex-MK and ex-APLA members also in the programme.  In this regard General Masuko has already embarked on a programme of identifying and tracing those members of APLA and MK.
 The last one, Project Fairway, just very briefly, was initiated in 1992.  The aim of this project was to train primary health care and secondary and emergency health care orderlies within the National Defence Force, not only for the needs of the Medical Service itself, but also to make provision in the human resources needs of all the other health authorities in the country. Over the last five years 1,200 of these orderlies have been trained and have also registered with the statutory council.
 During 1996 Treasury approval was obtained to expand the programme to include the training of registered nurses of the Department of Health and Provincial Health authorities with the support of sponsors from the private sector and it's envisaged that we will train 700 nurses to fill the gap in the primary health care management needs of our provincial authorities.
 I will conclude Madam Chair.  Having briefly discussed the mandate, mission, role and functions of this comprehensive service and having indicated that it has great potential in making a major contribution to reconstruction and development in our country I would like to conclude by saying, that as Surgeon General it has been my great privilege and honour to be in command of this organisation since 1988.  
 It is an organisation of which I am justifiably proud with human resources that are second to none in this country.  Of the 85 occupational groupings in the National Defence Force 52 are found in the Medical Service, of which 27 are statutory professions regulated by the respective statutory councils.  This represents over the last nine years, since I became Surgeon General, a total of 15,000 professional members who served in the organisation in a permanent or part-time capacity.
 With regard to this Service I want to state quite categorically that I have never had any reason to doubt the professional conduct and ethical norms and standards of the organisation as a whole.  Certainly I accept responsibility and accountability for any action of any professional member of the South African Medical Service who acted within the mandate and mission of the Service as I have shown you, or as directed by myself through the command and control structures of the organisation.  In this statement I also have the full support of all the members of my Command Council.
 If, however, there is evidence and we have listened to some of the testimonies today, that any professional member of this organisation has acted outside the directives according to the mandate, role and functions I've discussed or acted in an unethical or unprofessional manner, according to the guidelines of the various statutory councils with whom they are registered, then I would like to say the following:
 I would firstly like to apologise on behalf of the organisation to any member of the South African community that may have been adversely affected by such actions.  
 But in the second place I would like to confirm that I and my Command Council will take whatever steps deemed necessary to investigate and to bring to justice such activities.  Clearly in this we will have to also depend on the support of the statutory bodies.   The statement by the Medical Council in this regard is of great importance.
 In this declaration I also enjoy the full support of Major General Masuko, next to me here, as the Surgeon General designate, who will take over command as I indicated in December this year.
 I had a discussion with General Raymond, the retired previous Surgeon General who occupied the position on the 1st of February 1960 to the 31st of March 1969, and as I said to you he is in ill-health at the moment, he is the only remaining living former Surgeon General of the SANDF, and he confirmed that he would be more than willing to make a similar statement with regard to his term of office, to the TRC if so required.
 Finally, what of the future?  The SAMS is currently involved in transformation to create an affordable, appropriate, accountable and adequate National Defence Force Medical Service which is totally representative, transparent, legitimate and professional.  It is striving to become fully representative of all populations, traditions, cultures, languages, cultures and religions found in the RSA. 
 In terms of gender representivity it currently consists of 52% females and 48% male members.  
 It remains fully committed in providing health support and to contribute to the process of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and I want to quote, like some of my colleagues have earlier today, from the words of Abraham Lincoln.  With the following spirit the words in his second inaugural address in 1865, I quote,
"With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the Nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, and to do all which may achieve and cherish the just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations".
 Thank you.

MAPULE RAMASHALA: Thank you General.  I hope you have sense of humour because I'm tempted to say, where do I sign up?

GEN M KNOBEL: Well Madam Chair we can arrange that for you on Monday.