EULOGY BY HIS EXCELLENCY PRESIDENT JACOB ZUMA AT THE FUNERAL OF FORMER MINISTER
OF HEALTH AND FORMER MINISTER IN THE PRESIDENCY DR MANTOMBAZANA
TSHABALALA-MSIMANG, AT THE CATHEDRAL OF THE SACRED HEART, PRETORIA
22 DECEMBER 2009
Comrade Mendi Msimang and the family and relatives,
Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe,
Ministers, Premiers, Deputy Ministers and MECs,
Ministers from within SADC and other foreign dignitaries present,
ANC Officials, Members of the National Executive Committee as well as the
Veterans, Women and Youth Leagues,
SACP and Cosatu leadership,
Father Phumlani Masuku,
Fellow South Africans,
On the 16th of December, we paid a special tribute to the heroes of our
struggle who left home and ventured into foreign lands to take forward the
struggle for freedom.
We paid tribute to men and women who decided that much more needed to be done
to pressurize the apartheid state into capitulation.
Dr Manto Tshabalala-Msimang is amongst those self-less South Africans, who
have experienced minimal joy in their lives, due to their decision not to
surrender until this country and its people were free from racist oppression.
The first phase of our struggle, to free the country from bondage was won in
1994.
Together, under the leadership of the ANC government, we then established a
new Republic of South Africa. We introduced one sovereign, democratic State
founded on the values of human dignity, the achievement of equality and the
advancement of human rights and freedoms.
It is a South Africa that espouses non-racialism and non-sexism, the supremacy
of the Constitution and the rule of law.
The Bill of Rights in our Constitution enshrines the rights of all and affirms
the democratic values of human dignity, equality and freedom.
This is the freedom that we fought for. That is the freedom that our stalwarts
such as Dr Tshabala-Msimang sacrificed life’s comforts for.
In 1994, armed with our progressive Constitution as a basis of our democracy,
we began the second phase of our struggle.
We had to begin to undo the legacy of apartheid and colonialism, which had
condemned black people to abject poverty and suffering.
Dr Tshabalala-Msimang has always been a part of that tireless pursuit of
meaningful change, and the improvement of the quality of life of all,
especially the poorest of the poor.
She served diligently in various positions including chairperson of the
portfolio committee of health in parliament, as Deputy Minister of Justice and
Constitutional Affairs, and later as Minister of Health and l Minister in the
Presidency until early 2009.
Today we are called upon not just to mourn her passing, but to celebrate a
life that has unreservedly been dedicated to serving this country and its
people.
Comrade Manto touched our lives in her various capacities, as a comrade, a
dedicated medical doctor, a distinguished servant of the people, a gender
activist and a humanitarian.
We say with no fear of contradiction, that she remains an undisputed hero of
our struggle, who dedicated her life to the ideal of a free and democratic
South Africa.
Some of her fiercest critics cannot claim to have achieved even a quarter of
what she has contributed to this country.
Caring, warm, always prone to teasing others, kind-hearted and intellectually
capable, she made her mark in the ANC wherever she lived and worked.
From Tanzania to Botswana to South Africa, she used her skills to assist those
in distress, those in need of medical care and those in need of emotional
support.
Our Constitution directs us to build a non-sexist society, and she did well on
our behalf, in this regard.
As a Deputy Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, she spearheaded
legislation and programmes aimed at improving the status of women.
She worked tirelessly to make the courts in our country understand the
elements of domestic violence as a crime.
She is also widely credited for the campaign of 16 Days of Activism against
women and child abuse, marked by the country each November-December.
As Minister of Health, she continued with improving the lives of women and
children. She uplifted child and maternal health, which were her special
interests.
She promoted massive child immunization programmes around the country, to
ensure that children were safe from polio, measles and other preventable
diseases.
In recognition of her work in the continent, she was appointed the African
Union Goodwill Ambassador and Champion for Africa’s Movement to improve
Maternal Health and promote Child Development in Africa, beyond 2015.
Her commitment to the rights and well-being of children also saw her actively
take on the custom of ukuthwala in the Eastern Cape last year, raising
awareness of the abduction of young girls who were then forced into marriage.
This she did as Minister in the Presidency in 2008, responsible for children,
women and persons with disabilities.
Fellow congregants,
We are gathered here to bid our sister, mother, friend, colleague and comrade
a fond, patriotic and comradely farewell.
We are here to register our sincere appreciation of her contribution to the
struggle for freedom, and her role in improving the quality of life of our
people.
Indeed, a lot of the work she did during her tenure as Health Minister remains
hidden, as it was not controversial enough to make it to the media.
Through her leadership of the health department, many remote rural areas and
townships have clinics that did not exist before 1994.
Our free primary health care services were expanded and 1,600 more clinics
were built in the past few years.
She worked hard to combat malaria, a passion she developed while working in
exile. As a member of the SADC Health Ministers committee she contributed
meaningfully to the joint SADC action plan on Malaria.
She led from the front in promoting the management of chronic illnesses such
as diabetes and hypertension.
The provision of affordable generic medicines became a reality and was
supported as a programme during her tenure as Minister of Health.
Many of our health care professionals would testify about her outstanding
efforts to stem the emigration of doctors and nurses out of our country.
She took on many developed countries that are hell-bent on poaching our scarce
skills.
Many medical interns now stay on in rural areas voluntarily, realizing the
need as well as the experience they gain from working in these remote health
centres.
Many of us now take it for granted that our public areas are free of tobacco
smoke.
It is through our determined Health Ministers such as Drs Nkosazana
Dlamini-Zuma and Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, that we were able to remove the
hazards of tobacco in public areas and improve public health.
That many of her achievements were not highlighted and recognized in her
lifetime is sad and unfortunate.
But today is not a day for recrimination or blame. It is not a day to look
backwards and think of what should have been.
It is a day for us to unite and celebrate the selfless and patriotic
contribution of a great South African, and a distinguished African.
It is a day for us to spend time reflecting on those achievements that we know
best, as her friends, colleagues and comrades, including her work in the fight
against AIDS.
On the 1st of December this year we announced new far-reaching measures to
take the fight against AIDS forward.
We announced new treatment measures, and also emphasized that prevention
remains our biggest weapon in the fight against AIDS.
We stated then, and reiterate today, that we are building on the work that had
been done by the previous three democratic administrations led by Presidents
Mandela, Mbeki and Motlanthe.
Comrade Manto served under all three Presidents.
It must be placed on record that despite the controversies in the media, it
was during her tenure as Health Minister, that South Africa developed a
comprehensive five year HIV and AIDS plan, and put impressive systems in place
for the fight against HIV and AIDS.
Government expenditure on HIV and AIDS has increased substantially during the
terms of the first three democratic administrations and has grown in each
subsequent fiscal year.
At the time of World Aids Day last year, 93% of public health facilities were
able to offer voluntary counseling and HIV testing.
By the end of September 2008, around 600,000 people had been initiated for
anti-retroviral treatment. That figure has now increased to more than 700,000,
making it one of the biggest programmes in the world.
By the end of last year, over 400 facilities had been accredited to provide
anti-retroviral treatment in the public sector.
All these programmes, including a massive national prevention campaign, were
rolled out under her leadership.
It is unfortunate that our country has developed a culture of dwelling on the
negative and turning a blind eye to achievements.
It is something we need to address quite seriously, in order not to undermine
our nation’s progress and successes.
In honour of Comrade Manto, we must intensify the fight against poverty and
hunger. We must prioritise nutrition programmes and promote the general health
and wellbeing of our people.
As she correctly pointed out, despite being ridiculed, most medication,
especially anti-retroviral drugs, should not be taken on empty stomachs, in
order to improve their effectiveness.
As we prepare for the roll-out of expanded access to treatment in April next
year, we will ensure a comprehensive approach, including nutrition, in our
response to HIV and AIDS.
Fellow congregants and compatriots,
We have lost a spirited and consummate activist and a pioneer health
professional who championed the rights of the poor.
We have lost a resilient activist, a gallant fighter for the rights of women
and children, a fighter for justice and freedom.
We have lost a hard working servant of the people who as Minister, went
everywhere possible in the country, including the continent, to ensure the
success of health programmes.
As Government we extend our sincere condolences to the ANC and its Alliance
partners on the loss of a stalwart and dedicated cadre of the movement.
We also extend our condolences to Parliament on losing a longstanding
dedicated member.
To Comrade Mendi Msimang, our hearts go out to you and family during this
difficult period. Lalani ngenxeba, duduzekani.
As she undertakes her last journey, she should now finally be accorded the
right to human dignity, which she fought for, during most of her life.
May her soul rest in peace.
I thank you.
Sent via my BlackBerry Device from Vodacom - let your email find you!
--
You are subscribed. This footer can help you.
Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this
message.
You can visit the group WEB SITE at
http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options,
pages, files and membership.
To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You
don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put
anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to this
address (repeat): [email protected] .
