HOSPERSA  -  HEALTH AND OTHER SERVICE PERSONNEL TRADE UNION OF SOUTH AFRICA

As I sit down to write this column, the 2010 World Cup Is just a few days away. How sad it is that at a time when the nation should be portraying its pride and enthusiasm in hosting such a prestigious event for the first time on African soil, the outside world has been exposed to media coverage that are definitely not giving the correct message to potential visitors .Most newspapers have been obsessed with the outbursts of a young political leader who has taken this country back to pre 1994.This World Cup is an event which will never be experienced again in this country, let us use it to unite the nation and build a better future for our children.

The bad news - HOSPERSA lost one of its stalwarts with the death of Mike Ryan who passed away on the 25th of March 2010. Mike was a highly talented and astute person who was always willing to fight for workers rights. He will be missed by all his colleagues. It was also sad to hear about the tragic death of Dr Molefi Sefularo who was the Deputy Minister of Health. He was particularly interested in ensuring that primary health care in this country be strengthened.

A recent report from International Trade Union Confederation exposed the food crisis that is affecting the world. It states that currently more than 963 million people are malnourished and living in dire poverty across the globe. Many countries are now net importers of food as opposed to their status as net exporters in the 1960s.

Shocking statistics which necessitates the urgent attention of world leaders: It is estimated that global unemployment increased by 34 million to reach a record of 212 million and half of the world’s 3 billion workers are in vulnerable forms of employment. FIFA predicts that fewer than half of the 500 000 tourists expected to travel to South Africa for the World Cup are actually going to arrive, owing to a number of unrelated factors which are beyond South Africa’s control. There are also some good news .It was heartening to read the Health budget vote speech by the Minister of Health. There was acknowledgement for the need to fundamentally transform the health system and improving service delivery and the notion that our health system provides little preventive care compared to curative care. The Minister of Finance tells us that we have turned the corner and on our way for economic recovery as we are at last witnessing the enthusiasm of South Africans snapping up soccer tickets to witness history in the making .It is encouraging to note that a group of 20 labour ministers, including our minister, met in Washington ahead of the G20 Labour and Empowerment Ministers meeting. There presence stressed the need for their governments to keep job creation and preservation high on the agenda as the global economy recovers.

Noel Desfontaines, Editor Hospersa Today