Celebrating 27 years of uniting nurses

DENOSA KICKS OFF ITS THREE-DAY NEC MEETING IN PRETORIA.

PRETORIA – DENOSA has commenced its three-day National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting at the DENOSA Head Office in Pretoria, to sit between 20 and 22 September 2023.

Over the next three days, the meeting will be discussing and reflecting on the many issues in the healthcare sector and zooming in on nursing matters. With nursing services making up the majority of the overall service in the healthcare setting, the NEC will deal with the number of issues confronting the profession and reflect on the latest developments on the healthcare front.

DENOSA President, Simon Hlungwani, has officially opened the meeting wherein, as part of his opening address, he pointed out a number of issues that need the sharp eye of the organization and its leaders at all levels.

One of the most immediate issues that the organization must not keep quiet about, he stressed, is the latest declaration of austerity measures by the government at all departments as a means to cut costs. He said this will surely have a disastrous impact on the country’s healthcare services and the nurses in all the facilities.

He said the one common feature that has been consistent about the country’s healthcare services over the recent years has been the gradual reduction of budgets for health in provinces at a time when the population numbers are swelling and the burden of diseases is increasing.

“How would you expect services to be rendered when the health budgets are forever going down instead of peaking up in line with the increased need for services?” he asked.

Reflecting on the worsening inflationary environment due to various unfriendly global market forces including the Ukraine-Russia war, President Hlungwani said the prices of food are increasingly becoming unaffordable for many workers like the nurses.

“The current inflationary environment is absolutely bad for the workers. You can see by the food you can afford to buy as to how bad the situation is. While the target inflationary range for the country by the South African Reserve Bank is between 3 and 6 percent, you can see that the current inflation is hovering around 8 percent. This means food prices are forever going up at a time when workers can barely afford the most basic items,” he added.

Reflecting on the role of leadership in the current climate of a long chain of challenges, Hlungwani acknowledged the gradual emergence of leadership from within the nursing community and from the DENOSA fold to lead both worker struggles and healthcare services in various settings.

He said this bears testimony to the growth of the DENOSA brand, as its effects are starting to bear fruits for various fronts of the struggle for a better South Africa.

He hailed leaders who have shrugged themselves of comfort to step up onto the spaces of responsibility and leadership. He paid tribute to the DENOSA shop stewards who have since been elected into leadership positions at the federation COSATU in various spheres of responsibility.

Equally, he congratulated the various nurses who have since been tasked with the responsibility of leading and managing the country’s healthcare services in various areas from provincial departments, hospital CEOs, Nursing Servicing Managers, and sector managers as well as those who have been appointed into oversight roles in boards and other organizations.

The meeting will conclude on Friday 22 September 2023.

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