An important milestone was reached by the City of Johannesburg last week with the re-establishment of the Johannesburg District Health Council (DHC), which was last functional in 2016.
The city will allow for better coordination of health and emergency service plans, projects and activities between the city district and the provincial health department, overseen by Gauteng MEC of Health Dr Nomathemba Mokgethi.
This should contribute to improving service delivery for residents and breathe life into the new motto #weCARE.
MMC Ashley Sauls 1st (the first) said the DHC is an intergovernmental body chaired by the MMC for Health and Social Development.
The legislation makes it clear that the MEC must establish a district health council for every health district in a province. A district health council also consists of no more than five persons appointed by the MEC after consultation with the municipal council of the metro.
A district health council must:
• Promote co-operative governance
• Ensure co-ordination of planning, budgeting, provisioning and monitoring of all health services that affect residents of the health district for which the council was established
• Advise the relevant members of the executive council, through the Provincial Health Council and the Municipal Council, of the relevant metropolitan on any matter regarding health or health services in the health district for which the council was established.
The DHC shall meet at least once quarterly and may determine its own agenda items, including consideration of reports from the technical committee.
The current members of the new DHC, which were accepted by the MEC and have now been noted by the council are:
• Health and Social Development MMC Ashley Sauls (chairperson)
• Professor Jeff Wing from Wits University
• Dr Coceka Mnyani, clinical unit head of obstetrics and gynaecology, also from Wits University
• Dr Mary Augusta Adam from the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital maternity section
• Clr Lubabalo Magwentshu, chairperson of the Health Section 79 committee
• Charles Cilliers, director executive support in the MMC’s office.
“I look forward to the first meeting of this new council body. We have much work ahead of us to live up to my department’s commitment in this district to the acronym CARE, meaning to be called to act with passion, respond with compassion and execute our duties with military precision,” said Sauls.
