The Free State health department will spend most of its R5,1-billion budget for this financial year on salaries, the provincial minister for health Sisi Mabe said on Wednesday.
”The budget in terms of economic classifications is as follows: compensation of employees R3,048-billion; goods and services R1,602-billion; capital budget R440-million and transfers R79-million,” she announced in Bloemfontein.
Delivering the department’s budget in the legislature, Mabe said R1,8-billion was allocated to primary healthcare services, an increase of 16,8%.
These are services rendered at clinic and district hospital level. The priorities in delivering them would include the continuous availability of medication, the filling of critical clinical vacant posts, the procurement of critical medical equipment and the continuous availability of medical consumables.
Mabe said that while the provision of health services was the department’s core mandate, the creation of jobs and the fight against poverty and under-development would feature prominently in all the department’s programmes.
The primary beneficiaries of the programmes would be women, the youth and disabled.
Mabe said R257-million was allocated to strengthening emergency medical services, an increase of 16,6%, in light of the coming 2010 Fifa Soccer World Cup.
She said R25-million was set aside for buying 30 ambulances, 17 response vehicles and equipment for the rescue vehicles.
Reacting to the budget, Free State Democratic Alliance health spokesperson Bazil Alexander said health was not a priority for the African National Congress in the province.
He said the province’s biggest hospital, the Pelonomi Regional Hospital in Bloemfontein, was deteriorating at a speed which undermined the quality of healthcare.
Alexander said the hospital was running out of clean water and antibiotics.
”Most health equipment is outdated and not in a working condition, and the department must urgently redress the reduced spending on medical equipment,” he said. — Sapa