Surgeon General’s Message

LIEUTENANT GENERAL (DR) NTSHAVHENI PETER MAPHAHA PSC (J), ENSP

Surgeon General message for SAMHS NEWS Magazine 3rd Edition

Colleagues, fellow serving and retired SAMHS members, welcome to another edition of our official publication. We are gradually approaching the last quarter of the year and this reminds us of our last review of all the tasks and business we embarked on. At this point, we assess and revise our plans.

We had been involved in community outreach projects during Mandela Day in various communities, such as the Mohau Child Youth Care Centre in Atteridgeville. This centre was adopted a few years ago by the SAMHS HQ personnel, and we continue to support it with donations, not forgetting the 1 Military Hospital Paediatric Ward. National Days observation and celebrations in support of government initiatives by SAMHS members is tremendously appreciated.

Women’s Month celebrations were celebrated in a spectacular way, taking into consideration the budgetary constraints that the event had faced. I would like to extend my gratitude to the organisers and all members that participated in remembering the women who bravely fought for women’s rights on 09 August 1956. The Casual Day celebrations in support of the DOD members who are living with disabilities did not go unnoticed.

The support shown by our members for the Presidential Imbizos held in different provinces is highly appreciated. SAMHS also made a positive impact during the BRICS Summit which was held on 22 to 24 August 2023, in the Gauteng Province, collaborating with SANDF to maintain our good image during these activities.

SAMHS Nurses Graduation Ceremony on 04 August 2023 at UNISA is something that we should be proud of and encourage more youngsters in this healthcare profession. They bring light and hope to primary healthcare and beyond. diversity and heritage as a nation. The Heritage marks an important history of our generation and paves the way for the future. SAMHS has also a rich heritage since time immemorial dating back to the beginning of Red Cross by providing humanitarian relief to victims of war and natural disasters as well as providing military healthcare to armed forces. Our role in the military community is crucial as we continue to strive towards military health excellence.

We recently had an official overview visit to assess the state of our service delivery in our military medical centres. Dunnotar and Army Gymnasium sickbays marked the completion of assessments for military bases in the Gauteng province.

The newly adopted theme for SAMHS is “Towards Military Health Excellence”. This theme aligns with the Surgeon General’s vision for the next five years, outlining our path as we strive for excellence in military healthcare. Achieving success in the SAMHS will necessitate a collective effort to maintain organisational focus, clear prioritisation of effort, and accountability for the execution of strategic and operational plans.

National Treasury in August issued a circular on the Cost Containment Measures to warn all government departments. This is to reduce the level of government spending for the current 2023/24 financial year as well as for the coming 2024/25 medium term expenditure framework (MTEF) to improve spending efficiency and maintain a sustainable fiscal framework. Cabinet resolved that the National Treasury should work with all departments and relevant stakeholders in national government, as well as with provinces to identify immediate measures.

In the meantime, heads of national departments should implement the cost containment measures such as freezing:

New employment except if an employment offer has been made, or approved by the National Treasury together with the Department of Public Service and Administration provided that it is a critical post.

The process of advertising new procurement contracts for all infrastructure projects unless approved otherwise. Spending on catering, conferences, workshops and other related goods and services that have not yet been contracted.

Drastically reduce spending on all nonessential travel unless wholly or partially funded by non-governmental resources.

Each head of department should have provided the National Treasury with list of essential travel planned for the 2023/24 fiscal year by 15 September 2023. Routine travel costs for operational reasons involving no overnight stay are excluded.

The Surgeon General Academic Days is an annual event affording multi-disciplinary Health Care Professionals (HCPs) the opportunity for education, training and development in matters related to military medicine, the distinguished guest speakers were also invited to share the latest research studies and developments. This esteemed event took place