Cape Town - News24 speaks to Barbara Hogan just hours before she is sworn in as Minister of Health about the road that lies ahead.
Listen to the audio interview here:
News24: Were you expecting this appointment? Did you really only find out just hours before?
Barbara Hogan: Yes. I wasn't expecting this appointment.
Why do you think the President picked you?
Well I can't probe what the president was thinking. He obviously picked me for his team so I hope I meet his expectations.
I've heard you say that your managerial skills might be something that he's looking for?
Yes, he definitely did say that they are looking for financial and managerial skills in the department, I have a deputy, Dr Molefi Sefularo who is a medical doctor who's been very engaged in the healthcare sector so I think he's looking at a team effort here.
You say you're not a medical professional yourself. Who is Barbara Hogan? Tell us a bit about yourself. Few South Africans had heard of you before last night.
Who am I? I'm a Member of Parliament, I chaired the finance portfolio committee in parliament for five years. I've been there since 1994. I've worked mainly in the finance and economics field. When I came out of prison - I was in prison for about nine years or so - I studied economics and accounting, those kids of subjects, so when I came out of prison I worked for the ANC as the secretary general for the Gauteng region for a number of years and then I was deployed to parliament and worked mainly in those fields - economics and finance.
What do you think will be your biggest challenge?
I think the biggest challenge is going to be to boost the morale of healthworkers, to create a health system that is functional and responsive to people who are using it - and those are big challenges all in itself - I think the biggest challenge is HIV/Aids and all the strains that it places on the health system. So there's a huge number of challenges.
Did you agree with the previous president and health minister's stances on HIV/Aids? What is your stance on HIV/Aids?
Well my stance has been what the Cabinet's stance has been. The previous Cabinet believed HIV/Aids is a very serious issue and I would thoroughly endorse the role-out of anti-retrovirals and any way we can accelerate that, the better.
The TAC says they are very excited about your appointment. How do you see your department working with them?
Well, as with any NGO. I would welcome their participation and their assistance. I'm not saying we will always agree but I've always had a good relationship with the TAC and NGOs involved in that sector and I think you need to mobilise every possible sector of society at the moment, from the private sector to the NGO sector to the government sector, to improve our health services.
What is the health of the Health Department? How do you feel about inheriting it in the format that it is now, with public confidence in it being so low?
I wouldn't like to prejudge the situation at all. I believe that a Health Department is never all one thing. I've seen some very good health professionals in that department and until I'm fully acquainted with it I would very not like not to prejudge it because I just don't want to base that on speculation.
How appropriate do you think state intervention is in the way medical funds conduct their business and the way private healthcare providers conduct their business? Have you had any thoughts on that?
I haven't had extensive thoughts on that but that's obviously an area that I'd be very interested given my financial and economic background.
The new Medicines Bill that has just been passed in Parliament? Your predecessor wanted more political control over the registration of medicines - is that a good thing?
No I think the bill as it's going through as it's going through now is a great improvement on the initial one that went through.
What about private healthcare? There's been a lot of concern about perceived moves to regulate private healthcare and fears that the department wanted to do away with it altogether. What do you think about that?
Well that is not an issue I'd like to prejudge. That's a policy issue I'd like to engage in before I fully comment on it, but I think we're fully mindful of all the sectors - the private and the public sector - and what they contribute to healthcare in our society and I wouldn't want anyone to be substantially undermined.
So there's room for both?
Well I don't want to pronounce on that but certainly I think that it's a proposal that one needs to look at.
What can we do to stem the flow of medical professions leaving the country?
I think we need to boost morale, I think we need to improve working conditions? I think we need to rope in the full capacity of provinces because they are major players. I think there's a major role to be played there.
You are sworn in this afternoon, what's the first thing you are going to do?
Well I want to engage with my department. I want to engage with my DG, I want to engage with my deputy minister and just get comprehensive briefings. I see the next two weeks or so as a period in which I'll get intensive briefings from my department and from a range of people.
So you've got your work cut out for you?
I've got my work cut out for me!
We're not sure if you are going to be Health Minister after the next elections - so you've only really got a few months for definite?
- Precisely -
What do you think you are going to be able to achieve in that time? What would you like to be able to achieve if your legacy is only a few months?
I think that you've got to choose just a few things and work at that. Obviously one can't cover everything - as you say it's a six month, seven month appointment - so I want to focus in on just a couple of achievables in that period of time.
Would you want to stay on, if offered the position after next year's election?
I wouldn't like to comment on that now.
Barbara Hogan thank you so much for talking to News24. Best of luck from us all in your new position as Minister of Health.
Disclaimer: News24 encourages freedom of speech and the expression of diverse views. News24 editors reserve the right to edit or delete any and all comments received.
Hope 26/09/2008 10:12
This is possibly the most important job in SA. I would like to wish Barbara Hogan all of the best and i hope she can bring good sense back to the management of our health care system. For far too long have we been suffering because of quack science driving our policy-making - something that has lead to many preventable deaths.
- Mac
???? a new dawn? 26/09/2008 10:27
Could this be the health departments knight in shining armour??? - Nic the Greek
boosting health worker's morale 26/09/2008 10:28
I am specialist in a very large government hospital. In six years many of us have no promotion, because "there were no posts available". We have had several peer review assessments, have done very well but never been rewarded, reasons given: "we have restructured the package for every one". We are still awaiting a raise in salary. My colleagues in private practise earn 5-6x our monthly salary. Many of us work our free week ends in private practise to bolster our income. - A J Peter
New minister 26/09/2008 10:52
What exacttly did she study. She talks about 'my financial and economic background' but does not specify her qualifications. Her 9 years in prison seem to be her major qualification but having said that she can only be better then what we have had. I must say though that the quality of the politicians in SA is very poor. Banana Republic here we come. - Ted
Ms Hogan 26/09/2008 10:57
all the best Ms Hogan, and please make the necessary changes so that all can make use of a good, dependable health care system. and NO aids and HIV is not the only medical crisis that we have. For one, please promote nursing as a career - Zeenat
new ministers 26/09/2008 11:14
i welcome the appointment of ministers, and somehow i'm dissapointed by the appointment of minister public enterprises. i think she should have been given something else. ministries as these need people who are not going to confuse the system still learning. someone from a economics/finance background like the one appointed at health. - thabo dijoe
MY PERSONAL ADVICE 26/09/2008 11:19
1)DO NOT USE TOO MUCH TENDERS(THEY ARE CORRUPT)
2)USE YOUR OWN HOSPITAL SECURITY(PERMANENT STAFF)
3)USE YOUR OWN CLEANERS(PERMANENT STAFF),WHO CAN BE LATER PROMOTED WITHIN THE HEALTH INDUSTRY.
4)OUTSOURCE THE DISTRIBUTION OF MEDICINES...BUT BE CAREFUL.
5)BURSARIES FOR DOCTORS & NURSES
6)REOPEN NURSE TRAINING HOMES
7)RESTORE WHITE UNIFORMS FOR QUALIFIED NURSES & RED FOR STUDENTS & BLUE FOR ASSISTANCE NURSES - vincent nkhatho
New minister 26/09/2008 11:24
I hope she puts more focus on the morale of health professionals in public hospitals.The cost of private health care is really denting my budget. - Olivia
Taking Health Forward 26/09/2008 11:56
1) Please engage with health research entities as partners. We have been positioned as the other as our research often was at odds with that conducted by the government. This is not so, we are not villains, we are people who are highly qualified and motivated to bring health-positive change about. We are also very keen for our research to have real policy outcomes. 2) Health is a social matter and transcends nurses and hospitals and disease. - Graeme
@ Vincent Nkhatho 26/09/2008 12:03
An excellent letter full of suggestions. Motivate nurses with bursaries but also reward those nurses who have stayed on and rendered the best service they could under a totally incompetent Health Minister by raising the financial rewards based on performance not colour. Never taken part in strikes, continue to study and service excellence. The nation's lives depend on these women and they take all the flak even for the doctors. - GailC
QUALIFICATIONS 26/09/2008 12:04
What is the meaning of doing finance here and economics there? - scorpion
Big Improvement 26/09/2008 12:07
Anybody will be a big improvement on the boozing, quack, witchdoctor we had for so many years.
I wish Barbara Hogan all the very best for the future and hope she can resuscitate a dept that is basically terminally ill. - Shaun
Minister of sport 26/09/2008 12:10
Why dind't minister of sporet resigns? we need somebody who has passion on sport like Ngconde Balfour. - Mashudu rambau
Appointment of Barbara Hogan 26/09/2008 12:16
I think this was a good appointment. Over the years Barbara has proven to be a good leader. She also brings in the financial experience which is crucial for service delivery. One other challenge will be to motivate the Health staff members with the intention of retaining their service within the country - Bongani Zondi
Welcome and Good luck! 26/09/2008 12:26
At last someone new, hopefully it is not just going to be somebody dealing with HIV/Aids issues!! i am sick and tired of them just fussing over Aids/HIV and we all know where it actually comes from. Most cases people brought it onto themselves!! As a cancer patient resently diagnosed and moving fast on the raod to recovery and surviving this ordeal that crossed my life, I would like to see better benefits for all health workers. Also to make hospital and health care available to every one in SA - marie
Prison 26/09/2008 13:10
Why was she in prison? Can someone elaborate here? - Andrew
Health minister replacement a good move 26/09/2008 13:29
I may not be in favour of this new govt under Motlanthe but I feel the replacement of Manto Tshabalala as health Minister was spot-on. - Vincent nazo
A positive change 26/09/2008 13:51
Go Hogan and Sefularo! Do not doubt for one second that SA can turn its HIV/AIDS crisis around, the way that Botswana did, and continues to do. The future success of the health system is re-established as the ministry's mandate, and the nation looks up to you. - Candice Lee De Carvalho
Qualification and relevence of it 26/09/2008 13:55
Thank you, Mr Pre. It seems as if you serve as prinsoner you automatically became a member of parliament and cabinet. If we can you look at the qualification, an economics in the health department? the lack of skills in south africa start up with the cabinet, how on earth can someone studied economics and accounting be the minister of health? is your strategy to come up with cheap beetroot too?or maybe garlic works better and cheaper. I guess so - SLK
Great News! 26/09/2008 13:56
Manto definitely needed the boot! Lets' hope this lady can really revive this ailing patient (Health Dept)! - js
Appointment of Barbara Hogan 26/09/2008 14:00
At last there is light at the end of the tunnel. Things in the department of health can only improve. I hope that medical professionals will remain in this country after they experienced the major improvement in the public and private sector hospitals with qualified nursing staff.
Congratulations Barbara and may God bless your work. - Colin de Wet
economics in the health sector???? 26/09/2008 14:01
what is happening to our dearly beloved country??? the freedom fighters (the true ones, not those who "claims" to have "struggled") must be turning sideways and back in their graves.... motlanthe was a good move,manuel is an excellent keeper.... BUT hogan in health, and to top all the "circus" off, her (hogan) deputy is a QUALIFIED medical doctor who has all the neccessary qualification and intellectual backing to run the health sector.... ai, wat word van ons arme land??? what's next??? - linda
New Minister ofHealth 26/09/2008 14:17
We certainly needed to dump the previos one. Well done. However, while I suppose that Barbara Hogan should be given a chance, and with all due respect (if any is due) for her struggle credentials, I believe this is a mistake. Mr President: Please appoint an experienced health professional, preferably a retired professor from a university training hospital, with medical administration experience as well, and give that person wide powers for a major "clean-up", as it were. - ToYourHealth_Cheers
new minister 26/09/2008 14:26
a minister of health without even a nursing back ground,i sure hope we will not wish for Manto back. - dee
