30 July 2021
In honour of Mandela Month, The Embassy of Qatar in Pretoria on Wednesday donated a brand new ambulance, medical equipment that included wheelchairs, blood pressure monitoring machines, laptops, a microwave, medical waste bins, washing machines, tumble dryer and medical fridge to the Qunu Clinic in the Eastern Cape which serves an average of 70 people a day.
The Deputy Minister Candice Mashego-Dlamini, of International Relations and Cooperation, attended the handover ceremony.
In her remarks, the Deputy Minister said Diplomatic Relations between South Africa and Qatar which were established in 1994 have grown steady over the past 26 years.
Making reference to the Civid-19 pandemic, the Deputy Minister Candice Mashego-Dlamini said the Covid-19 pandemic global crisis required a global solution where all states needed to work together to defeat the virus and mitigate its devastating impact on human life and livelihoods. The past year was indeed challenging and through hardship that we all had to endure as a result of the out break of Covid-19 pandemic, we realised the true value of our international partnerships.
Deputy Minister Candice Mashego-Dlamini expressed South Africa’s appreciation and particularly the Qatar and Qunu project and said, we are pleased that some of those solutions that the President had highlighted in his SONA 2019 speech could become a reality for the people of this historically important community of our country. “An Ambulance that can rush the sick to the clinic, an emergency vehicle that can be put to the benefit of the community when crisis occurs, or a single computer can make a huge difference in the life of the community of Qunu. It is therefore touching to see that our leaders’ vision is playing out at grassroots level, with this welcome donation to the Qunu Clinic.
Speaking at the handover, Ndileka Mandela, the Eldest granddaughter of Nelson Mandela, Founder & CEO of the Thembekile Mandela Foundation welcomed the donation, saying it can not be left to the government to do everything. It was important that the private sector, business, and civil society were able to also put their shoulder in the wheel.
“This I learned from my grandad,” said Ndileka Mandela.
In his remarks His Excellency Ambassador Tariq Al-Ansari said supporting the health sector was part of the policy of Qatar and his tasked to enhance and further develop the good relationship between Qatar and South Africa.
His Excellency Ambassador Tariq Al-Ansari went on to say his country was considering doing more such as expanding the Qunu Clinic building and thanked South Africa for the strong partnership between the two countries.
Read More about the event in our upcoming Edition
Images: The Diplomatic Informer Magazine SA
Calvin Modirapula