Public Service and Administration Deputy Minister, Sindisiwe Chikunga, says public servants who were at the frontline of fighting the pandemic and succumbed to COVID-19 will be remembered for their commitment and service.
“We salute these public servants for upholding the Batho Pele principles until the end and we extend our heartfelt condolences to their families,” Chikunga said.
Speaking at the recently held 18th CPSI Public Sector Innovation Awards ceremony, Chikunga said Coronavirus has had a major disruptive impact on people’s lives – economically, socially and otherwise.
“We are all navigating this new normal together. Most notable is the impact of the virus on many economies around the globe, characterised by shrinking economies, closing businesses and job losses, resulting in soaring unemployment levels and loss of livelihoods by millions of people around the world, and in our country,” Chikunga said.
Chikunga said the pandemic has highlighted systemic challenges, which require innovative solutions to fast track service delivery challenges.
“In the face of adversity, these challenges have given rise to the need for innovation and technology more than ever.
“In the education sector, we still need a lot of innovative solutions, which calls for our country to increase the budget for innovation… .”
“We are here to recognise and celebrate with great excitement the innovative and creative prowess by none other than our public servants zeal in finding solutions to service delivery challenges,” Chikunga said.
Awards
This year, more than 50 entries were received for the awards from across the country.
The winners for the category of Citizen-Focused Innovations Awards are:
Pre-operative physiotherapy for patients following lower limb fractures – The Department of Health (Gauteng)
Innovations Harnessing Technology (ICT & Other Frontier Technologies) – BizPortal and the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission.
Replication and Adaptation of Innovative Solutions – Randfontein High School, Gauteng.
For the category of Trailblazer Award, the winners are: Thando Luyaba – BizPortal.
For the Special Ministerial Awards, the winners are: Recycled Blue Lights (Limpopo) and Prev Leak (Gauteng).
The winner of the GEMS Health Award is: Family Centred Tracheostomy Care (Gauteng).
Chikunga congratulated the winners and finalists, and wished them well as they take their projects forward. – SAnews.gov.za
