{"id":5495,"date":"2026-06-02T13:50:19","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T11:50:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dpsa.gov.za\/thepublicservant\/?p=5495"},"modified":"2026-06-03T10:49:02","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T08:49:02","slug":"serving-the-people-deputy-minister-ms-pinky-kekana-brings-healthcare-to-zandspruits-doorstep","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dpsa.gov.za\/thepublicservant\/2026\/06\/02\/serving-the-people-deputy-minister-ms-pinky-kekana-brings-healthcare-to-zandspruits-doorstep\/","title":{"rendered":"Serving the People: Deputy Minister Ms Pinky Kekana Brings Healthcare to Zandspruit’s Doorstep"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In a powerful demonstration of government-led community action, the DPSA and MTN’s Y’ello Care programme unite to deliver free health screenings and clinic upgrades to over 70,000 Zandspruit residents.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“When government shows up \u2014 truly shows up \u2014 communities are transformed. Today was not just about screenings; it was about dignity, care, and the promise of a state that serves.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Deputy Minister Ms Pinky Kekana, DPSA<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

ZANDSPRUIT, JOHANNESBURG<\/strong>, 01 June 2026<\/strong> \u2014 On a crisp Monday morning in one of Johannesburg’s most densely populated informal settlements, something remarkable unfolded. Rows of health professionals, government officials, and corporate volunteers worked side by side, stethoscopes, clipboards, and smiles in hand \u2014 delivering a lifeline of free healthcare services to thousands of Zandspruit residents who needed it most.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the centre of it all stood Deputy Minister of Public Service and Administration, Ms Pinky Kekana, whose presence signalled something beyond a routine official visit. This was the DPSA walking its talk \u2014 bringing the promise of an accountable, caring public service directly to the people it exists to serve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A Day of Free Healthcare for 70,000+ Residents<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The Zandspruit health screening campaign, held on 1st<\/sup> of June 2026, formed part of MTN’s annual 21 Days Y’ello Care programme; a nationwide corporate social responsibility initiative now amplified by a formal partnership with the DPSA, the City of Johannesburg, and a coalition of leading health organisations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Residents \u2014 including elderly community members, young mothers, and people living with disabilities \u2014 received free screenings across a comprehensive range of health indicators:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cholesterol checks<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HIV testing<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blood glucose (HGT) tests<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Body Mass Index (BMI) assessments<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blood pressure monitoring<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Weight and height measurements<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The services were delivered by City of Johannesburg Health, the Government Employees Medical Scheme (GEMS), Metropolitan Health, the Gauteng Department of Health, and Wits University’s specialist TB screening unit, a who’s-who of South Africa’s healthcare ecosystem, united for a single purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DPSA Holds Clinic to Account \u2014 and Commits to Improvement<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The day was not only about screenings. True to the DPSA’s oversight mandate, Deputy Minister Kekana led a formal compliance assessment of the Zandspruit Clinic \u2014 evaluating its adherence to government norms and standards for public health facilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The clinic, which serves a community of more than 70,000 people, faces the twin pressures of high patient volumes and ageing infrastructure \u2014 challenges familiar to many clinics in South Africa’s urban informal settlements. The assessment findings will inform targeted interventions to bring the facility up to the standards every South African deserves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is a model of accountability that speaks directly to the DPSA’s core mission: not just setting standards, but ensuring they are met \u2014 especially for communities that have historically been underserved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MTN’s 21-Day Commitment: Refurbishment, Digital Support, and NHI Readiness<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

This event was only the beginning. Over the next 21 days \u2014 running until 21 June 2026 \u2014 MTN employees and partners will roll up their sleeves and get to work transforming the Zandspruit Clinic from the inside out. Planned improvements include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Repainting and general refurbishment of the facility<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Upgrading reception and waiting areas for improved patient experience<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marking and organising parking bays for better crowd flow<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Infrastructure donations to address critical resource gaps<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Digital data solutions to support National Health Insurance (NHI) registration<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Volunteer support for data capturing, filing, and crowd management<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The NHI digital integration component is particularly significant \u2014 positioning Zandspruit Clinic as a forward-looking facility ready for South Africa’s healthcare transformation agenda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Power of Partnership: When Government and Private Sector Unite<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

What made Zandspruit exceptional was not any single organisation, but the sum of all of them working in concert. The DPSA provided oversight and strategic direction. MTN mobilised its workforce and resources. The City of Johannesburg and provincial health departments delivered clinical expertise. Civil society ensured no resident was left behind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This public-private partnership model \u2014 where government accountability anchors private sector innovation \u2014 offers a replicable blueprint for community health interventions across South Africa. Similar health and education campaigns are planned across multiple regions as part of the broader Y’ello Care programme, with MTN employees volunteering their time and skills throughout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Service-First Vision for South Africa’s Communities<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Campaigns like Zandspruit are about more than healthcare metrics. They are about dignity \u2014 the lived experience of a state that sees you, reaches you, and acts on your behalf. For Deputy Minister Kekana and the DPSA, the day in Zandspruit was a reminder that public service, at its best, is not bureaucracy. It is presence. It is care. It is showing up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As South Africa continues to grapple with the healthcare access gap \u2014 particularly in informal settlements and underserved urban communities \u2014 the Zandspruit model offers both hope and a practical path forward: government oversight, corporate partnership, community trust, and the unwavering commitment of public servants who believe that every citizen deserves nothing less than the best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In a powerful demonstration of government-led community action, the DPSA and MTN’s Y’ello Care programme unite to deliver free health screenings and clinic upgrades to over 70,000 Zandspruit residents. “When government shows up \u2014 truly shows up \u2014 communities are transformed. Today was not just about screenings; it was about dignity, care, and the promise […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":54,"featured_media":5502,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[39,49],"tags":[84,52,63,51,62,57,50,83],"class_list":["post-5495","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","category-public-service-vacancy","tag-community-health","tag-dpsa","tag-gems","tag-latest-news","tag-pinky-kekana","tag-public-service-and-administration","tag-service-delivery-integration","tag-zandspruit-clinic"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dpsa.gov.za\/thepublicservant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5495","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dpsa.gov.za\/thepublicservant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dpsa.gov.za\/thepublicservant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dpsa.gov.za\/thepublicservant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/54"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dpsa.gov.za\/thepublicservant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5495"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.dpsa.gov.za\/thepublicservant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5495\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5508,"href":"https:\/\/www.dpsa.gov.za\/thepublicservant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5495\/revisions\/5508"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dpsa.gov.za\/thepublicservant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5502"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dpsa.gov.za\/thepublicservant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5495"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dpsa.gov.za\/thepublicservant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5495"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dpsa.gov.za\/thepublicservant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5495"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}