After dedicating over 40 years of his life to the medical profession, 20 years of which were spent at the helm of the City’s health department, Dr Mohammed Refik Bismilla will retire from his post next month.
A venerated member of the medical fraternity in Johannesburg who became attracted to public health during South Africa’s turbulent past, Dr Bismilla says vacating his seat as the Executive Director of Health in the City paves the way for someone younger to take over the reins and come up with innovative ideas to take municipal health forward.
“We are now living in a technological era, this department needs someone who will lead the 4IR revolution and explore new ways that can best serve Joburg residents,” says the 70-year-old.
A medical doctor by profession, Bismilla is currently leading a team of health specialists and professionals from the City’s seven regions in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, something he says is both challenging and a learning quest.
“The world has not experienced any pandemic of such magnitude for the past 100 years. I am proud of the team I am currently leading for their hard work and dedication during this difficult time.”
He says some of the challenges the team of health professionals is faced with is the lack of Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) and the unavailability of swabs to conduct testing for the novel coronavirus. “We are working very closely with the provincial government. We still have a long way to go, but we are doing our utmost best,” he explains.
The septuagenarian Dr joined the municipality in the year 2000 as Director for Primary Healthcare. He was promoted to Executive Director after only five years in the position, a post he occupies to this day. Dr Bismilla started his career as an intern doctor at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital after his return from Dublin, Ireland where he obtained his medical degree. He then worked as a doctor in different clinics around Soweto during the height of youth insurrections against apartheid in the 70s, before being promoted to Chief Director by the Gauteng Department of Health.
Born and bred in Potchefstroom in the North West in 1950, Bismilla moved to the coastal city of Durban, now known as eThekwini where he matriculated. Besides being named student of the year in matric, the affable and sometimes talkative Dr failed to secure space in any South African university, forcing him to work at a wholesaler that sold farming equipment, while mulling over his future. He was eventually one of a few students awarded a United Nations bursary in his third year at university, which covered tuition fees and books.
“I received the bursary when I was just about to drop out of university, by that time my family was no longer able to pay for my studies. Even though I did work during university holidays to earn some cash, it was just not enough. So, the bursary helped me and my family,” he adds.
Besides a medical degree from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dr Bismilla holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Health Service Management, Postgraduate Diploma in Occupational Health, and a Professional Certificate in Management, all from the University of Witwatersrand. “Qualifications mean nothing if you can’t do the work. I've had the privilege of visiting different countries around the world where I learned a lot about primary healthcare and how to make it accessible to everyone despite their class.”
He says his legacy at the City is the team he has built over the years and the platform he created for robust discussions and debate on improving primary healthcare. “Through our developmental approach, we have transformed the City’s health service to be hospicentric and allow the people we serve to have a say in the way we do and approach things, that’s why our departmental slogan is ‘health in the hands of the people’.”
Dr Bismilla plans to spend his retirement with his wife and four grandchildren. “I would like to volunteer my time to work with orphans, abused women and drug addicts. I would also like to teach biology, but I am still exploring my options.”
When he’s not at work, Dr Bismilla plants vegetables and flowers in his home-grown garden or can be found reading political and African literature, pondering on concepts of bettering humanity.
Written by Takalani Sioga
