South Africa labour boss slams Mbeki on AIDS
South Africa’s top trade unionist has attacked President Thabo Mbeki in the latest sign of discord between the ruling party and its labour allies, accusing him of failing to stem a raging AIDS pandemic.
“This lack of government leadership on HIV is a betrayal of our people and our struggle,” Zwelinzima Vavi, secretary general of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), was quoted as saying in local newspapers on Monday, prompting an angry reaction from the health ministry.
South Africa has more people with HIV/AIDS than any other country with more than 5 million of its 45 million population believed to be infected with HIV.
AIDS activists have criticised the government for its response to the epidemic, saying a roll-out of life-prolonging anti-retroviral drugs has moved too slowly since the programme was introduced last year.
Critics say Mbeki seems reluctant to acknowledge the extent of the disaster.
COSATU, part of a governing alliance with the dominant African National Congress, has differed with the ruling party on the issue of AIDS in the past but the strident tone of Vavi’s remarks and the personal attack on Mbeki were unprecedented.
Vavi’s comments come at a time when relations between the ANC and its leftist allies, COSATU and the South African Communist Party, are strained over a number of issues including Mbeki’s sacking of his former deputy Jacob Zuma, a darling of the left who has been charged with corruption.
Vavi also criticised Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang for stressing the role of nutrition and traditional medicine for AIDS-sufferers instead of pushing to make anti-retroviral drugs more accessible to them.
“There is nothing wrong with encouraging our people to eat and live healthily, but it is very wrong when there is silence about the need to ensure people have access to cheap anti-retrovirals,” he was quoted as saying.
The health ministry denounced Vavi’s comments as based in ignorance and driven by the Treatment Action Campaign - which has lobbied for improved access to free anti-retroviral drugs and led outspoken criticism of Tshabalala-Msimang.
“At best, the remarks demonstrate high level of ignorance on the part of the COSATU leader about the challenge of HIV and AIDS in the country and the government response to this challenge,” the health ministry said in a statement.
The ministry said anti-retroviral treatment had been initiated for more than 61,000 people by June - several times more than a figure of 10,000 quoted by some media reports.
Officials at Mbeki’s presidency and COSATU were unavailable for immediate comment on Monday.
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