HEADLINE:   aids  

PUBLICATION: Daily News

PAGE NUMBER: 1

AUTHOR:     Zubeida Jaffer and Charles Phahlane

DATE:       2000-09-14 13:05:14

Clarify Aids stance, Mbeki asked

By Zubeida Jaffer and Charles Phahlane

CAPE TOWN: African National Congress (ANC) 

parliamentary whips have asked President Thabo Mbeki to address caucus to clarify his views on Aids.

The request comes at the same time that the national health secretariat of the ANC has sent a confidential document to Mbeki and Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, asking them to 

publicly acknowledge that HIV causes Aids.

The document, part of which was leaked to the Cape Times this week, reflects 

dissatisfaction within the 

ruling party about Mbeki's ambiguous statements on the disease that affects more than four million South Africans.

"We have identified the cause (of Aids). The infectious agent is HIV, which is a retrovirus," the document said. "The predominant 

scientific view that HIV 

causes Aids is the view that the ANC, its leadership and its membership have to 

publicly express."

There has been considerable disquiet among ANC MPs about the confusion around the combating of Aids, with many expressing concern that there was a need for clear policy and action.

The document, however ,was not compiled by MPs but by the ANC's health

secretariat which reports directly to secretary-general Mr Kgalema Motlanthe. It does not have decision-making powers and only advises the health ministry on policy. Although Tshabalala-Msimang is named the committee chairwoman, deputy chairman Mr Confidence Moloko effectively runs the group.

Moloko, who wrote the 

document, said it did not reflect the official views of the ANC. "This is a confidential discussion document intended to stimulate debate within the organisation," Moloko said. "There is nothing secretive about it, but it is only intended for people in the ANC. We are not ready to release it to the public yet."

Tshabalala-Msimang was apparently angered by the document and demanded it be withdrawn, but the secretariat said this was a "moral stance" it needed to take.

Both Mbeki and Tshabalala-Msimang have recently refused to say whether they believe HIV causes Aids. 

At the ministerial briefings in Parliament this week, there was a similar hesitation from Education Minister Kader Asmal and Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana. The ANC's alliance partners, the South African Communist Party and Congress of South African Trade Unions recently stated their belief that HIV causes Aids and called on the Government to provide affordable treatment for

people living with the virus. - Parliamentary Bureau