HEADLINE:   Whips asks president to clarify stance to ANC caucus  

PUBLICATION: Cape Argus

PAGE NUMBER: 2

AUTHOR:     Zubeida Jaffer, Charles Phahlane

DATE:       2000-09-14 05:51:49

Whips ask President to clarify AIDS stance to ANC caucus

Zubeida Jaffer and Charles Phahlane

ANC parliamentary whips have asked President Thabo Mbeki to address the party's caucus to clarify his views on AIDS.

The request for the meeting comes at the same time that the national health secretariat of the ANC has sent a confidential document to Mr 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 Mr Mbeki's ambiguous statements on the disease that affects over four million South Africans.

"We have identified the cause (of AIDS). The infectious agent is HIV, which is a retrovirus," the document says. "The predominant scientific view that HIV causes AIDS is the view that the ANC, its leadership and its membership has to publicly express."

The ANC's deputy chief whip, Geoff Doidge, confirmed last night that AIDS was one of a number of issues the president had been asked to brief caucus members on as soon as possible. Other issues included the position of traditional leaders and the recent UN summit. No date had been confirmed but the briefing could take place next week when the president is scheduled to face questions in parliament.

Both Mr Mbeki and Ms Tshabalala-Msimang have recently refused to say whether they believed HIV causes AIDS.

At the ministerial briefings at parliament this week, there was a similar hesitation from Education Minister Kader Asmal and Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana. Asmal said only after being pressed that HIV "may" cause AIDS but was not the only factor.

The SACP and Cosatu recently stated their belief that HIV causes AIDS and called on the government to provide affordable treatment.