Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2002. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
South African Press Association (Johannesburg) - August 15, 2002
Briefing the media at Parliament, she said neither she nor the health department had been approached by Anglo regarding its plans.
She had only read about it in the media herself, Tshabalala-Msimang said.
Earlier this month, Anglo announced its operating companies would be encouraged to enhance their existing programmes for managing HIV/Aids by making antiretroviral therapy available to HIV-positive employees who were not members of medical schemes.
Chief executive officer Tony Trahar said Anglo would seek partnerships with government to ensure the appropriate health-care facilities were available for HIV positive workers once they left the company.
An estimated 23 percent of Anglo's 134000 employees had the disease, and the company expected about 10 percent of those infected to take up the treatment in the first year, he said.
During Thursday's briefing, Tshabalala-Msimang said although Anglo's actions in providing free antiretrovirals were "generous", it was a pity the company had not consulted the department before taking action.
It was entirely wrong for Anglo to commit the government to the programme through the media, without even approaching the department itself first, she said.
Turning to the controversy over whether a donation from the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Malaria and Tuberculosis would go to an initiative in KwaZulu-Natal or to national government, Tshabalala-Msimang said the matter was still under discussion, and it would be "premature" to speculate on the outcome.
The fund allocated about R930-million to national government for strengthening national capacity for treatment, care and support related to HIV, Aids and TB.
Another amount of over R700-million was allocated to the Enhancing Care Initiative KwaZulu-Natal, which had conducted two years of research and brought forward a comprehensive proposal for prevention, care and support for people with HIV/Aids in the province.
However, government wants the full amount of R1,63-billion to go to national government.
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