Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2004. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
South African Press Association - October 25, 2004
Yesterday, the department said the TAC had decided to withdraw its legal action, demanding that the department of health provide certain annexes to the Comprehensive Plan for Management, Care and Treatment of HIV and Aids. It has since transpired that such annexes do not exist. Heywood said the TAC would go to court on November 4 to argue that government should pay punitive costs in view of the numerous occasions between February and September 2004 when it failed to provide certain information to TAC or the public.
Heywood said the matter would only be resolved when the ministry conducted itself in the manner required by the constitution by either making an Implementation Plan, if one existed, available to the people of South Africa or urgently developed an implementation plan and publishing it (if one does not exist). "Should it be necessary legal action will continue to be used in order to ensure that the government conducts itself properly."
He said when the case will be heard in the Pretoria High Court on November 4, there would be demonstrations in cities throughout the country to demand an implementation plan and insists on people's right to information.
Letter
Sibani Mngadi, the health department spokesperson, said the letter received by the department from the Aids Law Project, acting on behalf of the TAC, "clearly indicated that the TAC was not pursuing or demanding the annexes they were looking for". Mngadi said the statement only mentioned that the TAC was demanding that the department pay their legal costs.
"It was our understanding that the issues were resolved after we received this letter from the Aids Law Project's Fatima Hassan."
He said Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, the health minister, was meanwhile consulting with the department's lawyers about the appropriate response on the issues surrounding the costs. Mngadi said a Comprehensive Plan was approved by Cabinet last year, and made available on the government's website.
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