South African Press Association - February 26, 2007

The main meeting will be in Germiston, Napwa national director Nkululeko Nxesi said on Monday.

Her condition is "improving speedily", according to her spokesperson, Sibani Mngadi.

"The minister remains in a high-care unit at the Johannesburg General Hospital where she was admitted on Tuesday February 20," he said.

Tshabalala-Msimang is being treated for anaemia and pleural effusion (an abnormal accumulation of fluid in the pleural cavity, a fluid-filled space surrounding the lungs) at Johannesburg Hospital. She has already undergone a blood transfusion.

Meanwhile, Napwa lashed out at the Democratic Alliance (DA) "for making calls that the minister of health should be removed from office, as she is currently sick".

Last week, the African National Congress (ANC) parliamentary caucus said it was appalled at the insensitive remarks attributed to DA spokesperson Dianne Kohler-Barnard.

"The reference to the minister as a 'terrifying sight' and that she must be removed from office 'before dying there' by the DA MP, as quoted in the weekend press, is a shocking defiance of basic standards of human behaviour.

"It is indeed sad when political opposition stoops so low that an opposition member takes delight in the personal hardships of those she differs with.

"The ANC caucus is shocked by Ms Kohler-Barnard's insensitivity and lack of human decency.

"We trust that her remarks are not representative of the entire DA leadership collective and call on the party to publicly distance itself from such comments," the statement said.

Nxesi said the DA's "inhumane" comments were a reminder of how the apartheid regime dealt with people who were sick.

"People were just taken out of their work, and dumped at their homes without any social assistance.

"[The] DA should realise that everyone, including the minister of health, cannot be fired on the basis of their ill health."

Nxesi went on to say that Tshabalala-Msimang's role and leadership guidance is "more needed now than ever before".

"As the country is currently finalising the new national country strategic plan and the revival of the South African National Aids Council, her inputs and leadership are crucial."

The organisation had always appreciated and acknowledged the important role that the minister has played in leading the struggle for transformation of the healthcare system "for the betterment of the African population in general and historically disadvantaged communities in particular in this country".

"Napwa is also aware of the positive role that our minister is playing in the African and international health forums in speaking on behalf of the African population on matters of health," Napwa said.

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