Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2009. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
South African Press Association - March 17, 2009
Lead author Kondwani Chirambo said on Tuesday he was aware of only one local councillor, a woman from the Free State, who had publicly declared she was HIV-positive.
Neither in South Africa, nor in any of six other African countries he had studied, had any other politician at any level had the courage to do so.
"To disclose their status is political suicide, they believe," he said.
The study said there was a general fear among the 112 ward councillors interviewed by researchers that disclosure of HIV status could ruin political careers.
"On the one hand, councillors express a fear of rejection by the electorate, who may deem them unfit for office if they are known to be HIV-positive.
"On the other, they see a danger of political opposition presenting them as incapable of ruling. The emerging data creates the impression that HIV/Aids denialism permeates politics."
The study said 233 local councillors in the 22- to 49-year-old age group died in office between February 2001 and December 2007, and it could be assumed that 70% of those, or 161 individuals, died of Aids-related illnesses.
The deaths were equivalent to two-thirds of the strength of the National Assembly.
Losing this number of people at leadership level was "not a phenomenon to be ignored".
The fact that most of the deaths occurred among councillors younger than 51 should raise the alarm over institutional memory and effective local governance.
"How can we possibly expect to build capacity in politics if the people who should lead will die before the age of 50?" the study asked.
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