Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2002. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Sunday Times (Johannesburg) - Sunday 24 March 2002
Ranjeni Munusamy
This will "free" Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang and her department to deal with other health issues, which are being neglected due to the attention that is being focused on the government's Aids policies.
Mbeki indicated his plans at last weekend's meeting of the ANC's National Executive Committee, which discussed the government's handling of, and response to, the Aids pandemic. This follows a new wave of international criticism of SA's refusal to freely provide antiretroviral drugs to HIV-positive pregnant women.
The NEC has affirmed its support for the policy, saying it was "among the best and most relevant approaches required to manage the epidemic".
But Mbeki is said to be fed up with the endless public controversies over Aids. He also felt Tshabalala-Msimang and her department should focus on the "totality of the country's health situation" instead of just one aspect.
A "core team" of Cabinet ministers in the SA National Aids Council will be constituted into a presidential task team on HIV and Aids. The team - Tshabalala-Msimang, Minister in the Presidency Essop Pahad and Arts, Culture, Science and Technology Minister Ben Ngubane - is to be expanded. Social Development Minister Zola Skweyiya and Public Administration Minister Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi are tipped to join the team.
Mbeki has not indicated when he plans to appoint the new deputy minister or who it might be. The team will probably advise him on candidates.
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