South Africa

CAPE TOWN - South Africa must eliminate the mother-to-child transmission of HIV/Aids, says Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe. In a speech at the Fifth International Aids Society conference, in Cape Town, Motlanthe says that South Africa has begun work on strengthening its Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission programme and the Minister of Health will soon officially launch government's accelerated plan to ensure targets set in the National Strategic Plan for HIV/Aids and sexually transmitted infections are met. This strategic plan sets targets for halving the HIV/Aids incidence by 2011 as well as providing care, treatment and support to 80% of people living with disease, Motlanthe says, adding that tuberculosis (TB) should be given greater attention. TB is curable even in the context of coinfection with HIV/Aids, but additional measures to ensure that HIV/Aids patients are tested for TB, and TB patients are tested for HIV/Aids, must become the norm," he says. A ‘World Health Organisation/Stop TB Partnership' review of the national TB programme has found that the programme has been strengthened since the last external review in 2005, with improved cure rates and decreased defaulter rates. However, there are still problems with the programme, Motlanthe explains, adding that these include the need for a more coherent strategy for TB/HIV/Aids integration; strengthened infection control; and strengthening TB control in the mining industry, as well as in the correctional services.

PRETORIA - Newly appointed South African Reserve Bank (SARB) governor Gill Marcus will implement policies already in place, says African National Congress (ANC) secretary-general Gwede Mantashe, in response to speculation that Marcus's appointment could mean possible changes in policy. The current policy of the central bank remained in place and could only change if there was a decision to do so at an ANC national conference. "If there are any changes in policy, in the ANC we take very long to change policy because we subject them to processes," he explains. Marcus replaces Tito Mboweni, whose recent unpopularity among unions arose from monetary policy. Reacting to the new appointment, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) says that it trusts Marcus will be "guided by the spirit of Polokwane". "While the Reserve Bank is constitutionally independent of government, it must not ignore the interests and wishes of the people of South Africa," says Cosatu, which voted for a manifesto that prioritises economic growth and the creation of decent employment.

PRETORIA - The implementation of policies is the biggest setback in improving the quality of life of people in Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries, says Social Development Minister Edna Molewa. Addressing a SADC Ministers' conference on population and development, in Pretoria, Molewa says that leadership and resources are the biggest problem in implementing sound policies. She adds that South Africa is still on track to meet its Millennium Development Goals by 2014 despite the financial recession. Regional African director for the United Nations Population Fund Bunmi Makinwa agrees that implementation is a problem. South Africa has some of the best policies in the world but there is a "glaring" discrepancy between the drafting of these policies and acting on them. "The most glaring indication of implementation in countries like South Africa and Swaziland is that they have a gap between the budget and expenditure, says Makinwa.

HARARE - Zimbabwe's new investment incentives may help efforts towards economic recovery, but analysts say that the country will not prosper without radical political reforms. Finance Minister Tendai Biti has announced a raft of import tax cuts for fuel, capital goods and raw materials in a midyear budget review, and calls on the new unity government to put the battered economy on a path to sustainable growth. John Robertson, a leading economic consultant, says that these measures are welcome but will not make much difference on their own. Political issues must to be sorted out by politicians to build up investor confidence, he says. Biti, a member of Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change, says that the new administration needs to convince investors that it can survive and will respect human rights and private property rights.