Provincial dispute over allocation of positions spreads into distribution of anti-retrovirals
Jaspreet Kindra
Party tensions in the KwaZulu-Natal government resurfaced this week, when the IFP premier and ANC health MEC clashed over the distribution of anti-retrovirals to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV in the province.
In addition, Inkatha Freedom Party Premier Lionel Mtshali insisted in an interview that he would grant no further provincial cabinet positions to the African National Congress, which accuses him of reneging on a pledge to give it more MECs when the government of regional unity was formed in 1999.
In a statement last week, Mtshali said his government “has always been in favour of promoting the distribution of this drug [nevirapine] and in the past five months has sought ways and means to upgrade such distribution so that it may become available throughout the province”.
However, ANC health MEC Zweli Mkhize said the national and provincial health departments had always maintained the cost of distributing the anti-retroviral was prohibitive.
He said his department would await feedback from two pilot studies under way in the province before taking a decision on whether to make the drug available at all health centres. He would not say when this would happen, emphasising the projects had been initiated only in May.
The ANC’s Obed Mlaba, Durban mayor, echoed Mkhize’s sentiments. “Politicisation of this very serious issue does not help and only sends confused signals to the community.”
In his statement, Mtshali said: “Through the good offices of Minister of Home Affairs Mangosuthu Buthelezi we even received a proposal from the relevant pharmaceutical company that will make the drug available to us at no cost for the next five years.”
Mkhize said that as the cost of nevirapine was nominal, “I don’t know how that donation will help. The major cost is that of counselling and human resources.” The two pilot studies would help to establish the cost of distributing the drug.
Sources in the premier’s office said Mkhize and his Director General, Ronald Green-Thompson, were briefed by Mtshali on the latter’s stance on the distribution of nevirapine.
Asked whether Mtshali might act against Mkhize, a spokesperson in the premier’s office said the premier had not “instructed” the health MEC to make nevirapine available across the board, but had merely stated his position on the issue.
The distribution of nevirapine was mentioned in a recent statement by Mtshali on inter-governmental talks with the Western Cape, where the anti-retroviral is available at all health centres. Mkhize remarked at the time that he was unaware of any talks with the Western Cape on the distribution of the drug.
Meanwhile the IFP and the ANC continue to lock horns on the issue of positions in the provincial cabinet. In an interview, Mtshali rejected ANC provincial chair S’bu Ndebele’s recent criticism that the IFP had reneged on its promise to give more cabinet positions to the ANC as part of a post-1999 general election deal.
Mtshali said there was no justification for the ANC demand for a reallocation of functions. “Surely the assignment of functions to different ministers is only done at the beginning of the five-year term of a particular cabinet? We cannot use this approach as an escape channel from drafting the provincial constitution.”
The drafting of a provincial constitution was the basis of the coalition deal signed between the two parties. It was to have addressed the issue of representation of the two parties in the provincial cabinet as well as the role of the monarchy.