Political parties and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) have called for a probe into new claims against Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, but the Presidency says it will not act unless evidence is produced.
On Monday, Presidency spokesperson Mukoni Ratshitanga repeated an earlier invitation for information backing up the allegations to be presented to the Presidency. It will not launch an investigation into the matter until the evidence is produced.
”The Presidency has asked for a very simple thing. These are allegations that are arising from quarters that seemingly have some evidence. We believe that these quarters would not put these allegations in the public domain if they were not confident about the veracity of their ability to prove them. We are inviting them to bring the information,” he said.
He said Mbeki, who was due to travel to the Democratic Republic of Congo, had not yet scheduled a meeting with Tshabalala-Msimang to clear up the matter.
The African National Congress national working committee, of which both Mbeki and Tshabalala-Msimang are members, was due to meet on Monday, but an ANC spokesperson could not confirm who would be attending.
The Health Department, which declared the reports ”bizarre”, was expected to release a statement on Monday. A recorded message on departmental spokesperson Sibani Mngadi’s phone said the statement was not released yet due to ”further consultations on the matter since the issue is a part of our litigation process”.
No new litigation
Sunday Times editor Mondli Makhanya said there had not been any new litigation against the paper and did not want to comment further.
The Sunday Times reported that the health minister had been banned from Botswana after she allegedly stole items from a hospital where she was superintendent and was convicted of theft. The report also claimed that she had alcoholic liver disease before she had her liver transplant this year.
Cosatu and the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) urged Mbeki to investigate the claims, while the Democratic Alliance called for a probe by the Public Protector.
”In view of their seriousness, (Cosatu) urges the president to conduct a full investigation into the allegations to establish whether, and to what degree, they are true or false,” the union body said.
The ACDP said: ”It is not enough for the president to call for evidence; his government must investigate the matter.”
The South African Students Congress (Sasco) came out in support of the health minister, saying she cannot be fired because she is the most efficient health minister to date.
”There are three reasons why the minister [cannot] be fired. She is the most consistent, efficient and progressive minister of health since 1994 up to date,” a Sasco statement read.
The student body believes the ”recent attack” on the minister is about the government’s policy on HIV and Aids, and it expressed its support for her. — Sapa