Deon de Lange and Murray Williams
26 September 2008
Cape Town — President Kgalema Motlanthe has been congratulated for replacing controversial Manto Tshabalala-Msimang with popular struggle veteran Barbara Hogan as health minister.
In a rare show of unity with the ANC, opposition politicians from across the political spectrum joined Aids activists in welcoming Hogan to the Cabinet.
The shift in the Department of Health was among the more dramatic moves in the reshuffle announced by Motlanthe yesterday.
Another significant shift is in the crucial Safety and Security portfolio. Charles Nqakula has been moved to Defence, taking over from Mosiuoa Lekota, a key Mbeki ally. Motlanthe selected Zuma ally and ANC chief whip Nathi Mthethwa to head Safety and Security.
Tshabalala-Msimang, who has for years waged a high-profile war of words with the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) - and crossed swords with the organisation in court - will become a minister in the Presidency, replacing Thabo Mbeki's lifelong lieutenant and confidante, Essop Pahad.
Mike Waters, the DA's health spokesman, said this morning: "It's nine years too late. There were tens of thousands of unnecessary deaths due to her (Tshabalala-Msimang).
"There are 1 000 Aids deaths and 1 700 new infections every day. It's huge.
"What we need and what we're hoping is that we'll have a minister who will lead the charge and will give a clear, short, sharp, concise message. As the president in Uganda did, we hope Motlanthe will talk about Aids and encourage people to get tested and go on ARVs if they need to."
On the fact that Jacob Zuma remained ANC president, he said: "We don't know how much power he has behind the throne, or if he'll ever get to the throne.
"But we have a president and a new minister who haven't made any blunders, so we hope that we can put all the myths - created by the former president and health minister - to bed once and for all," Waters said.
Motlanthe also appointed former North West Health MEC Molefe Sefularo as deputy health minister, filling a post that has remained vacant since Mbeki controversially axed Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge last year - ostensibly for travelling abroad without executive authority.
Madlala-Routledge completed a stunning political comeback yesterday when she was elected Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly.
The TAC congratulated Motlanthe last night on his "excellent appointments" and praised Hogan for her commitment to fight the HIV/Aids virus.
"(Hogan) has been one of the few MPs to speak out against Aids denialism and to offer support to the TAC, even during the worst period of Aids denialism by former president Thabo Mbeki and former health minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang," the organisation said.
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But there is a steep mountain to climb, the TAC warned, such as "the inequalities of the apartheid system, the HIV pandemic and the utterly disastrous reign of Tshabalala-Msimang".
ACDP leader Kenneth Meshoe also welcomed the move, pointing out that there had been a "clear lack of delivery" in the health ministry under Tshabalala-Msimang.
"We cannot afford any further paralysis that has affected the government under a lame-duck presidency for the past nine months since the Polokwane conference," he said.
IFP MP and health spokeswoman Ruth Rabinowitz responded positively to the appointments, but said she had "hoped and expected" that Madlala-Routledge would take over as health minister, since she already had "a handle on things" from her days as health deputy.
"We got Manto (Tshabalala-Msimang) out. That's the best thing that could have happened," she said. Responding to Hogan's appointment, Rabinowitz said "one must assume anyone is better than Manto" and Hogan should therefore be "given a chance".
ID leader Patricia de Lille said Motlanthe had "rescued the public - and probably the private-health sector in the country" by dumping Tshabalala-Msimang.
De Lille also noted that the newly appointed Cabinet members would only serve until the next election and could therefore not do "too much damage" in their respective portfolios, provided they adhered to Motlanthe's undertaking that there would not be significant policy shifts between now and the election.
In fact, not a favourable word about the former health minister was uttered by MPs who spoke to the Cape Argus.
Hogan has been a member of the ANC since 1976.
She was detained and tortured by the security police in 1982 and, after more than a year in solitary confinement, was found guilty of high treason and sentenced to 10 years in prison. She was released along with other political prisoners in 1990 when the ANC was unbanned.
Motlanthe's new Cabinet was scheduled to be sworn in at the Union Buildings today.
# Earlier today, Mbeki bade farewell to his staff at the Union Buildings, at the same time as parliament voted on his pension.
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