Manto madness must not sidetrack media

With qualifications to her name such as a BA from Fort Hare University, a diploma in Obstetrics, a Master's Degree in Public Health from a Belgian university and a Health Care Systems Planning certificate from the United Kingdom, Mantombazana Edmie Tshabalala-Msimang is a reasonably qualified health minister. But test public support for this particular politician, and you're bound to get an earful.

As well-learned and travelled as she is, South Africans are less than pleased with Manto, who hasn't been in the public's good books since she took up her ministerial duties at the beginning of the Mbeki era. Despite this, she's been tenacious. She became a MP after the 1994 elections and took charge of the health ministry in 1999.

The health minister was in the news again this week. A Sunday Times article by Carmel Rickard and Claire Keeton reported the “ Constitutional Court's indignation at the way the minister had behaved in refusing to make submissions on the merits of her case to the Appeal Court .” The article noted:

“The attitude of the Minister of Health, Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, towards the Supreme Court of Appeal was this week described as ‘deplorable' and as ‘bordering on outright disrespect.'”

Tshabalala-Msimang, who is often referred to as “Doctor No” for her former refusal to administer antiretrovirals to pregnant mothers, has faced an array of court cases which in most cases she has lost. Has the TAC ever had to pay legal fees in a case against the minister, for example? A quick-witted journalist would do well to calculate the amount of taxpayers' money the health minister has spent paying legal bills defending the indefensible.

A second Sunday Times article by reporters Brendan Boyle and Buddy Naidu published on the same day and headlined “Manto roasted on Aids stance”, highlights the manner in which a former US ambassador Richard Holbook spoke of the health minister.

He (Richard Holbrook) then asked De Beers SA managing director Jonathan Oppenheimer: “But why [does] Manto remain? Why your President keeps Manto, who continues to give her monthly sermons on garlic and lemon juice, is beyond me.”

Holbrook was addressing an HIV/AIDS briefing, which the likes of John Kerry, a former US presidential nominee, tycoon Richard Branson, actress Angelina Jolie and Anglo American Chairman Sir Mark Moody-Stuart attended.

From the TAC's Zackie Achmat to South Africa 's Constitutional Court judges, from the official opposition to the international arena laughing at our Health Minister, it is safe to say she's unpopular at best, even hated by some. One could almost admire the resilience with which she clings to her post.

She has stuck with President Thabo Mbeki, whose indecision over HIV/AIDS has also lost him support and attracted much criticism. And what of her other dodgy ally, Matthias Rath? It appears now that that relationship is also under fire According to an I-Net Bridge report published in May, Tshabalala-Msimang has denied endorsing Rath, though other reports such as one run by Cape Times in June contradict this. (See the September 9 Journ-AIDS blog for more on Rath.)

It's unfortunate that media attention on Tshabalala-Msimang may have side-tracked real in-depth investigations into AIDS policy and implementation. When asked recently on SAfmwho his favourite comedian was, comic Mark Banks quipped, “Oh, Manto Tshabalala-Msimang!” Her outlandish antics are an easy target, but it would be terrible if they distracted the media's attention, even slightly, from an impending health disaster. – Lunga Madlala