Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka

Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka.Photo: Tara Turkington

Former Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka was the highest-profile African National Congress (ANC) member to leave the party to join new party Congress of the People (Cope).

As the former minerals and energy minister, Mlambo-Ngcuka had to face high HIV/AIDS prevalence in the mining sector, according to figures published in a special report on News24.

In her speech to the 2005 Inauguration Summit, Mlambo-Ngcuka showed her support for HIV/AIDS educational programmes and a pragmatic approach to HIV-prevention.

In an interview with SABC News on June 26, 2005, she said that her efforts to fight HIV/AIDS would focus on developing an anti-retroviral programme, which she considered the most appropriate response to the epidemic.