Category: politics

Sorry – my mistake

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Readers visiting this blog last week may have been alarmed by my reporting of the situation in Zimbabwe – especially that relating to the outbreak of deadly infectious diseases there and the potentially disastrous consequences for that country. However, after hearing the news today, it seems that those remarks were hastily made and ill-informed.

President Robert Mugabe has said Zimbabwe has contained cholera.
In a nationally televised speech, he said: “I am happy to say our doctors are being assisted by others and the WHO [World Health Organization] have now arrested cholera.”
He went on to denounce former colonial power Britain, as well as French President Nicolas Sarkozy and US President George W Bush, who both called earlier this week for the 84-year-old to resign: “Because of cholera, Mr Brown, Mr Sarkozy and Mr Bush want military intervention,” Mr Mugabe said.
He added: “Let’s tell them that the cholera cause doesn’t exist any more.” 

I would like to unconditionally apologise for any undue concern that was caused by people reading my blog and believing that our neighbours to the north were in any kind of trouble. I’m left asking myself how I could have got it so very wrong?
As Mr Mugabe has clearly stated, things are obviously completely under control up there and it all seems to have been a bit of a storm in a teacup.
I must add that they really have done a tremendous job in sorting it all out so very quickly and eradicating a disease which threatened literally tens of thousands of vulnerable people, all of whom must be celebrating this evening.
That must be some party.

Well done Mr Mugabe and a hearty pat on the back for you and your wonderful team.  And again – sorry.

Anthrax – the bug that keeps on giving

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So, in addition to all the other problems that Zimbabwe faces, which are too many, too varied and far too well-documented to even think about listing here, and following hot on the heels of the recent cholera outbreaks, anthrax has now reared its ugly head.

Anthrax can kill when infected meat is touched, or eaten or when infected spores are inhaled. A quarantine zone has been declared in the affected areas of Matebeleland North, but because of the desperate hunger in the region some families are still eating infected meat. Traders have also been seen taking potentially infected carcasses out of the restricted zones to trade in Victoria Falls, which risks the disease spreading across Zimbabwe and even over the border into neighbouring Zambia. 

An emergency assessment by the Save the Children and the Ministry of Health found 32 cases of human anthrax in Binga district. Anthrax infections have also killed 160 livestock, as well as two elephants, 70 hippo and 50 buffalo. But with symptoms lying dormant for up to 21 days or more and no communications in the region, the death toll could already be higher.

In all likelihood, this outbreak is due to the breakdown in veterinary services and the routine vaccination of livestock – a similar effect was seen with diphtheria in the independent states formed when the Soviet Union fell apart in the early 1990’s. And while the lack of vaccination is probably the main reason behind this new threat to Zim and its people, it is ably assisted by a general lack of medical resources including antibiotics, a shortage of food and no decent communication network throughout the country.

This isn’t Zimbabwe’s first anthrax outbreak. In fact, the country holds the dubious record of the largest ever human anthrax outbreak, which occurred during the civil war in 1979/80, with close on 11,000 human cases and 182 deaths. The spores of Bacillus anthracis from that episode almost 30 years ago are the little buggers responsible for this new outbreak. What I didn’t know until recently was that there is evidence, albeit nothing concrete, that the 79/80 outbreak was probably caused by deliberate release (i.e. biowarfare) as part of the bitter conflict which was taking place at that time.
Much like landmines once the war is over, the spores don’t just disappear once the epidemic has passed. Vaccination of livestock has kept the disease at bay since independence, but the spores have just been hanging around, waiting for their moment in the spotlight.
Thanks to Mr Mugabe, it’s now turned into a talent contest for bugs. Pop Die-dol. Strictly Come Dying. Whatever. I’m not sure Zimbabwe can take any more. Microbiologically, it’s pretty interesting though.

UPDATE: Nice piece by Rowan Philp in the Sunday Times on what life is actually like in Zim right now.

SA’s HIV policies revisited

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Since Thabo Mbeki’s resignation and the big cabinet clearout in honour of my birthday in September (who can even guess what the ANC may get me next year?), we have been blessed with a new Minister of Heath, Barbara Hogan. Babs (as she may or may not be known to her friends) has paradoxically inherited one of the easiest and most difficult jobs on the planet.  
Easiest because there’s absolutely no way she could do a worse job that her predecessor. Like managing England after Steve McClaren; becoming PM after Gordon Brown; presenting You’ve Been Framed after Lisa Riley.
Manto Tshabalala-Msimang was just rotten – perhaps almost as bad as Riley. Indeed, it has since been suggested that her (Manto, not Riley) and Mbeki’s outrageous denial of the link between HIV and AIDS and their subsequent (lack of) policies were responsible for the deaths of 330,000 people between 2000 and 2005. Barbara is going to have to be pretty ropey to even come close to matching that unfortunate legacy.

But on a (far) more serious note, South Africa is facing a massive crisis regarding HIV, exacerbated by those delays in implementing ARV drug rollout and adequate prevention policies since 1999. Hogan must now turn that around. Tomorrow – World AIDS Day – is her first big day and her plans have already been given the boost of £15million from the UK, something that was unthinkable under Mbeki and Manto:

On Monday, World Aids Day, she is to announce a return to the National Aids plan, dropped under Mr Mbeki’s rule, at a stadium event designed to mobilise the nation in the fight against the epidemic. The high-profile media campaign to raise awareness is planned, including persuading famous people to have themselves tested for HIV.

UK International Development minister Ivan Lewis said it was vital that Ms Hogan succeed in overturning myths about HIV/Aids. He said: “For too long, South Africa has been fighting Aids with its hands tied behind its back. Those ties have now been removed and the country has a fantastic opportunity to finally turn the tide in its struggle against this epidemic. Barbara Hogan has set a bold and exciting vision on HIV and Aids and that is why the UK is fully committed to working with her as she embarks on this new approach.”

Further good news in the fight against HIV is the Violari et al paper [PDF] mentioned in that BBC article, suggesting that early HIV diagnosis and implementation of antiretroviral therapy in neonates reduced early infant mortality by 76% and HIV progression by 75%. Startling.
One of the first tests of Hogan’s intentions and ability will be how quickly and effectively she is able to implement these sort of findings in her policies in order to start saving lives and redressing the appalling recent record of the SA Government on HIV.

Everyone is this country is affected in some way – directly or indirectly – by the scourge of HIV and AIDS. I think that because of that, together with the hope of a new dawn of availability of ARV drugs, HIV prevention, better education and care under Hogan, tomorrow will be probably the most marked and most optimistic recognition of World AIDS Day here in South Africa for many years.

Chair man set to sue

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The interwebs in South Africa was set ablaze last week by the unfortunate incident which befell the Chairperson of the Finance Portfolio Committee, Nhlanhla Nene, live on SABC2. To cut a not ever so long story short, the chair he was sitting upon (as you do) while being interviewed, collapsed. And his job title – Chairperson – geddit?
This has led to him being the laughing stock of South Africa, and, since the video has now had close on 500,000 views on YouTube – the world.

But this all happened last week and this whole story should be finished, gone, disappeared into the annals of internet history. And indeed, we would all have moved on if it weren’t for the actions of one man: Mr Nhlanhla Nene. He’s now threatening to sue the SABC for… well… “something” because of the embarrassment he has suffered. As 5fm’s Breakfast DJ Gareth Cliff mentioned this morning – with each serious comment Nene makes about the incident, the more comical it becomes. If only he could just laugh along with us… but no.

I wasn’t going to show you the video. It’s old news and while it is quite funny, there’s really only so much amusement that one can derive from a bloke falling off a chair on live TV.

But, since he wouldn’t let it lie:
Ladies and Gentlemen – I give you Nhlanhla Nene: a fat bloke with no sense of humour.

Heh heh – he fell off his chair. Again.

Has Lekota named his new party?

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It now seems certain that the ruling party in South Africa, the African National Congress (ANC) who fought their way to freedom through the appalling Apartheid era, will split. Those members who disagree with the the policies, ethics and behaviour of the ANC leader, Jacob Zuma, and those of his supporters, are setting up a new party under the (apparent) leadership of former ANC chairman and defence minister, Mosiuoa Lekota. Aside from the obvious questions of who and how many would join this new party came the additional issue of what it would be called.
It now seems that the proverbial cat has vacated the proverbial bag following an appearance by Mr Lekota at Orange Farm yesterday:

Lekota’s supporters wore white and yellow T-shirts emblazoned with the former ANC chairperson’s face and the words “South African National Congress”.

I think it shows some wonderful imagination. I feel though, the intricacies may be beyond many people’s vision, so please excuse me if I attempt to explain to those that don’t get it.

To recap, Mosiuoa Lekota was a high-ranking member of a political party called the African National Congress, or ANC for short. What has occurred over the past few weeks in South Africa has led (or rather will lead, allegedly) to the forming a breakaway faction from the ANC. In choosing a name for their new entity, what Mr Lekota and his allies have done is taken the name of their previous party, the ruling African National Congress (ANC) and added the word “South” in front of it, thus seemingly choosing their new party’s name to be the South African National Congress.

Do you see? It’s simply genius.
I’ll run through it one more time for those at the back. Instead of the African National Congress, they will be called the South African Nation Congress. Because while the continent is called Africa, the country we are in is called South Africa. Hence South African National Congress. Yes?

Words cannot describe the awesome.

One can only hope that their manifesto is a little more distinctive than their party name.