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he ANC continues to work through its structures, Tthrough government and through interaction with The National Executive Committee held its last civil society and communities to combat the HIV/Aids epidemic. The National Executive Committee marked 30 Nov ember-1 December 2001.
World Aids Day with a disc ussion of the HIV/Aids Among other things it discussed the HIV/Aids epidemic in South Africa, and the work of the epidemic and cooperation with the NNP.
organisation, government and other sectors of societyto mobilise the country’s people, resources and energy Government has also focused on the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV through The NEC noted the significant progress that had developing a comprehensive package of care which is been made in creating a wareness about HI V/Aids, being tested at 18 pilot sites across the country. This encouraging prevention, combating prejudice and package includes the provision of HI V counseling and discrimination, and buildin g a foundation for a dequate testing, breast milk substitutes for women who choose not to breastfeed, multivitamins for pregnant women to The meeting endorsed government’s wide-ranging boost their health status during pregnancy, the drug strategy to combat HIV/Aids which includes Nevirapine to both mother and infant dur in g birth, and interventions in a range of sectors and at a number of the treatment of any opportunistic infections during and levels. The strategy focuses on four main areas: after birth for both mother and infant. The lessons learned from these sites will inform the implementation of a comprehensive mother-to-child-transmission research, monitoring and surveillance.
The NEC viewed as unfortunate the court case It reiterated that government’s strategy should be brought against government by the T reatment Action based on the assumption that HI V undermines the Campaign (T AC), intended to force government to human immune system, allowing the development of make nevirapine available to HIV- positive pregnant diseases which give rise to the syndrome known as women in all public health facilities. T he meeting Aids. It f urther supported ongoing scientific enquiry to agreed government’s approach to mother-to-child address the many areas in which our knowledge of the transmission of HIV is correct, given that so little is syndrome, its development and its treatment are still currently known about the longer term effects of the drug; the extent of infrastructure and resources required Prevention includes the distribution of 250 million to administer it; and the level of counselling and male condoms a year, and an increasing number of monitoring required to ensure its potential benefits are female condoms. It includes the effective management of sexually-transmitted infections wh ich reduces the In the areas of treatment, care and support, around risk of HIV infection. A life skills and HI V/ Aids 359 sites for voluntary HIV counselling and testing are education programme is now part of the c urriculum in currently operational. Emphasis is place d on the aggressive treatment of the opportunistic infections which develop as a result of the weakened immune care givers have been trained on service delivery.
system. Government is not c urrently able to provide Several provincial drug literacy workshops have been antiretroviral drugs through the public health system, conducted in the last year to provide people living with HIV/Aids with information on treatment available in ƒ the drugs are very expensive – treating only 100,000 the public sector and related issues.
individuals for a year at US$2 a day would cost The NEC welcomed the wide- spread civil society mobilisation around HIV/Aids, particularly the work ƒ given the documented toxicity of the drugs, each down by community-based organisations in creating patient needs to be closely monitored, wh ich itself awareness and providing support and care. In this regard, it acknowle dged the importance of the ƒ there is a risk of resistance developing to antiretroviral Partnership Against Aids, which recently marked its drugs, which has severe public health implications; ƒ these drugs have to be taken for life, and the treatment The NEC also welcomed the extent to which HI V/ regime needs to be strictly adhered to, particularly if Aids was now being publicly and openly de bated in South Africa. It expressed concern however that much The ANC is committed to treatment programmes of the debate was characterised by misinformation; which are responsible, effective and sustainable.
oversimplification, particularly around the complexities of treatment; and, from some quarters, the wilful Development have be gun implementation of national plan to establish home and community-based careprogrammes. In the first six programmes, a total of More inf ormation is available in the ANC Today Briefing 21,000 beneficiaries have been identified, and 1,350 Document on HIV/Aids in South Africa(www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/anctoday /docs/aidsbrief .htm) Cooperation with the NNP goes beyond government ooperation with the Ne w National Party (NNP) things, poverty, unemployment, homelessness, crime, should not be limited to government, but must find expression in all areas of South Africa’s national life.
ƒ Striving to foster reconciliation and good inter- The NEC stressed this point after receiving a report community relations to achieve a truly non-racial and from the task team involved in discussions with the non-sexist South African society so that, together, we NNP. T he meeting endorsed the strategic objectives agreed to in these discussions, and mandated the task ƒ Recognising that South Africa is an African country.
team to proceed with disc ussions towards finalising an Within the African continent we have an important role to play in mobilising extensively the relevant human Cooperation between the ANC and NNP, as much and material resources necessary for the development of as it aims to restore stable governance and effective delivery to key parts of the country, is in essence about Each organisation will retain its identity and fundamentally changing South African society for the autonomy and will stand for its own policies and better. T he meeting viewed cooperation with the NNP programmes. Each organisation will have the right to as an important step in the political evolution of So uth publicly promote its views and positions in terms of its Africa, and a welcome opportunity to challenge the policies, programmes, strategies and tactics. The AN C racial divisions which characterise So uth African and NNP will seek to achieve consensus on areas of disagr eement and differences, but will not compromise The strategic objectives that will underpin the the principle of majority decision-making and the right relationship between the ANC and the NNP will The nature of cooperation in different areas, ƒ Building a national consensus founded on true South including in government, will be determined in African patriotism as a critical instrument in the effort accordance with strategic objectives of the relationship and on the basis of the needs and circumstances in each ƒ Developing a unity of purpose to confront the great challenges of our country, includin g, among other OBITUARY
he NEC received a report on proposed legislation Tto accommodate major changes in alignment within political parties represented in legislatures and The meeting stressed that while the proposed legislation should make provision for significant The NEC paid tribute to ANC stalwart Joe Modise
political re-alignment, it should not open the door for who passed away on Monday, 26 November. The individual elected officials to simply cross the floor on meeting noted the contribution Modise had made to a wh im or for the sake of expediency. The proposed the struggle for liberation over se ve ral decades, andspecifically his participation as a member of the ANC legislation should not be allowe d to undermine the National Executive Committee from the early 1960s up principle or practice of proportional representation, nor destabilise the fundamental basis of South Africa’s Committee, former Commander of Umkhonto weSizwe (MK) and South Africa’s first democratic Formation of MK celebrated Minister of Defence, Joe Modise will be sadly missed
As commander of the people’s army, Umkhonto The ANC will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the
we Sizwe, Joe Modise was at the forefront of the epic formation of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the people’s army, st ruggle to overthrow minority rule in South Africa. He on 16 December. Among the activities organised will led the integration of the former liberation armies and be a festival of celebration at the Jabulani the SADF into a new democratic national defence Amphitheatre in Soweto, and a dinner at the Sandton force, charged with the defence of democracy and Convention Centre on 16 December. On 15 December, accountable to the people of South Africa. a luncheon for MK stalwarts will be held at Liliesleaf Johannes Modise was born in Doornfontein on farm in Rivonia, the former headquarters of MK.
May 23, 1929 of working-class parents. His militancy Um khonto we Sizwe was formed in 1961 to fight was sparked by the destruction of Sophiatown in the struggle against apartheid on a new front, and 1953. In the lengthy Treason Trial which started in confront the violence and repression of the apartheid 1956, Modise was one of the 156 activists charged.
regime head on. The history of MK over the three He served on the high command of Um khonto we decades of its existence was characterised by the selflessness and sacrifice of the thousands of South Modise was instructed by the high command to go Africans who volunteered to join it. MK wa s disbanded into exile early in 1963. His task was to get training in 1994 with the achievement of democratic elections himself, to oversee training of recruits sent out of the and the formation of new, integrated national defence country and their safe return, and to arrange ordnance force. As the formation of MK is celebrated, the spirit of supplies from the socialist bloc to the liberation service, sacrifice and struggle should be preserved movement. By 1965 the seven top MK commanders through our joint work to build a non-racial, non-sexist inside South Africa had been arrested at Rivonia, Wilton Mkwayi took over the leadership of MK. Afterhis arrest, Modise was appointed army commander.
By then, he was already serving on the NEC.
In the following years Modise established bases in Tanzania, Angola and Uganda. He oversaw trainingprogrammes in the Eastern Bloc, Cuba, Algeria, reparations for the celebration of the ANC’s 90th Egypt, Ethiopia, China and the former GDR. He was in the first group of ANC negotiators to hold talks with the advanced. The oldest living liberation movement in Pretoria government at Groote Schuur in March 1990.
Africa, the AN C will celebrate its 90th birthday at a Modise was re-elected to the NEC at Kabwe (1985), national rally on Sunday, 6 January 2002 at ABSA Durban (1991), Bloemfontein (1994) and Mafikeng(1997).
Stadium in D urban, where President T habo Mbeki will Modise served as Minister of Defence in the present the ANC’s 90th Anniversary statement. Other country’s first democratic government, and oversaw activities will be held around the country to mark the the successful integration of the South African National Defence Force. He retired from government The celebrations will begin on 15-16 December 2001 with a national choir competition, to be held at Modise was awarded the Order of the Star of South the Durban Exhibition Centre. The competition will Africa for meritorious se rvice to the country byPresident Thabo Mbeki shortly before his death.
pay tribute to the rich cultural traditions of theliberation movement. Meeting w ith ZANU-PF: The NEC received a report on
the National Assembly. The meeting expressed its a forthcoming bilateral meeting between the ANC and gratitude to Deputy Chief Whip Geoff Doidge for serving Zanu-PF. This meeting is part of a broader effort, which as acting chief whip since the resignation of Tony Commonwealth, to engage all sectors of Zimbabwean NEC Lekgotla: The NEC will hold its annual lekgotla in
society in finding solutions to the pressing problems January next year to review the wo rk of the organisation over the preceding year and finalise the organisation’s Appointment of Chief Whip: The NEC appointed
Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula as the ANC’s Chief Whip in f NEC LEKGOTLA: 17-20 JANUARY 2002

Source: http://www.anc.org.za/docs/necbul/2001/dece.pdf