Following the decision of the Durban High Court regarding access to antiretroviral treatment by prisoners at the Durban-Westville Prison, an impression has been created that the Government does not respect the decisions of the Courts. The Government wishes to clarify its position in this regard.
Government has noted with disappointment the incident at Crossroads in Cape Town where a community meeting attended by Mayor Helen Zille was disrupted and violence used against the Mayor.
The South African government has noted the judgement in the Durban trial of Mr Shabir Shaik, and welcomes the fact that the matter has reached a critical stage of finality. It testifies to the maturity of our democracy that the trial ran its course without any interference from any quarter – be it government in general or anyone in authority who may have featured in the evidence led.
In response to media enquiries GCIS wishes to clarify matters regarding its work in relation to other departments and in so doing to correct a misleading report that has appeared in Business Day (Spin doctors called upon to aid blunder-prone Manto, 12 May 2005) concerning communication on HIV and AIDS.
Coinciding with a series of media briefings by government clusters on implementation of the Programme of Action for 2005, the programme published on the government web site www.gov.za is being updated on the basis of reports by clusters to Cabinet. The Cabinet finalised the reports at its meeting on 28 April.
The updated report on implementation is being published cluster by cluster, in accordance with the schedule of cluster media briefings.
South Africans will be celebrating life at the official closing of the Ten Years of Freedom celebrations at the Athlone Stadium on Friday.
The eight-hour long event will follow President Thabo Mbeki's State of the Nation Address on the morning of the same day. It will be conveying the same message heard throughout the year-long celebrations, that we are a people united for a better South Africa and a better world.
Government's Programme of Action for 2004 has been updated with respect to progress in implementation. This will be the final update and a new Programme of Action for 2005 will be developed based on the decisions of the Cabinet lekgotla held in January and the President's State of the Nation Address in Parliament on 11 February 2005.
The Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed that 885 people are still unaccounted for and a further six are believed missing following the tsunami disaster in South East Asia.
The official death toll stands at nine, with all fatalities having occurred in Thailand.
No South African fatalities have been reported from other parts of the region.
On behalf of the South African government, Dr Essop Pahad, Minister in The Presidency and Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) political head will on 3 December 2004, acknowledge and honour communicators who have shown commitment, innovation and excellence in government communication. Communicators will be honoured at the annual Government Communicators' Awards (GCA) to be held at the Gallagher Estate in Midrand.
