Constitutionally Speaking is Pierre De Vos' blog and is vital reading.  I think I'll see if I can have a chat to him about BEE and the constitution at some stage.  I have certain views about the reason why it is a voluntary process as opposed to a mandated one.  I think Pierre would be able to give me a little more insight into it.

This is his latest post on the Topsy Foundation ad which has really shaken South Africa.  It completely dents Mbeki's credibility (if there is anything left to dent after Selebi).

The story of Selinah: WWMS?°

Listening to SAFM this morning, I
was alerted to the advert below, showing in the most stunningly visual
and moving manner that those who question(ed) the link between HIV and
AIDS and the potential benefits of anti-retroviral treatment have a lot
to answer for. Wonder what former President Thabo Mbeki would make of
it.

Writing to then leader of the
opposition, Tony Leon, Mbeki said the following in 2000:

In your letter to me of June 19, you
make the extraordinary statement that AZT boosts the immune system. Not
even the manufacturer of this drug makes this profoundly unscientific
claim. The reality is the precise opposite of what you say, this being
that AZT is immuno-suppressive. Contrary to the claims you make in
promotion of AZT, all responsible medical authorities repeatedly issue
serious warnings about the toxicity of antiretroviral drugs, which
include AZT.

On 28 October 1999, Mbeki told the members of the National Council of
Provinces:

Two matters in this regard [the demand
to make AZT available in the public health service] have been brought to
our attention. One of these is that there are legal cases pending in
this country, the United Kingdom and the United States against AZT on
the basis that this drug is harmful to health. [This claim was
untrue.] There also exists a large volume of scientific literature
alleging that, among other things, the toxicity of this drug is such
that it is in fact a danger to health. These are matters of great
concern to the Government as it would be irresponsible for us not to
heed the dire warnings which medical researchers have been making. I
have therefore asked the Minister of Health, as a matter of urgency, to
go into all these matters so that, to the extent that is possible, we
ourselves, including our country’s medical authorities, are certain of
where the truth lies.

And of course the later Minister of Health also had rather dangerous
and bizarre views on the matter. Dr Tshabalala-Msimang, launching an
anti-TB campaign on 15 March 2003 said the following:

In my heart I believe it is not right to hand them [AZT
and other ARV drugs] out to my people.

The late Peter Mokaba, who died tragically under the influence of
this denialism told The Star the following on 4 April 2002:

We have seen colonization, we have seen
imperialism, we have seen apartheid … and all of them used against us as
a people. [Africans have] won their liberation and now they are
fighting another war and they are being psychologically terrorised once
more because people want to sell [ARV drugs] and make profits. And there
is no benefit in those products. The only thing that can really happen
is that once you touch the antiretrovirals you can go one way.

This is the story behind the advert.

° What Would Mbeki say.