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Mbeki 'neglected Aids and Zim'
11/02/2005 22:25 - (SA)
Cape Town - Political parties have criticised President Thabo Mbeki's State of the Nation address to parliament on Friday, for neglecting to address the Aids and Zimbabwe issues.
Democratic Alliance leader Tony Leon praised Mbeki for his summing up of economic progress, but criticised him for "barely mentioning HIV/Aids, crime and Zimbabwe".
Leon said it was clear the state lacked the capacity to play the expanding role he and the African National Congress envisioned for it.
Leon blamed racial transformation of the public service for this failure, and said the process was pushing the best-qualified civil servants out of government departments.
Musa Zondi of the Inkatha Freedom Party welcomed the focus on the development of a "second economy", and progress made in meeting service delivery deadlines in this regard.
Lack of strategy to deal with Aids
"In view of the parlous state of our education system, the IFP welcomes the extra investment in education, which must be the priority of the developmental state."
However, Zondi said the "black hole" in the speech was the lack of a clear strategy to deal with HIV/Aids - the biggest public-policy challenge.
African Christian Democratic Party leader Kenneth Meshoe concurred, saying Aids was mentioned in only one sentence of the 20-page speech.
He said: "This indicates how low the issue of HIV/Aids is on the government's agenda."
Independent Democrats leader Patricia de Lille said there was no doubt the government was becoming predictable, and clarity was emerging on priorities, goals and plans.
United Democratic Movement leader Bantu Holomisa commended Mbeki for acknowledging some of the failures in service delivery.
Holomisa said: "This acknowledgement, coupled with new promises, does not necessarily mean that service delivery will now occur."
More streamlined environment
The UDM agreed with Mbeki's multilateral approach through the Southern African Development Community to deal with the issue of Zimbabwe.
Freedom Front Plus leader Pieter Mulder welcomed the steps announced by Mbeki to create a more-streamlined environment for small businesses.
He said: "Small-business ventures are drowning in an unregulated business environment.
Mulder said Mbeki should also have used the opportunity to show support for drought-stricken farmers and those struggling to survive financially.
The National African Farmers Union SA said Mbeki's "continued commitment" to reform the agricultural sector was encouraging.
- SAPA
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