In an electric session on Wednesday, conference delegates at the International Aids Conference in Thailand witnessed top South African government officials facing off with leading civil society activists over the use of the antiretroviral drug Nevirapine for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV. The session eventually brought about a better understanding of this issue. The controversy followed a comment made by South African Health Minister, Dr Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, at the opening of the South African stand at the Conference on Sunday. The Minister said that recent studies did not support the use of single-dose Nevirapine for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT).

"On 2 - 4 July 2004, more than 530 delegates - including more than 80 health workers and representing over 60 organisations and institutions - met at the first People's Health Summit (PHS) to discuss the crisis and inequity in the health system and the roll-out of antiretroviral (ARV) treatment. While recognising the impact of the legacy of injustice and inequality of apartheid on the health service of our country and our people, delegates to the PHS expressed grave concern that in spite of many good policies, laws and programmes, the public health service is in crisis and the quality of many services is in decline."

"...the tenth anniversary of South African freedom is no cause for celebration by the oppressed whether at home, elsewhere in Africa, or across the Third World. It is, rather, a moment for us to examine the contradictions associated with a decade of worsening class apartheid and to challenge victimist rhetoric about global inequality when it disguises status quo elite ambitions. Given the ability of South Africa’s progressive activists to consistently identify and protest the hypocrisy of their government talking left while walking right, it is fair to say that Pretoria’s strategy will soon be overtaken, not only by failure from above but by resistance from below." This is the conclusion of an article on the Foreign Policy in Focus website by Patrick Bond, who teaches at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.

Senior public servants are refusing to declare their assets, shares and other interests that could be in conflict with their employment contracts. Their refusal, according to Wits University academic Professor Patrick FitzGerald, makes it difficult to detect corruption among public servants. The Financial Disclosures of Heads of Departments Regulations says that 'any employee who fails to disclose an interest...is guilty of a misconduct.' Despite this, no action has been taken against the 67% of senior public servants who refused to declare their interests.

This report forms the South African Country Study of a comparative regional study being undertaken by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) into ‘strengthening the role of agricultural workers unions in West and Southern Africa’. The focus is on the role of agricultural workers unions in land reform. The aim of the study is to understand the circumstances and organisation of South African farmworkers and unions, the legislative environment which influences or supports their actions, and their actual or potential participation in policy making and implementation, particularly in the unfolding of the country’s land reform programme.

The Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI) has signalled its outrage at police action in Diepsloot on 7 July 2004, when, for a period of three hours, media were barred from covering the ongoing conflict between the residents of the area and state authorities. Police threatened to arrest any journalist who entered the area. Diepsloot is an informal settlement, located a few kilometres outside of Johannesburg in Gauteng Province. Since 5 July 2004, Diepsloot has been rocked by violent confrontations between its residents and the police, amid allegations that the residents will be relocated to Brits, a rural area in the country's North West Province.

AIDS activists in South Africa hope that the inclusion of sex workers in an HIV research project will draw attention to the need for outreach programmes targeting this often marginalised group. About 600 female sex workers in and around Durban, the capital of eastern KwaZulu Natal (KZN) province, are expected to participate in the study which begins at the end of July.

SANGONeT is to launch a new on-line information service for South African civil society organisations. The objective of the new service is to 'develop and maintain a user-friendly "one-stop" Internet entry point to information on South African non-profit organisations (NPOs) and development organisations.' The service will showcase the work of these NPOs, raise awareness of their development activities and highlight the current issues and challenges they face. It is due to be launched in August 2004.

Gauteng Housing MEC Nomvula Mokonyane has appealed for calm in Diepsloot, a sprawling settlement north of Johannesburg hit by riots, as residents furious at allegations that government planned to relocate them to Brits in the North West, went on the rampage. Although there is now relative calm in the area since police have dispersed much of the protestors, the situation is still tense and the authorities have closed down the R511 road passing through Diepsloot to Sandton.

The 24th June 2004, will remain the saddest day for the poorest of the poor in Durban. Marcel King, a 19 year old youth was shot dead at point blank range by council security, in the fight against social injustices. Marcel, the youngest son of Alemaine King of Rinkgreen Walk, Greenbury, Phoenix, was killed by the eThekweni Municipalities Security force whilst defending his helpless mum and defying electricity cut-offs in his community.

In late 2003, largely as a result of pressure exerted by TAC, the government formally committed itself to rolling out HIV treatment. This policy shift has posed several questions related to TAC’s interim and long term political future, given the reality of the roll-out. Will the ‘centre fail to hold’ as factions emerged in the politically ‘broad umbrella’ social movement that is TAC? Will it simply become a service-delivery focused NGO working for the Department of Health? Will the government’s commitment to HIV treatment policy reform lead to TAC’s co-option? Will it render itself obsolete through its own success lobbying for wider HIV treatment access?

Provincial education budgets this year show a stark and widening gap between government policy aims and available funding. This is the main finding of the Institute for Democracy in South Africa (Idasa) in its analysis of these budgets. As a result, apparently priority areas such as early childhood development (ECD), adult education and training, and education for learners with special needs will be especially hard hit, suggests Idasa researcher Russell Wildeman in his provincial education budget analysis, released this month.

"Jubilee South Africa and the Khulumani Support Group are currently holding an international consultation in a climate of fresh optimism in light of the United States Supreme Court ruling last week on the Sosa vs Alvares case. The ruling has opened the door for victims of human rights violations around the world seeking redress under the Alien Tort Claims Act. It has provided a climate of hope for the survivors of gross human rights violations during the Apartheid era. It has strengthened the chances of success of the Khulumani litigation in the New York Southern District Court, in which Khulumani and 87 survivors of Apartheid violence are seeking reparations from 22 international banks and corporations that supported the Apartheid government in violation of international conventions."

Political prevarication and weak management has hampered the implementation of the Operational Plan for Comprehensive HIV and AIDS Care, Management and Treatment for South Africa a new report has found. The preliminary report, released at the Treatment Action Campaign’s Health Summit at the weekend, is the first in a series that will monitor the implementation of the Operational Plan. The report, researched and produced by the AIDS Law Project and the TAC, deals with the first seven months since the Department of Health’s announcement of the Operational plan in November 2003.

Houses, cars, pets and irate residents were sprayed with crude oil from the Caltex oil refinery in Cape Town on Sunday, after a pressure valve popped during routine maintenance. According to refinery manager, Steve Woodruff, more than 100 angry residents arrived at the Caltex refinery to find out where the oil was coming from. Woodruff acknowledged the refineries responsibility, and recommended that residents contact them regarding claims.

The Shuttleworth Foundation, with its partners, has committed R18mn in funding to promote the use of open source, reports the Mail and Guardian online. This marks the beginning of the “Go Open Source Campaign,” which aims to make the average computer user more literate to the benefits of open source software.

Isolezwe, a Zulu-language newspaper, has launched online at http://www.isolezwe.co.za/. Readers can try out the new site by signing up for a one-month free subscription to the website. The new website is the world's first Zulu news site and aims to target the emerging, urban-based, aspirational and knowledgeable Zulu market. The website will mirror the print version in terms of content. Initially, online content will be available free to view as an incentive to encourage online user. Ultimately the site will be subscription-based.

Close to five million South African school children rely on state-sponsored meals as high unemployment and the HIV/AIDS pandemic take their toll on families. Out of 12 million learners, 4.6 million children at about 17,000 schools across the country were receiving meals, the director of school nutrition, Cynthia Mpathi, told IRIN on Friday.

A number of staff members have been suspended at Chris Hani-Baragwanath Hospital over allegations of theft, corruption and negligence. The hospital's chief executive, Dr Emma Bondarenko, who took over the reins in November after the redeployment of the institution's management, on Wednesday said that a number of staff members - comprising nurses, clerks and security personnel - have been suspended for various alleged transgressions, including graft.

South Africa's department of health will continue to dispense Nevirapine until further research into the reliability of the drug in preventing HIV transmission from mother to child is conducted. Concerns about the safety of Nevirapine surfaced after collaborative research conducted by the Medicines Control Council (MCC), manufacturer Boehringer Ingelheim and the National Institute for Communicable Diseases revealed that some HIV positive mothers had developed resistance to the antiretroviral, making it uncertain whether transmission of the virus was being blocked or not.