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Health & HIV/AIDS
ZIMBABWE: AIDS groups accuse government of "playing politics"
2001-11-22, Issue 43
http://pambazuka.org/en/category/hivaids/4274
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AIDS groups in Zimbabwe this week condemned a "political" decision by the government to transfer control over money from a national AIDS fund to ruling party-run district
councils, activists told IRIN.
U N I T E D N A T I O N S
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
Integrated Regional Information Network (IRIN)
ZIMBABWE: AIDS groups accuse government of "playing politics"
JOHANNESBURG, 15 November (IRIN) - AIDS groups in Zimbabwe this week
condemned a "political" decision by the government to transfer control
over money from a national AIDS fund to ruling party-run district
councils, activists told IRIN.
The cabinet announced last week that the disbursement of money from the
AIDS Trust Fund to independent village AIDS committees had been suspended
because the groups could not be trusted to handle the large sums involved,
the 'Financial Gazette' reported on Thursday. The ministers said funds
would instead be channelled through government structures and ZANU-PF
controlled rural and ditrict councils.
Dr Frank Guni, director of the Zimbabwe Network of People living with
HIV/AIDS and a member of the National AIDS Council (NAC) board, told IRIN
that these local administrative councils had a poor track record in
handling money from the Fund. Guni said he could not rule out political
motives behind putting funds under their control, in the light of
presidential elections due early next year.
NAC convened an urgent meeting with the cabinet's Social Services
Committee on Wednesday, and the cabinet's decision to suspend disbursement
was subsequently withdrawn, Guni said. But he added that the committee
insisted that the money was state property and they didn't want "state
funds in the hands of people they cannot control".
"The Network of People living with HIV/AIDS has made it very clear that we
find this unacceptable. We have told the government that we can't wait for
their politics while people are dying on the ground," said Guni. In an
attempt to make the process more transparent, NAC suggested that the rural
councils open a separate bank account for AIDS funds. It also recommended
that the minister of local government be involved in the disbursement, to
make government accountable for the money.
Despite a lack of evidence proving the government's misuse of the AIDS
Fund, Guni cited the recent example of the minister of health's
disbursement of US $375,000 from the Fund without NAC approval.
NAC is a special entity created by government and it is the only body
charged with the distribution of money from the AIDS Fund. "This was
clearly a political move, because the people thought the money was coming
from the government, instead of from the AIDS levy," said Guni
The AIDS Trust Fund was created last year after the government imposed a
three percent AIDS levy on personal and corporate income. In March, the
government dissolved the NAC, after deciding that the agency "did not have
the legal authority to manage the trust".
Some accused the government of "playing politics," saying that the
agency's board was disbanded because the chair was a member of the
opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
[ENDS]
IRIN-SA
Tel: +27 11 880-4633
Fax: +27 11 447-5472
Email: IRIN-SA@irin.org.za
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[This item is delivered in the "africa-english" service of the UN's IRIN
humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views
of the United Nations. If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post
this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Reposting by commercial
sites requires written IRIN permission.]
Copyright (c) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2001