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SA State and drug firms go to court On Monday the Pretoria High Court will become the scene for what some consider to be a moral battle between greed-driven multinationals and people-focused developing countries, and others regard as an unnecessary, protracted fight for the rule of law. The case, launched in 1998, involves the South African government and the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers' Association of South Africa (PMA), which represents 42 local drug companies as well as subsidiaries of large firms in Europe and the United States. At the heart of the issue is the constitutionality of the amendments to the Medicines and Related Substances Control Act, passed by parliament in 1997. The amended act allows the health minister to use use certain tools to provide public-sector patients with access to more affordable drugs, largely by circumventing patent regulations in certain conditions. These tools include compulsory licensing under which governments or companies are permitted to grant a licence for the production or sale of a drug without the consent of the patent holder, usually on the grounds of a national emergency (in this case the Aids pandemic is considered such an emergency). Parallel importation allows for the importation of drugs from countries where they are more cheaply available without the authorisation of the patent holders in those countries. The patent holders have made the drugs available in those countries under licence. Generic substitution requires that patients are informed of cheaper generic equivalents of prescribed brand-name medicines. The court case is being closely watched by pharmaceutical companies and activists - primarily Aids activists - around the world. Both sides have become adept at the coinage of catchy and quotable phrases. In this increasingly heated debate anxious multinationals, worried about their profits and global image, are in a stand-off with the activists, fanned by righteous indignation, antagonism towards what many see as an example of the negative effects of globalisation, and the moral fortitude displayed by those who speak for the underprivileged. The PMA argues that the court case is about fighting an act that is unconstitutional, "because it is arbitrary, uncertain and bad law," as Mirryena Deeb, the chief executive officer of the PMA, puts it. The law, the PMA members say, allows the health minister "unfettered discretion to override patent rights for medicine in this country". International pharmaceutical companies argue that they spend vast amounts of money on researching and developing new drugs, and that the patent laws are there to protect their intellectual property rights. Critics argue that little of this research and development benefits the indigent in developing countries. The PMA, says Deeb, is all for providing South African patients with access to affordable drugs, but only within the ambit of the law. The trade association also accuses the government of not using available legislation, such as the South African Patents Act, or the state tendering system, to gain access to cheaper drugs for patients. The government has also not taken up pharmaceutical companies' offers of cheaper or free drugs, says Deeb, citing Boehringer Ingelheim's standing offer of the free provision of nevirapine, an anti-retroviral drug for Aids patients, for a five-year period. The government considers itself a reluctant party in the litigation process. While the PMA said late this week that it would prefer a negotiated settlement, Ayanda Ntsaluba, the director-general of the health department, said the government never wanted to go to court in the first place. The issues at stake, Ntsaluba says, are fundamental to the tenets of South Africa's new democracy. The motivation for taking this matter to court is the need of the government to meet its "constitutional obligation" to improve access to health care for all citizens, he says, while respecting South Africa's "international obligations" such as its commitments to the World Trade Organisation. Ntsaluba partly rejects frequently raised arguments that the public health sector in South Africa lacks the capacity and infrastructure to administer these drugs - even if they are provided free of charge. He acknowledges that there is a "correlation between the challenges of infrastructure and price" of drugs, particularly anti-retrovirals, which must be administered under strict protocols. However, he maintains that the crucial issue remains the price of medicines, not infrastructure. A "sustainable price" for essential and anti-retroviral drugs would allow the government to strengthen the infrastructure where it is deemed weak, he says. Local and international non-governmental organisations, which have joined the fight on the side of the government, regard this as a David and Goliath battle, which will have repercussions in the rest of the developing world. While the issue is about access to all essential drugs, the case has been most closely linked to the supplying of cheaper medicines to people with Aids-related illnesses. Members of South Africa's Treatment Action Campaign are planning to hold protests at the court. Demonstrations by activists are also scheduled to take place in the United States. The case will be heard until March 13. It is expected that the Constitutional Court will have to rule on certain parts of the act, regardless of the outcome of the case, which may take up to 12 months to be resolved. Thanks to IOL.co.za [ Top ]  Kytie Koekblik ColumnKytie Koekblik Washington D.C. - Wat gaan aan in my land, Suid Afrika? Ek wonder of daar ‘n enkele Suid-Afrikaner is wat nie ‘n vinger of meer vingers in die pasteie van korrupsie het nie. Het ons almal geldvrate geword terwyl ons mede-Suid-Afrikaners rondom ons STEEDS in shacks bly en hulle koeie losloop op die N2 snelweg…. Ons ry nie eers meer met die N2 nie, ons ry net met die gravy train. (My Baas se bydrae: Een van die dae, wantrou die internasionale community ons, dan het ons ‘n reputasie erger as die Nigeriers. “Although they will steal you blind, their reputation is not violent”) Daar loop ons alreeds voor. Ons maak amper meer mense dood as die wereld se ergste oorloe. Ons is goed oppad om die wereld se A) mees violent petty criminals te word en B) die mees blatante witboordjie misdadigers… Ek is selfs bekommerd oor myself, ek het ook hierdie attitude ontwikkel na te veel posstukke gesteel en oopgeskeur/ inbrake/gebreekte karvensters/missing CDs etc. My houding is deesdae: Screw them or they’ll screw you. Dit gaan vir als: ek steel die sepies in dodgy motelle; as ek ‘n free meal kan score by die embassy eet ek tot die koring bitter is, as ek te veel kleingeld kry, loop ek so vinnig as moontlik uit die winkel uit met 'n grynslag. By the way, ons GAAN ALTYD na embassy funksie toe hier in DC, omdat hulle ‘n Kaapse kok het, so ons eet frikadelle, pickled curryfish, en daar is altyd chutney. My baas laaik ook die Kaapse rooiwyn. Ons geniet hierdie funksies so baie, dat die ambassade die ligte afsit en die groot stinkhout voordeure agter ons toemaak as ons huis toe gaan. Maar nou het die embassy kok besluit om in die system in die States te verdwyn. Niks meer Suid-Afrikaanse lekkernye nie. Nou proe al die poeding weer soos cinnamon, wat mos in als gegooi word in die States, selfs in bubblegum. Nou gaan die kok seker iewers illegal werk en nie tax betaal nie. EXPLOIT THE SYSTEM or THEY’LL EXPLOIT YOU, dit het my middelklas leuse geword, asook die leuse van talle ander Suid-Afrikaners.. Dis ook seker die kok se leuse. Dis ook wat al die illegal Suid-Afrikaners wat by die oomblik meer word in Amerika en London doen. Hulle exploit die sisteem in eerste wereldse lande met sterk ekonomie en baie werksgeleenthede. (Ek het niks teen illegals nie, by the way, ek het inderdaad net die grootste bewondering vir hulle. Om tax laws te breek, plus immigrasie laws, dit VAT MOS GUTS man, en dit het ons Suid-Afrikaners..guts en talle slim plannetjies) Ek en die Baas het nou net besluit ons gaan sulke t-shirts laat maak vir die nuwe Skelm Suid-Afrikaner. Nie t-shirts wat se, “’n Boer maak ‘n plan nie” want ons is nie meer boere, ons is diaspora of ons is illegals. Die t-shirts gaan se: Ek is ‘n Suid-Afrikaner. Ek het guts en slim plannetjies.” Die Afrikaanse shirts gaan ons in London by die eerste Afrikaanse fees in Julie verkoop. Die opbrengste gaan ons nie stuur aan ‘n charity nie, want ons is nie seker in watter blackhole die geld gaan verdwyn nie. Die Engelse t-shirts, gaan ons verkoop by die Freedom Day Celebrations in Washington D.C. Ons gaan op dit skryf: Don’t be fooled. I am a South African. Van die os op die jas…(waar kom dit nou eintlik vandaan, van die os op die jas? ‘n Mens kan net sowel iets se soos, van die vlooi op die hond, of iets arbitrary soos dit?) Ek kry toe ‘n oproep van ene Karel en Kie. Twee Suid-Afrikaners, nogal uit een of ander vriendelike stad, goeie B.Com studente. Sal ek hulle bietjie rondwys, wil die outjies weet. Ek ry en verander metro-lyne en gaan wag die arme drommels in by ‘n metro-stasie. Ek het hulle oombliklik aan hulle haarstyle herken. Soos goeie B.Com studente van ons generasie, het die een highlights en die ander, ‘n baby-blonde natural, ‘n kantpaadjie. Oop gesigte, soos my ma sou se. Ons moet vir julle ‘n map kry, se ek, ‘n metro-map. (wel wetende dat alle metro-stasies klein pocketsize metro maps het, jy lyk nie soos 'n toeris as jy nonchalant deur een blaai nie). Woeps pluk highlights sy map uit. ‘n REUSE MAP. Sit dit weg, sis ek op afrikaans, ek is immers ‘n local. Ten minste gee My Taal aan my ‘n verskoning om soos ‘n toeris te klink. Ek verduidelik vir die twee als van metros, busse, die grense tussen DC, Maryland en Virginia, ek praat van “die District” aspris omdat ek soos ‘n local voel. Ja, ja, ek weet ek klink belaglik. Maar tot nou toe was ek ‘n vreemdeling in die poorte van Washington D.C. Nou’s ek ‘n local sister. Ek’s al amper agt maande in die States. Ek ken die local segoed. Ek weet ek het myself georient…nie georientate nie… Kytie K. Kytie Koekblik would like you to respond to her tongue-in-cheek running commentary on suburban life in America in this editorial. Fresh off the boat, she is ready to explore and experiment with American bath plugs and to drive on the other side of the road. You can contact her here. © RSA-Overseas & Matheson Communications [ Top ] "Freeze Mugabe assets": DA's Tony Leon Democratic Alliance leader Tony Leon has urged the Commonwealth to impose an arms embargo on President Robert Mugabe's government and freeze his and his ministers' foreign assets. He was speaking prior to a Commonwealth fact-finding mission to Zimbabwe. And the Natal Law Society has noted "with great disquiet" the intimidation of the chief justice of and other judges in the country. In a statment on Sunday, the society's president, Durban-based attorney Greg Kruger, said the society's council called on the Zimbabwean government, and in particular Mugabe, to respect the independence of the judiciary. "As in South Africa, the existence of an independent judiciary is a cornerstone of a constitutional democracy. "Judges should be independent from government control and interference so that they can adjudicate upon the legal issues and demand the proper exercise of public power without fear or favour," he said. "Such independence encompasses not only the security of tenure of judges but also the execution of the judicial function, without which constitutionalism and the rule of law become compromised. "We call for a return to the rule of law and for the government of Zimbabwe to forthwith desist from the further intimidation of its judges." British foreign minister Robin Cook said last week that the Commonwealth would send a team to Zimbabwe to investigate human rights abuses and report back to a meeting of Commonwealth ministers in London on March 19. Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon confirmed that Cook had discussed the tour with him, although McKinnon described the purpose of the trip as to discuss "how the Commonwealth could assist the Zimbabwe government in resolving the land issue". Leon said he had written to McKinnon on Friday, welcoming the proposed mission and saying the Commonwealth should insist that the Zimbabwean government observe certain minimum standards. These included the immediate restoration of the rule of law, an end to acts that compromised the independence and integrity of the judiciary, protection of private property rights, freedom of the press, free political activity and adherence to the provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and all other international and regional covenants which had been ratified by Zimbabwe. Leon urged the Commonwealth to consider various actions which he had proposed in the national assembly last week. These included securing international support for the freezing of all the international assets of Mugabe and his ministers. Thanks to IOL.co.za [ Top ] SA woman 'chopper pilot in Moz Durban pilot Lieutenant Tanya Livingstone, the South African Air Force's first woman helicopter commander, has arrived in Mozambique to play a key role in flood-relief operations. Livingstone, 28, is the only woman pilot in the 82-strong South African task force. The only other woman, from Pretoria, is a navigator. "Tanya is very excited to get the chance to go to Mozambique to help other people. Emotionally, she is prepared for the bodies she may get to see," said her mother, Bebula Livingstone, of Amanzimtoti on Thursday night. Livingstone pilots one of the two BK-117 helicopters that left Durban's air base on Thursday afternoon with an Oryx helicopter. A former professional lifesaver, Livingstone has always been a trailblazer, becoming the South African Lifesaver of the Year in l992, when she was 19. She was then the first woman to attain the title and the youngest winner. She completed her training on fixed-wing aircraft in l996, then specialised in helicopters, becoming the only woman Oryx helicopter pilot at Durban's 15 Squadron. She was one of the first three women pilots in the air force. Although she was an Oryx co-pilot, she was a regular relief pilot at the controls and, within weeks, was flying President Nelson Mandela around South Africa. Determined to become a commander herself, Livingstone transferred to the smaller BK-117 helicopters, qualifying in Bloemfontein last year. Excitement was in the air at the base on Thursday as pilots, co-pilots and ground crew prepared to leave for a night stop in Maputo, reports photographer Clinton Wyness. The team flies to Beira on Friday to provide help and humanitarian support to the Mozambique government in the flood-ravaged Zambesia and Sofala provinces in central Mozambique. The contingent is headed by veteran Oryx pilot, Major Graham Chisholm, who earned a coveted Air Force Cross - together with other Durban pilots - for his efforts in last year's flood-relief operations. Piloting the other BK-117 is Captain Rob Deneel. Flooding in Mozambique has already claimed 52 lives and displaced 77 400 people from their homes. Thanks to IOL.co.za [ Top ] Robben Island to get major facelift Robben Island is to undergo a major facelift with a landmark building going up on its world-famous shores. Although the project is still in its infancy and shrouded in secrecy until the official launch, Saturday Argus can provide a sneak preview of what is expected to become one of South Africa's most important buildings. It will be built on a breathtaking site below the island's lighthouse on the southern stretch of coast, with panoramic views of Cape Town, Table Mountain and the Twelve Apostles. A Johannesburg architectural firm has clinched first place in a year-long Millennium Structure competition, inspired by former president Nelson Mandela and launched by the Robben Island Museum Council in January 2000. More than 70 applications came in from all over the country and around the world. The winning design, by Rose Mashabane Architects, and selected by a panel of jurors including Cape Town architect Gawie Fagan and former prisoner and council chairman Ahmed Kathrada, went on display at the Cape Institute of Architects this week with the three other finalists' models. Contenders - who had to include local architects - could submit designs for two projects. The first was dubbed The Freedom Pathway, a route that is to connect places of interest, historical significance and reflection with activities across the island. It is to start at Murray Bay Harbour and will connect the notorious prison, the lime quarry, Sobukwe House, the village and the lighthouse, where the Millennium Structure will be built. The brief for architects designing the centre was that it be able to host plays, musical performances, dance, debate, exhibitions, conferences - accommodating 450 people, including breakaway rooms and foyers - workshops and various special events. It also had to have a broadcast control room for live television crossings. Part of the brief was that the structure "somehow accommodate the conflicting requirements of being both open and roofed" and also that it "should be rooted in its African and South African context, both physically and culturally". But it should not "overemphasise the symbols or vernacular expressions of any section of the population, nor should it be a pastiche of them all. The structure should, rather, have a distinctive presence and be of its time and place, but be welcoming to all". Prospective applicants were supplied with details of the island's climate, sun angles, exposure to the elements, especially the wild south-easterly and north-westerly prevailing winds. The judges were: High Court judge Fikeli Bam, former prisoner Ahmed Kathrada, Ben Martins, architect Gawie Fagan, Johann van den Berg, architect and conservationist Laura Robinson, academics Derek Japha and Lucien le Grange, and ZE Forjaz, an architect and professor at Eduardo Mondlane University in Maputo, Mozambique. A construction date will be set after wide-ranging consultations with the ministries of environmental affairs and tourism and arts, science, technology and culture, and other relevant communities and authorities. Thanks to IOL.co.za [ Top ] 1st South Africa Indigenous Games It was a scene almost tailor-made to gladden the hearts of President Mbeki and all of those who believe that the African Renaissance really is at hand. Burly boere with flowing old-style beards, and tannies with equally big hair, bare-chested izintombi in tiny grass skirts, Basotho men and women in garish traditional blankets. This was an unprecedented gathering of the nation, in a tiny Free State hamlet. The occasion was the official launch of something called the South African Indigenous Games. As they watched, many of the elderly spectators doubtless experienced flashbacks to times when they too played those games in township streets and villages. Portly Ngconde Balfour jumped up and down in his VIP seat, exhorting young participants to get stuck into each other as they competed at games which, like so much of this country's heritage, face extinction. The faithful came to play and watch seven traditional games such as dibeke , morabaraba and kho-kho . More than 2 000 people braved winding uphill roads and tracks to watch as their childhood games were launched as national sports at the Basotho Cultural Village. Of 23 traditional games identified by the national Sports Commission, seven were on display last weekend. The commission hopes that traditional games will become a powerful force for social cohesion. There are dreams of pan-African competitions, the Olympics even. Who knows: perhaps one day the Castle Professional Jukskei Challenge? On Saturday, though, spectators' thoughts were mostly on the past: "This is a very important day for our people," said one brightly-attired grandmother. "We are here to celebrate our culture and to see young people getting back to their roots and enjoying what we, as children, used to love when we were growing up." Against a backdrop of lush green valleys and rust-coloured mountains, participants fought with sticks, skipped rope and tossed missiles into the air. Some games have more spectator appeal than others. Diketo is a favourite with girls and their mothers. It requires lightning-fast reflexes and good hand-eye co-ordination. As participants battle to scoop up stones, throw them into the air and catch them - all with one hand - their rising sense of panic spreads to spectators who invariably dissolve into good-natured giggles. All good, clean fun. Another favourite girls' game is ntimo , which includes rhythmic skipping to a chant. Men's games tend to be more complicated - like ncuva , a board game which requires all the mental agility and concentration of chess or backgammon. This complex game was particularly popular among the mining communities and is also played in neighbouring African countries. From the Indian community comes the game of kho-kho , played by two teams of nine. The aim is for one team to chase and catch others from the opposing team in record time. It's light-hearted, fun, and quite exhausting. For spectator appeal, the clear favourite was dibeke or skununu , a soccer-style variant of stingers or dodge ball played with a plastic ball which, in essence, involves kicking the ball as far as possible away from the defending side and then running the length of the field without being hit by the same ball. "We play the game every day after school. It's fun but I hate losing," panted nine-year-old Anna Masigo after a run around the field. She grew up watching her sisters and virtually all the girls in her QwaQwa hometown play dibeke in the afternoons. All seven games launched at the event have been passed down from generation to generation. Morabaraba , a board game that is played throughout Africa and Asia, had old men queuing to participate. Legend has it that African chiefs used to select the best morabaraba players to serve as advisers in their traditional councils. Two players each have 12 tokens known as "cows" and a "board" made of wood with 24 circles in it. Samuel Moshoeleli, 19, one of the players who displayed his skills at the Indigenous Games, was taught the game by his grandfather who used to play it at school and home. "I got interested because you have to concentrate a lot, and that has helped me pay more attention to schoolwork and books," said Moshoeleli. Moreki Tshokolo and Simon Maseko also remembered their grandfathers sitting under a tree, deeply concentrating on morabaraba as they moved their "cows" from one circle to another. "If this generation could learn how to play morabaraba , they would be able to have a longer attention span," said Maseko. "It would be wonderful if our traditional games could be made into national sports and maybe the Olympics. It would be nice to know that we have taken skills that were passed on to us by older people and turned them into a sport that the whole world can take part in," he added. Jukskei, a traditionally Afrikaner game, originated in the Cape Province among transport drivers in the 1700s. Loraine Smith, 54, a member of the mixed-province jukskei team that took part in the launch, has been involved in the game since she was 13. " My parents taught me how to play it and it's sort of traditional because it gets passed on from parent to child," said Smith. Her teammate, Dolf Venter, said jukskei was very easy and anyone could take part. "Children from three years to old people of 99 can play the game. It's a family sport and doesn't require you to be a sporty person," Venter said. A sand pit is dug and a stick planted upright in it. The players try to knock the stick down with a skei, a short wooden stick with a handle. Jukskei is played at club and provincial level, and there is an annual tournament in Kroonstad in the Free State. "Jukskei started off as an Afrikaner game, but it is now so popular that many people attend the annual tournament," said Smith. Minister Balfour showed throughout the day just what a good sport he is - happily trying his hand at jukskei - although his first throw nearly knocked a nearby spectator unconscious. He particularly appeared to enjoy the stick-fighting and even puffed his way through kgati or gqaphu , a vigorous skipping game designed for fit young schoolgirls rather than ministerial heavyweights. Thanks to The Sunday Times [ Top ] |
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