SOUTH AFRICA: Govt should not dictate external AIDS funding - TAC

JOHANNESBURG, 14 June 2006 (PlusNews) - South African AIDS lobby group, Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), says the government should not dictate how donor funds are spent on the pandemic.

TAC was responding to Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang's demand on Monday that government should have a greater say in how some US$221 million, pledged by the US President's $15 billion Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), should be spent.

The minister acknowledged the critical contribution of donors in the opening session of PEPFAR's annual conference in the port city of Durban, but warned that direct funding to local anti-AIDS programmes usually created coordination hurdles.

TAC general-secretary Sipho Mthathi said her group agreed with the principle of better coordination, but feared the government might prioritise certain programmes over others.

She told the South African Broadcasting Corporation that "a flexible, co-ordinated process that involves civil society in determining what are the priorities" was required.