|
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) - South African President Thabo Mbeki — who has long been accused of playing down the AIDS epidemic — hit back Friday at criticism of his government's policy and his firing of the popular deputy health minister.
In his weekly column, Mbeki said that he would not be pressured by the "ill-intentioned and ill-founded hue and cry" about the dismissal of Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge. The deputy minister had won widespread praise for revitalizing the country's anti-AIDS campaign, while her boss, the health minister, has been seen as a destructive force because she has questioned the efficacy of AIDS drugs and instead promoted beets and garlic as a remedy.
Mbeki fired her last week, saying she was incapable of working as part of a team. Domestic and international critics, who have long called for the dismissal of health minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, said he had fired the wrong person.
|