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In response to media reports of the recent interview by the President with the Washington Post, the Presidency wishes to clarify and put the record straight.

At the end of the interview the President agreed to being asked a personal question, which was whether he knew of anyone in his family or amongst his close associates who had died of AIDS or was infected by HIV.

It was these questions specifically about people close to him that the President answered, and his negative replies do not support any broader interpretation that some media have given them.

It should also be remembered that the health status of individuals as well as causes of death are personal matters on which people do not have to declare to the President.

In the same interview President Mbeki confirmed that the National Task Team charged with preparing an operational plan on public sector antiretroval therapy is within days of completing its work. In presenting his report to the UN General Assembly Special Session, Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, singled out South Africa for tripling its resource allocation for HIV/AIDS programmes since the adoption of the UN Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS in 2001.

At a time when we are making progress in combating HIV/AIDS, we do not need red herrings that divert us from the real issues. We would expect that opposition parties would seek to distort things and create doubt, but we don't expect that of the media. We expect them to report objectively.

Bheki Khumalo, 083 256 9133

Issued by Government Communications (GCIS) on behalf of The Presidency, 28 September 2003
Source: SAPA