South Africa's Mbeki vows to deliver after record poll landslid

Sat Apr 17, 5:37 PM ET

JOHANNESBURG (AFP) - President Thabo Mbeki vowed to carry on
"reconstruction and development" in South Africa as final results
confirmed his party had won a record 70 percent
AFP


The African National Congress (news - web sites) took 69.68 percent of
vote and improved its standing in all nine of the country's provinces, the
Independent Electoral Commission said Saturday.

The main opposition Democratic Alliance, led by Tony Leon, a tough-talking
white, was way behind with 12.37 percent of the ballot and short of the 17
percent he had earlier promised.

The Zulu-based Inkatha Freedom Party was in third place with 6.97
percent.

Mbeki, set to take office for a second and last term following the
country's third elections after the demise of apartheid, said Wednesday's
peaceful elections were a sign that the nascent democracy had matured.

"I have no hesitation in saying that these elections were truly free and
fair," he said at a glitzy ceremony where the results were formally
announced.

He thanked South Africans "for their refusal to be provoked or incited to
engage in acts of violence and intimidation," saying they had "set a
benchmark in terms of what our country must always do to respect the
diversity of opinion."

He also urged the new lawmakers "as we begin our second decade of
liberation (to) know that what the electorate expects of them is to do
everything in their power to secure a better life for all our people."

"I wish them success in their important work that must help our country to
register new advances ... as we continue to pursue the goals of
reconstruction and development."

Although Mbeki injected some health into the economy in his first term,
poverty is still an acute problem and unemployment hovers between 40 and
50 percent

At a victory party a day earlier, Mbeki promised his countrymen that he
would deliver on ambitious electoral promises: to create one million new
jobs in five years; to spend 100 billion rand (15 billion dollars / 12
billion euros) to improve infrastructure and to halve poverty and
unemployment by 2014.

Brigalia Bam, the chairwoman of the Independent Electoral Commission
Saturday said the polls were "reflective of the politcal maturity of all
South Africans.

"In the runup we saw robust competition," she said, adding that
campaigning this this was "issue -driven, no more relying on the roles
that the parties had played" during the liberation era.

The electoral commission said turnout for Wednesday's vote at 76.73
percent was much lower than the previous two democratic elections of 1994
and 1999.

Of the advances made in the provinces, the ANC's biggest gain was in the
Zulu heartland of KwaZulu-Natal, the key prize in the polls, which it had
vowed to wrest this time, but failed to get an outright majority.

The ANC bagged nearly 47 percent of the votes in the eastern province, an
eight percent improvement over its 1999 tally.



Its traditional rival, the Zulu nationalist IFP gained 36.8 percent of the
ballot. But the IFP's main coalition partner in the province, the
Democratic Alliance, notched up 8.3 percent of the vote.

IFP spokesman Musa Zondi on Saturday said his party was open to the idea
of co-governing the volatile province with the ANC, where the runup to the
1994 has seen some 12,000 people being killed in violence between ANC and
IFP supporters.

The main loser nationwide was the New National Party, a reincarnation of
the party which formed the backbone of apartheid South Africa, which got
only 1.65 percent of the vote.

South Africa's 400-seat assembly will convene next week to elect the new
president, who is almost certain to be Mbeki.

The presidential inauguration is scheduled for April 27 as the country
holds festivities marking the 10th anniversary of the end of apartheid
with foreign dignitaries invited to attend.

Mbeki questions Aids stats
08/02/2004 21:57 - (SA)
Jan-Jan Joubert and Willem Jordaan

Cape Town - President Thabo Mbeki on Sunday questioned the extent of
HIV/Aids deaths, because of the absence of statistics on the causes of
death in South Africa.

After Mbeki did not focus on HIV/Aids and Zimbabwe in his State of the
Nation address on Friday, he was bombarded with questions on these issues
in an interview with the SABC on Sunday.
In his reaction, Mbeki said he would address the two issues in a second
State address after the election.
Reacting to a question on his personal roll in government's fight against
the pandemic, Mbeki indicated that deputy president Jacob Zuma was
handling the matter on government's behalf.
He said that the allocation to HIV/Aids in the budget showed that "few
countries were doing as much as South Africa".

When asked whether it wouldn't help if he personally showed more empathy
with sufferers of the disease, Mbeki retorted that he had said a lot about
the issue and that government's stance on the matter remained unchanged.

"Tuberculosis is also a big problem. My doctors say there is a diabetes
epidemic. Why does nobody talk about it? There are many health issues."

When it was put to him that these diseases were treatable while HIV/Aids
was not, he said: "No, that is not the reason". Interviewer Redi Diareko
quoted statistics of the World Health Organisation and exclaimed: "This is
our country about which these findings were made. You are our leader ..."
Mbeki responded that the WHO could speak for itself, but that South Africa
did not have reliable statistics on causes of deaths. He said he wanted
something more than mathematical calculations - information on death
certificates.

More at...
news24.com/News24/South_Africa/Politics/0,6119,2-7-12_1480787,00.html

In article
<50e677768e9de71e7e0ff2d0b5f66ce8@localhost.talkab outhealthnetwork.com>,
"PaulKing" <aimulti@aimultimedia.com> wrote:

Yes, but I thought he'd disassociated himself from the AIDS dissidents?
Isn't it dishonest to continue calling him a dissident?

No. He took a 'soft' approach during the election like any good politician
but is firmly dissident.

Dr. Resnick is on his way to SA at this very moment at his invitation.
With the election over I think you will see just how committed a dissident
he really is.

You are in for a shock!

In article
<838264ef624eab37471bdee01df91fa1@localhost.talkab outhealthnetwork.com>,
"PaulKing" <aimulti@aimultimedia.com> wrote:

You have independent verification of this? You have a link to a news
story stating that Rasnick is going to South Africa at Mbeki's
invitation, or something of that order?

"You have independent verification of this? You have a link to a news story
stating that Rasnick is going to South Africa at Mbeki's invitation, or
something of that order"

You will read all about it in the next few weeks. I know what is taking
place but cannot disclose more information now.

Before rushing to challenge my assertions I suggest you wait and see (to
avoid being proved wrong).

Best wishes,


Paul

In article
<a39f4628cd999f43495b0c00e887d573@localhost.talkab outhealthnetwork.com>,
"PaulKing" <aimulti@aimultimedia.com> wrote:

If you actually have friends among dissident scientists, had it occured
to you that you are not doing them a good turn, or winning any friends
on this group, by mindlessly spamming here? Repeating the same
assertions about AIDS, over and over, with little qualification or
substantiation, just makes you look like an asshole.

"with little qualification or substantiation"

You must be kidding. Almost every post is well referenced.

I am not here to win friends but present the facts consored by the media
in the name of 'political correctness'.

My posts are not spam but an attempt at balanced information.

"PaulKing" <aimulti@aimultimedia.com> wrote in message
news:cbb1f952bfdbbe6fb8a99da39c061c05@localhost.ta lkabouthealthnetwork.com...
statement represents what you have posted to MHA so far anyway.

Gary Stein

From South Africa (Stop press).

"We met with a number of ANC officials and doctors who represented a wide
spectrum of views and beliefs on HIV and AIDS. One well-placed member of
the ANC, who is close to the president, assured me that after the election
very dramatic actions will be taken that should shakeup AIDS Inc.

I was not given the specifics but there is a good chance that the
Presidential AIDS Advisory Panel will be reconvened".

Dr. Resnick, Phd

In article
<cbb1f952bfdbbe6fb8a99da39c061c05@localhost.talkab outhealthnetwork.com>,
"PaulKing" <aimulti@aimultimedia.com> wrote:

Yes, well, in that case all I can say is that they are not a very well
considered attempt. The regulars of this group are well aware of the
controversies around AIDS. Those who aren't don't need a flood of posts,
a few would do.

In article
<60a166424b4bf8c198060e17bf4ba07b@localhost.talkab outhealthnetwork.com>,
"PaulKing" <aimulti@aimultimedia.com> wrote:

Link? Source?

Uiopp wrote:


Enough already!

With that idiot Mbeki anything is possible.

"Link? Source?"

Private communication (extract). You will have to take my word for it, or
not, as you wish.

"With that idiot Mbeki anything is possible."

Seems that 'idiot' has the total support of the largest nation in Africa.

"The regulars of this group are well aware of the
controversies around AIDS. "

It seems to me this forum has as many dissident regulars as establishment
supporters.

I have had a great number of compliments on my posts.

You cannot please everyone.

NOT

"PaulKing" <aimulti@aimultimedia.com> wrote in message
news:ae5334347ca30b57ee624e04e2e7c0cb@localhost.ta lkabouthealthnetwork.com...

In article <c63mcv$8pt$1@ctb-nnrp2.saix.net>, Jordan <JJ@jordan.com>
wrote:

I don't think Mbeki is an idiot. On the contrary, he's obviously a very
smart man. He may be wrong about AIDS, but it's easy to be mislead,
given that the issues involved are highly complicated.

In article <pHfhc.15053$Aq.8249@nwrddc03.gnilink.net>,
"Gary Stein" <ge.stein@verizon.net> wrote:

This is beside the point. Whether this man's claim about Rasnick is
bullshit or not, we will know shortly. What surprises me is whether, if
it turns out to be right, someone who is a evidently a serious scientist
has some sort of connection with a usenet-abusing asshole, and one who
should know very well that he isn't advancing his cause by behaving like
this (it would help if he would tell us what sort of connection he has -
is he a personal friend of Rasnick, a friend of a friend, or what? But
he dodges the question).

"Uiopp" <uislad@faaa.co.nz> wrote in message
news:uislad-BA3C5A.10552721042004@lust.ihug.co.nz...
Well Rasnick has had several so called 'dissidents' claim to know him in
posts to MHA and he has received many invitations to post on MHA over the
years.

While he has never in my recollection posted to MHA neither has he
acknowledged any connection between himself and the 'dissident' of month
when he has received emails questioning the dissidents statements on his
behalf.

The same can be said for Duesburg, Faber,or Regush. I have exchanged emails
with Faber and Regush over the years and personally invited them to post to
MHA but neither of them accepted the invitations, I guess they did not
relish the idea of having to support there statements with references rather
then being free to spout the disinformation that seems to be their trademark
when it comes to HIV and Aids issues.

Gary Stein
Gary Stein