Statement on Cabinet meeting of 26 May 2004

26 May 2004

At its meeting today, Cabinet received a report on the work of the Interim Management Team which was deployed to assist the Eastern Cape provincial administration in dealing with challenges facing various departments.

The meeting welcomed the progress that has been made in these departments in developing overall turnaround strategies and implementation plans, in outlining departmental structures and human resource plans, and in expediting the processing of disciplinary and criminal cases. It was agreed that further consultations would be held with the political leadership and senior management in the province, to follow up on outstanding issues, particularly in the Department of Education.

Cabinet noted the false statements by LoveLife and the Executive Director of the UN Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB & Malaria regarding the disbursement of funds to various institutions in our country. Noting that these funds had in fact been disbursed, and that LoveLife, like all other recipients was obliged to account on their usage, the meeting concurred with the strong objection issued by the Minister of Health to these statements.

The meeting formally welcomed the decision of the FIFA Executive Committee to select South Africa as the host of the 2010 Soccer World Cup tournament. Government wishes to reiterate its commitment to work with SAFA and other partners to ensure that preparations for this tournament are conducted in a professional manner so as to ensure an excellent festival of football in 2010.

Cabinet noted the ongoing court case in SA regarding the issue of alleged mercenaries being held in Zimbabwe. Government wishes to reiterate that, as in all other cases, these individuals should be presumed innocent until proven otherwise. While the government will meet its obligations to South African citizens in both Zimbabwe and Equatorial Guinea with regard to consular services, it does not have any power or intention to pre-empt court hearings in these countries.

It should also be emphasised that all South Africans have the right to travel in and out of the country, and government does not have any powers to deny them this constitutional right on the basis of mere suspicions. At the same time, our intelligence agencies have a responsibility, where such suspicion exists, to co-operate with other countries in following up such matters, in line with our own obligations to the continent and the principles of the African Union.

Government will abide by the decisions of our country's Courts on this matter.

Enquiries
Joel Netshitenzhe
Cell: 082 900 0083

Issued by: Government Communications (GCIS)

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