Treatment Action Campaign

• This event will take place outside a South African National AIDS Council meeting that has the opportunity to take important policy decisions that will help implement the HIV/AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections National Strategic Plan 2007-2011.

A few problematic issues raised in our submission have been addressed. = ; For example, the position remains that of an inspecting judge, whether in active service or retired (and not a legally trained inspector-general).  Further, a few of the judge's powers regardin= g staffing have been retained.  But the principled concern - that being that the staff of the office is largely to be comprised of public servants seconded from the Department of Correctional Services or other government departments - remains unaddressed.  In short, an independen= t body cannot be staffed by public servants who account to their principals in the public service.  This point appears to have been wel= l received by the chairperson of the committee.

A further concern is that the Minister of Correctional Services has not yet released a report on the investigation into the death of the prisoner known as MM at Westville Correctional Centre (one of the Applicants in the Westville Prison case, who died of AIDS during this litigation). This episode shows that the Judicial Inspectorate needs to be strengthened, not undermined.