Mon séjour en Afrique du Sud (Cape Town)

The South African National Defence Force [SANDF] will no longer accept HIV positive people into its ranks. This announcement was made by Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota at a justice-cluster briefing in Pretoria yesterday.

"Anybody with the condition (HIV) cannot be recruited (into the defence force)," he said. "There is no point. You can't take in ill people into the positions in the army. It's not useful. We need people who would be sent into difficult missions and be able to (withstand the pressures)."

Lekota announced that an estimated 20 to 22 per cent of members of the defence force were HIV positive.

His announcement drew sharp criticism from the National Association of People Living With HIV/AIDS. Its national director, Nkululeko Nxesi, said that if the SANDF proceeded with a policy of not accepting HIV-positive people in its ranks, this would further increase discrimination and stigmatization of people living with HIV.

"It is an unacceptable policy because it tramples on the very rights guaranteed by the constitution," said Nxesi.

"This announcement further alludes to the challenge faced by HIV people in that even senior people who should be looked upon for direction do not understand the basic facts about HIV.

"Science has demonstrated that HIV positive people could live longer. But now they are refused an opportunity to earn a living."

Nxesi said his organization would rally civil society and all those who supported the cause for HIV positive people "to fight this government-propelled discrimination in the constitutional court".

Lekota said those already ill and part of the SANDF "will be deployed where they are deployable. We will support them. Even when they need home-based care, we will support them."

The number of HIV positive people in the SANDF was reflective of how the pandemic had become a problem in the broader community. It was to be expected that the estimates would tally with national infection rates, as soldiers were an integral part of society.

Lekota said the SANDF was now engaged in peacekeeping missions on the continent and needed able-bodied individuals to carryout tasks. Apart from the benefits that accrued from peace, a stable Africa and Southern African Development Community region would be an incentive for investment.