ANC to Investigate Madlala-Routledge

The African National Congress now plans to investigate fired South African deputy health minister Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge for her implied criticisms of both President Mbeki and the ANC on AIDS and other matters.

You would think the party would let the whole thing drop instead of further fueling the media storm. All this does is stoke the anger about how Madlala-Routledge, a well-regarded government official, got the boot. But what do I know about politics?

Interesting tidbit: the person charged with investigating Madlala-Routledge also apparently advised her not to resign but instead to let herself get fired on principle.

Meanwhile, I keep reminding myself not to get too distracted by the personality clashes and drama. The key issue here--at least from a health point of view--is what happens to South Africa's National Strategic Plan on AIDS.

President Mbeki is on record as saying he still supports the NSP and that it doesn't depend on the whether or not Madlala-Routledge is in office. That's the prize we should all be keeping our eye on.