Ruling party slams TAC legal actions

South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC) party has slammed legal actions by the AIDS lobby group, Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), against the government. The TAC has been requesting "Annexure A", an unpublished document believed to contain a detailed timetable of the government's anti-AIDS treatment plan, since February. But the ANC said the group's "constant legal threats" were hampering the government's efforts to effectively tackle the pandemic. A local newspaper, Business Day, quoted the ANC as saying: "At face-value, the threatened litigation and legal actions may appear to be based on a genuine cause to further the interests of people living with HIV and AIDS. However, they hamper the health department's efforts to effectively implement the programmes aimed at preventing HIV infections and mitigating the impact of AIDS."