AIDS report takes political party to court

South African opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), has under the Promotion of Access to Information Act applied for the release of the 2003 HIV/AIDS and Syphilis Sero-prevalence Report. DA health spokesman Ryan Coetzee was quoted by the South African Press Association as saying: "The report is a critical tool for analysing the spread of AIDS and the effectiveness of prevention measures. It provides the most detailed and comprehensive information available on infection rates across the country." The DA accused Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang of releasing the report later each year and being "increasingly reluctant" to share the information with the public. Already six months overdue, the party was concerned the report would become useless to anyone needing current information.