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Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma first came under scrutiny in 1996 when she was put in charge of Sarafina II.

That was supposed to follow on the from the hit Broadway musical about a schoolgirl fighting the injustices of apartheid. The sequel saw her grown up, and working as a social worker teaching young people about safe sex and the dangers of HIV.

Sarafina II didn’t last long on the stage. Not only was it heavily criticised by AIDS experts who called some of its dialogue misinformed and dangerous, but it was also revealed that the then health minister, Dlamini-Zuma, was caught lying to Parliament, proper tender processes were ignored, and the contract had allegedly been given to a personal friend.

While she served as Minister of Health, and then Minister of Foreign Affairs, HIV grew to epidemic proportions, thanks in part to a refusal to distribute antiretrovirals through the public health system under the Mbeki administration.

Despite having contributed positively to the South African healthcare system, she allowed her friendship with the former president to get in the way of proper action against the HIV/AIDS crisis.

With this in mind, it’s not surprising that many South Africans aren’t quick to trust the motives of the co-operative governance and traditional affairs minister and her handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

To make matters worse, when Dlamini-Zuma appeared to override the president by reinstating the tobacco ban after Ramaphosa had announced that cigarettes were to be sold under alert level 4, images and articles from 2017 started circulating, showing the minister with renowned tobacco smuggler Adriano Mazzotti.

This stoked speculation that she had ulterior motives for discontinuing the sale of cigarettes, and she’s now been grilled about it.

TimesLIVE reports:

DA MP Cathlene Labuschagne had asked her about her association with Mazzotti.

“Smoking continues but the industry has been taken underground. The only logical conclusion is that this is the sole aim of the cabinet and specifically the minister, with regards to this ban.

“The minister is known to have visited Greece and the UK with Mr Mazzoti, who now denies that they are friends. Where will the two unfriendly travel partners be going with your profits once the lockdown is completely lifted, minister?” asked Labuschagne.

Dlamini-Zuma has vehemently denied her relationship with Mazzotti:

“I must also put it on record: I am not Mazzotti’s friend. And secondly, if someone is doing crime in SA, they must be arrested,” said Dlamini-Zuma.

“Whatever crime, whether they are [doing crime] on cigarettes … those people who are doing crime, they must be arrested,” Dlamini-Zuma added.

She went on to further defend her stance on the tobacco ban, citing studies from China, America, and Oxford University, alongside recommendations from the World Health Organisation.

There is arguably more quantifiable evidence that the ban on alcohol contributed positively to early efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19 by freeing up hospital beds and emergency rooms, and yet alcohol sales are set to resume.

Thank the heavens for that small mercy.

There’s also evidence that smokers in South Africa have continued to buy tobacco products despite the regulations, thereby contributing to an illicit cigarette trade draining billions from the fiscus.

Overall, the continued ban comes across as questionable at best.

To what end? That remains to be seen.

[source:timeslive]