Use of alternative medicines should be consumer’s choice

‘STATE to face court battle over alternative medicines” (May 25) refers. Alternative medicines are used widely in many countries and, as in South Africa, are not subjected to the same scrutiny as “orthodox medicines”.

The demand for them has grown noticeably over the years and this informs their expanding market share. It has to be assumed that their efficacy is behind their growing market share, as well as possibly a failure of orthodox medicines to address the needs of consumers, including affordability and accessibility.

The stated grounds for trying to elbow them out of the South African market, however, smacks of a suffocating paternalism on the part of the state, suggesting the consumer does not know what works for him or her. It also smacks of a monopolistic protectionism, which does not serve consumers’ interests.

The regulatory authorities are certainly aware of these facts and many other attendant complexities. Informative labelling of products must, however, be defended at all times. The Health Products Association of Southern Africa must stand its ground, legally and otherwise. — ZM, by e-mail

Let’s see the evidence

ALTERNATIVE medicines must show ingredients and have evidence of the claims. Consumers must not be guinea pigs. — LH Skosana, by SMS

Zille no authoritarian tyrant

THE ongoing vilification of the DA leader, Helen Zille, initiated by your article “Mazibuko nothing without me — Zille” (May 18) refers. I presumed people would take note of the response you afforded her. Clearly, I presumed wrongly.

I was present at the federal executive meeting on May 14 and Zille did not say anything like her having “made” Lindiwe Mazibuko. Neither did she claim to have “saved” her. Yet, this myth continues to be perpetrated.

I took the liberty of checking with colleagues, who likewise could not recall her saying these words. I am certain we do not suffer from collective deafness. Had she said these words, I have no doubt we would have been shocked to the core and would remember them vividly.

It is regrettable that the Sunday Times seems bent on characterising the DA’s leader as some kind of authoritarian tyrant who is intolerant of an opinion that she might not like.

The article was clearly placed to give context to another round in Gareth van Onselen’s vendetta against the party, which appeared in a column on the following page.

But the Sunday Times cannot play it both ways. It cannot lay out its case of a party led by an intolerant leader on one hand, and on the other give details of robust exchanges in a meeting. If Van Onselen is correct about the leadership living in fear of Zille’s venom, then surely one would expect mere acquiescence.

Surely the fact that participants in the federal executive felt free to argue frankly means Zille has fostered an environment in which people can express themselves without fear of the consequences. This would hardly be the case if she has a propensity for launching “scathing attacks”, which is what your article and Van Onselen’s column suggested.

Van Onselen casts a narrative that Mazibuko was caused to leave because Zille decided on some capricious basis to make her situation untenable.

In response, Zille spelt out the action she took to support Mazibuko. In describing her support, Zille indicated the various times when the ball had been dropped by the DA’s parliamentary leadership but corrected by her intervention. Some may regard this as “saving” Mazibuko, but Zille did not use those words.

The setting out of the facts resulted in Mazibuko being cast in a relatively negative light. Clearly, her supporters saw this as a criticism. It is regrettable that they chose to react by relaying a distorted

Hire foreign surgeons

‘PATIENTS at leading orthopaedic unit face painful delays” (May 25) refers.

This situation reflects gross neglect by both doctors and the medical staff. It is most likely possible to transfer some patients to hospitals that are better provided with orthopaedic surgeons.

If South Africa has a shortage of orthopaedic surgeons, then surely it is a governmental responsibility to recruit these specialists from other countries.

Incidentally, we have a shortage of general practitioners in the Eastern Cape and probably in the other former homelands as well. Rural populations have always faced a lack of medical services and this problem may be spreading to urban communities with rapid growth.

Producing doctors is a protracted process and health problems can obviously not be put on hold. They demand urgent attention and are primarily a governmental responsibility.

Recruiting doctors from other countries may, of course, require careful screening and an evaluation of their qualifications, causing delays in their availability.

But if these processes are sustained over several years, surely the shortages account to your newspaper and then hid behind a cloak of anonymity. — Mike Moriarty, DA provincial chairman: Gauteng

Appeasing the old guard

ZILLE and the DA will not be getting my vote in future. The disparaging remarks about Mazibuko are totally patronising. The DA is too busy making certain the conservative old guard is appeased, instead of looking to the future — and that is the black vote. If I listen to comments by my fellow whites, I agree that Zille will be the demise of the DA.— Ex-DA supporter, Cape Town

Houses before bridges

ANOTHER unnecessary extravagance, as reported in “Bridge will link communities worlds apart” (May 25). Alexandra does not need a 250m pedestrian bridge or a white-elephant skyline feature. For goodness’s sake, build houses. — Oriel Moore, Hermanus

Don’t smear all schools

I REFER to “Sex-abuse cover-up at top school” (May 25). The assumption by the Bishops headmaster that “sexual abuse of girls and boys is a social evil which has happened in all schools” is irresponsible. Some schools, like Bishops, yes, but not all schools. He should rather explain why the teacher was allowed to continue teaching in spite of the gravity of the incident. You should apologise for your reckless allegation, sir. — John, by SMS

Cock-eyed priorities

YOU have strange priorities at the Sunday Times: one photo of the fly-past at the presidential inauguration and pages of “waffle” about Kim Kardashian’s wedding. Whether or not one is a fan of Jacob Zuma, a presidential inauguration is a big event in the history of our country and I was expecting to see at least a page of fashions, visiting dignitaries, Zuma taking the oath, and so forth. — Old Whitey, Johannesburg

Seeing miners in different light

“LOCAL battle in a global wealth war” (May 25) was an excellent article. This is the kind of reporting the average, middleclass South African needs to help him to understand more empathetically the societal issues surrounding him.

It was full of well-explained concepts, not just rhetoric. I found myself appalled by the statistics quoted and looking with a fresh perspective at the plight of the striking miners in this country. — Hayley Gibbons, East London CURE NEEDED: A desperate patient at Pelonomi Regional Hospital can be overcome.— Z Mtshabeni, Eastern Cape HOORAY for Margie Orford’s defence of Caster Semenya in “We’re still catching up to Caster” (May 25). This brave and dignified woman must be left in peace to make her own choices in her personal life. Enough now of the hounding. — S Brewer, by SMS

Unapologetic proselytisers

SATHIE (Readers’ Views, May 25) proclaims that “Islam does not have the divine right to impose its beliefs on others”. Of course it does not. Islam and Muslims have no divine right to impose their beliefs on others; the right and duty is to invite others to follow Islamic beliefs and practices — just as it is the duty of every Muslim to do his best to ensure that his neighbour (Muslim or otherwise) does not go to bed on an empty stomach while he himself does.

Regarding Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses, [outrage aimed at it] is not a question of Islamic or Muslim belief in the absolutism of their points of view, but to express their outrage and anger at a deliberately planned provocation by the author, an apostate Muslim qualifying for the ultimate penalty in Islam, who exacerbated the then volatile situation by undergoing a sham conversion or reversion to Islam.

Your correspondent’s patronising of Muslims and Islam by accepting Islam’s moral and spiritual strength while condemning the Muslim ummah as bloodthirsty savages because they resist force directed at them in kind and have the mythical support of Saudi Arabia (no friend of Muslims and Islam) and Pakistan supports the Taliban is no more than gutter journalism.

Muslims make no apology for the duty to be proselytising for the Creator’s sake. What is so offensive about this? And what of the Christian proselytisers, evangelists, missionaries and televangelists? Are they exempt from the type of scorn their Muslim counterparts receive? — AK Mia, Johannesburg

Take a scalpel to costs

I DON’T think it costs much to fix drills, but replacing them would be a saving: a shorter turnover of bed space. A quicker recovery period for patients means less strain on our staff. I see savings everywhere — linen, meals. And think of the wasted salaries. Do these doctors sit idle when they cannot perform surgery? A bit of common sense and a few thousand rands could make a difference. — Ayesha Ranchod, Lenasia

Clear view of parliament

I HAVE been waiting for an article on the structure of the various parties in our new parliament. Jan-Jan Joubert’s article, “MPs might need seat belts in new rumbustious parliament” (May 25), was exactly what I was waiting for. Excellent. — Greg Binnie, by SMS

Wake-up call needed

JULIUS Malema, give them hell, but first get rid of your sleeping member (Hogarth, May 25). You cannot start like that. — West Coaster, by SMS

Leave Semenya in peace