SA health minister in advert row

The minister went to court over the confidentiality of medical records

South Africa's health department has angered opposition parties by placing newspaper advertisements supporting the health minister over a court case.

The advertisements, in four papers on Friday, cost $54,000, an official said.

Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang last month took partly sucessful legal action to compel the Sunday Times to return copies of her medical records.

The paper had reported the minister had received a liver transplant as a result of alcohol abuse.

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The advertisement criticises the Johannesburg High Court judgement, which ruled that the Sunday Times must give up copies of the minister's medical records, but did not order journalists to destroy notes they had made.

Signed by the health department's head of legal services and director-general, the advertisement argues that the Sunday Times had no legal right to publish the allegations against the minister.

The advertisement described the court judgement as "a huge disappointment in terms of its internal contradictions and lack of coherence" and says the Sunday Times "undermined the principle of confidentiality" in publishing material from the minister's health records.

'Blatant waste'

Mike Waters, health spokesman for the opposition Democratic Alliance, said the advertisements were "a blatant waste of taxpayers' money".

"If the minister feels so strongly about defending herself against the Sunday Times' allegations, she should be paying the costs herself," Mr Waters told the South African Press Association (Sapa).

Another opposition party, the United Democratic Movement (UDM) expressed concern that the advertisement had criticised a court judgement.

"A dangerous precedent has been set that respect for the independence of the judiciary is not required," UDM leader Bantu Holomisa said.

Ministry spokesman Sibani Mngadi defended the decision to place the advertisements.

"It's a significant case in relation to our work as a department, we wanted to make sure that the point was clear in relation to the rights entrenched in the [National Health] Act] ... the right to privacy and how medical records need to be kept or stored and secured," Mr Mngadi told Sapa.

He said the three-quarter page colour advertisements in four daily papers cost a total of 380,000 rand ($54,000).