TO : DR.O SHISANA

Director-General

Dept of Health

Pretoria

Dear Dr Shisana

We trust that this finds you well.

With Reference to this ongoing matter, largely initiated by your November 1996 Pretoria meeting titled "Natural Health Substances and the Enforcement of Act 101 of 1965", we feel strongly that a truly representative public meeting to reflect on developments this past year, is now imperative, before this matter proceeds further and fixes us in unnecessary battle rather than in constructive co-operation.

It is currently "rumoured" that a meeting is scheduled for the end of January. If so, would you kindly advise us immediately of the date, venue and agenda so as to facilitate our presence, which until now has not been possible due to our boycotting the BBRG meetings of the CMC because of their non-representative, undemocratic, unconstitutional and illegal activities, to which we have refused to lend credibility via our participation, on moral grounds.

We have repeatedly lodged legal protest, to date ignored by all the relevant authorities, whom both individually and collectively, yourself included, can expect to be held criminally and civilly responsible for the envisaged harm that this untenable situation has and is further likely to prejudice so many innocent and well-meaning citizens, should our legitimate points of contention not receive adequate open debate at an appropriate forum and be followed by appropriate action.

We have repeatedly invoked the Bill of Rights of the Constitution, Act 108 of 1996, which effectively supercedes Act 101 of 1965 and renders the latter legally unenforceable in so many respects as to render the proposed "listing system" to be fit only for the trash-heap, which is where it belongs in an open and democratic society such as ours purports to be. If you and others refuse to face these legal issues, we will have no choice but to have a court-order force the issue, which we have obviously been reluctant to do because of the waste of effort and taxpayer's hard earned money which could be far more constructively utilised by your Department.

Regarding our frantic faxes and calls regarding a rumored meeting at the Good Hope Building, Parliament on 25 November last year, this turned out to be an IFP/MCC benefit to score political points for Dr. Ruth Rabinowitz, MP and a public relations exercise for Professor Peter Folb, who now finds himself in the inenviable position of having had Minister Zuma render his MCCouncil a juristic person and legally responsible for their decisions and actions for the first time in thirty-three years, which is long overdue and to which opportunity we intend to avail ourselves should matters not shortly be settled to our satisfaction, and iro which we collectively and our members individually, reserve our rights.

Kindly give our proposal of a serious debate your best consideration, in the hope that this matter can be amicably resolved without having to resort to the courts to see justice forced on the Department of Health and unnecessary animosity generated instead of concentrating on what could be a very constructive relationship between the State and public sector in uplifting the health of an ailing nation desperately in need of wholistic healing affordable to all, which is impossible without the liberation and encouragement of our sector.

Yours sincerely

Stuart Thomson

National Co-ordinator, PHARMAPACT

Director, Gaia Research Institute

cc Hon . Min. Health, Dr N Zuma

cc Public Protector, Adv. S Baqwa