A very successful national Natural Health Freedom Indaba was held in Knysna on 23 May, 1998 and attended by health freedom and natural practitioner organisations across the board. The principle intention was to unite heretofore fragmented groupings opposed to the undemocratic and un-constitutional imposition of the "listing system" on the majority of role-players by the minority of idealogically and financially vested interests and dominating natural pharmaceutical companies illegally driving the process without representative mandate, transparency and concern for the rights of others.

Essentially, the organisers, PHARMAPACT, an acronym for Peoples Health Alliance Rejecting Medical Authoritarianism, Prejudice And Conspiratorial Tyranny, invited and through the goodwill of all the participants, managed to pull together the largest natural health provider organisation in the country, representing both practitioners using, and manufacturers/importers/distributors of natural health and therapeutic substances. The new alliance, collectively named HEALTH FREEDOM SOUTH AFRICA, swamps the proclaimed pro-listings Health Products Association undisputedly into minority status.

The unique historical aspect of this development is that due to a common threat to so many sectors, it represents the first cross-cultural natural health alliance in the country, incorporating the previously non-threatened African traditional healers and their herbs, who now face the same fate as all the other cultural traditions under the listing system, only worse, since this part of the African heritage, previously ridiculed and reviled, faces expropriation for the first time, and if successful, will place their R2 billion trade in traditional health substances in the hands of their erstwhile local and overseas oppressors.

Key components formally uniting in common purpose are: the Interim Co-ordinating Committee of Traditional Medical Practitioners of South Africa; PHARMAPACT; Traditional Doctors, Herbalists and Spiritual Healers Assoc.; Cape Lobby for Health Freedom; Homoeopathic Practitioners Assoc. of S A; Association of Aromatherapists of S A; Consumers for Health; Natal Natural Health Alliance; Campaign for the Recognition of Unani Medicine; Magnetotherapy Assoc. of S A; Association of Crano-sacral and Breathwork Practitioners, The Waratah Eagle Foundation and others, some of which require anonymity.

A Working Committee has been established, comprising three regional representatives; Bart Schubert (G); Anthony Rees (K/N); Charl du Randt (C) and nationally, Traditional Dr. Phillip Kubukheli, (TDH&SHA), and T. Dr. Sindephi Spogter (ICCTMPSA), also chairperson, and Stuart Thomson (PHARMAPACT) as co-ordinator and secretary. Member organisations maintain complete autonomy and act as HEALTH FREEDOM S.A. only on the basis of consensus, whereby resolutions, besides centralised action, may fan out to member organisations for action, and thence to members if necessary.

Two 30-day deadlined resolutions unanimously agreed to are a request that the Minister of Health 1) immediately suspend the further mis-informed imposition of the listing system, and 2) call an urgent national meeting by public notice, inviting all role-players to air their grievances relating to the undemocratic, unconstitutional and illegal vested interest industry driven system, so that she can take an informed stand based on the grave circumstances so exposed. Many signatories are determined that once the truth is revealed, civilian criminal charges of fraud and civil suites for damages must follow.