Aids levy mooted to avert driver crisis

Level likely to be determined as percentage of payroll KEVIN MAYHEW TRANSPORT SECTOR participants have agreed in principle to fund a programme to combat HIV/Aids through levy contributions from both employers and employees. The extent of the levy is still to be decided but will probably be determined as a percentage of a company’s payroll, according to the outgoing chief executive officer of the Road Freight Association, Herman Lemmer. Industry funding is to be supplemented with alternative international donor funding. “The industry stakeholders, including the unions, have realised that we cannot rely on government anti-retroviral interventions alone. We have to move on our own or the industry will be decimated,” Lemmer told FTW. The wide ranging decisions on a plan of action followed input from bodies as diverse as USAid and multi-denominational highway ministries which address spiritual needs of drivers and roadside sex workers. The objectives, according to a strategy report, include the implementation of a comprehensive programme to focus on awareness education, confidential HIV testing, treatment and counselling, and after care management. The aim is to establish a national network of service providers for the provision of affordable medical treatment, dietary, counselling and other related services and treatment. The intention is reduce new HIV infections within the industry by about 20% within months of its final implementation, according to the report. Although primarily aimed at employees in the industry, it will also extend aspects of the programme to family members if resources are available. The entire programme will be run by external experts to maximise its effectiveness. The Transport Education and Training Authority (TETA) will be involved in further developing HIV/Aids training and educational material to meet the needs of the industry.