The Local Aids Council (LAC) held their re-launch at the Standerton Town Hall on 4 June.
The council is a structure that advises the Lekwa Municipality on how to respond to issues regarding HIV/Aids.
This structure was launched in December 2011 and members were trained on their roles and responsibilities in June 2012.
The municipality had no relevant person coordinating HIV/Aids programmes and that resulted in the plan not fully implemented.
After the employment of the HIV/Aids coordinator in April, LAC members decided on another operational plan in line with the National Strategic Plan.
The structure is made up of members from different government departments and organisations, with the Lekwa executive mayor as the chairman.
Fifteen Ward Aids Councils (WACs) will be formed and all ward councillors will act as chairmen of these councils.
According to Mr June Nhlabathi, HIV/Aids coordinator in Gert Sibande District Municipality, the district office has been working hard ensuring that all LACs within the Gert Sibande District Municipality are functional.
“We will support the LAC and all the other ones in this district municipality,” he said.
The Lekwa Municipality had the highest HIV/Aids prevalence rate in the district in 2010, but there has since been a decline and it is now the lowest.
