South Africa, no to Chinese condoms

“They are too small”

JOHANNESBURG – Too small to be worn by South African citizens. And therefore, less secure. With this motivation, a court in the capital Pretoria stopped a maxi order, forbidding the government to buy 11 million condoms produced in China.

According to the newspaper Beeld, the Ministry of Finance had given the South African company Siqamba Medical the right to enter into a contract to import millions of condoms from China. Everything seemed fine but around the corner was the appeal of a South African competitor, the Sekunjalo Investments Corporation, presented to the High Court with these arguments: its condoms are 20% longer than those manufactured in China. Having said that: Judge Sulet Potterill has upheld the South African society, stating in his motivation that Chinese condoms can actually be considered too small, of poorer quality and not approved by the World Health Organization.

Condom safety, first of all. After all, South Africa has the highest HIV infection rate in the world: 5.38 million HIV-positive out of a population of 50 million.

(September 16, 2011)