QUOTES OF THE WEEK.

(From SAPA (South African Press Association))

A selection of quotes from and about southern and South Africa -- and for this week, Kenya -- published in the media during the past week. This feature moves every Thursday. "In 2001 we quoted the poet David Diop on the bitter fruits of liberty... Then (in 2002) we asked: Does the lemon always ripen before the sweet plum?... Now the sweet plums are here..." -- Finance minister Trevor Manuel, explaining the significance of the plums handed to journalists at a pre-Budget briefing. MPs also got packages of plums. "Fruit salad." -- Manuel, asked which fruit he would eat next year. With the 2001 Budget he used apples to mark the beginning of the delivery of the fruits of democracy, while bunches of grapes marked "the fruits of our labour" last year. "We are running out of fruits." -- Finance director-general Maria Ramos. "It's as if he couldn't use the word anti-retroviral." -- Treatment Action Campaign chairman Zackie Achmat, on Manuel's announcement that R3,3-billion from the Budget was allocated for Aids prevention and …