The US ambassador to South Africa has questioned the commitment of the South African authorities to fighting Aids.

The ambassador, Cameron Hume, said the government had failed to spend its own Aids budget, bringing into question whether the authorities would use US donations effectively.

His comments came two weeks after President George Bush announced that he would provide $15bn to Aids projects in the 14 countries worst-affected by Aids.

South Africa has one of the highest infection rates in the world, with an estimated one in nine of its population of 42 million declared HIV-positive.

Anti-retrovirals

In a lecture to Rhodes University in South Africa, Mr Hume questioned whether the South African Government would use the 1.7bn rand ($200m) the US has earmarked to fight the disease in 2004.

Activists have criticised the government

He said that throwing resources at the HIV/Aids epidemic in South Africa would not help if the government did not make good use of them.

The price of anti-retroviral drugs has been falling, but treatment is still not available to the general public in South Africa's state-run hospitals and clinics.

Critics say the South African Government has not been proactive enough to fight the pandemic, but officials have defended the authorities' new strategy, which includes awareness campaigns, treatment of related infections and research.

Activists have also criticised Washington's plans, which involve channelling money through governments rather than through aid agencies and charities