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CENTRAL AND EASTERN AFRICA
IRIN-CEA Weekly Round-up 202
22 - 28 November 2003


CONTENTS:

AFRICA: New project aims to boost charities' Internet advocacy
BURUNDI: Rebel group joins government in cabinet reshuffle
RWANDA: UK gives Kigali US $130 million for poverty reduction
RWANDA-DRC: Kigali, Kinshasa recommit to repatriation deal
DRC: 185 die in ferry collision
DRC: 700 Mayi-Mayi elements demobilised in Kindu
DRC: Leprosy cases rise
DRC: €2 million French grant for electricity, water supplies
ROC: Ebola death toll now 23
ROC: National Assembly clears way for International Criminal Court
ROC: China announces US $5.7 million grant for reconstruction
CAR: Peacekeeper killed as he rescues girl from gang rape
CAR: Inquiry detects 1,670 ghost civil servants
KENYA: Cautious welcome for resumed IMF lending
TANZANIA: Suspension of Zanzibari newspaper denounced
TANZANIA: Vaccination campaign gets $20 million boost
UGANDA: Dutch warning on aid

ALSO SEE:

CAR: Focus on the impact of war on herdsmen at: http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=38096

KENYA: Feature - Where school lunch is an education lifeline at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=38032

AFRICA: New project aims to boost charities' Internet advocacy

Africa's civil society is failing to harness the power of the Internet to
help communicate "strategically and effectively", a global computer
charity network warned on Monday. The Association of Progressive
Communications (APC) said that all too often, advocacy and campaigning by
charities was undermined by their lack of Internet communications.

"In this era of globalisation, the Internet has been promoted as a means
of bringing people together, but all too often organisations in the south
have been left behind," said APC.

The comments came at the launch of a pioneering project during a week-long
summit at the UN Conference Centre in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa,
to help charities tap the potential of the worldwide web. At the
conference, sponsored by German development agency GTZ, APC unveiled free
computer software that aims to boost the advocacy powers of charities
across the world. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=38055]

BURUNDI: Rebel group joins government in cabinet reshuffle

President Domitien Ndayizeye reshuffled his cabinet on 23 November to
incorporate the country's largest rebel faction, the Conseil national pour
la defense de la democratie-Forces pour la defense de la democratie
(CNDD-FDD) led by Pierre Nkurunziza.

In a decree, Ndayizeye named Nkurunziza as minister of state for good
governance, making him the third most senior state figure after the
president and vice-president. Both the president and the vice-president
must consult the governance minister on matters concerning state security
and government appointments.

Ndayizeye also named three other CNDD-FDD members into his cabinet:
Interior Minister Simon Nyandwi, Communications Minister and Government
Spokesman Onesime Nduwimana and Public Works Minister Salvator
Ntahomenyereye. The CNDD-FDD is also due to get 40 percent of posts in the
army staff and 35 percent in the police. It will have two posts in the
bureau of the parliament and be represented by 15 members of parliament.
[Full story at: http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=38046]

RWANDA: UK gives Kigali US $130 million for poverty reduction

The British government has given the government of Rwanda £82 million (US
$139.7 million) in budgetary support to help it reduce its high poverty
levels. The money will support programmes specified in the government's
Poverty Reduction Strategic Paper, under a new phase of support that runs
from 2003 to 2006.

"We want to be as flexible as possible to help the government of Rwanda
implement her policies smoothly," Cormac Quinn, the deputy programme
manager of the British government's Department for International
Development, told IRIN on Monday.

He said that up to £25 million ($42.6 million) would be made available to
the government before the end of 2003 despite Rwanda's having failed to
meet some set targets along the implementation process. "We shall not stop
the money from coming if certain targets are not met," Quinn said. "We
shall only engage them [government] through dialogue in case of any
shortcomings." [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=38066]

RWANDA-DRC: Kigali, Kinshasa recommit to repatriation deal

The governments of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda
recommitted themselves on Thursday to complete the repatriation of Rwandan
Interahamwe militia and former soldiers in the Congo within a year,
according to a communique issued in Pretoria at the end of a Great Lakes
summit.

South African President Thabo Mbeki hosted the summit on the UN Third
Party Verification Mechanism, which was established after the signing of
an agreement on 30 July 2002 between the Congo and Rwanda on the
withdrawal of Rwandan troops from Congolese territory and the dismantling
of the Interahamwe and former Rwandan Armed Forces (ex-FAR).

"It is envisaged that this [repatriation] process should be finalised as
soon as possible, not exceeding 12 months," the communique read.

The leaders agreed that members of ex-FAR and Interahamwe armed groups in
eastern Congo must "be persuaded to depart from the territory of the DRC"
as they constitute a threat to peace and stability in the region. [Full
story at: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=38143]

DRC: 185 die in ferry collision
 
At least 185 bodies have been recovered from Lake Mai-Ndombe in western
DRC following the collision of two ferry boats, Health Minister Yagi
Sitolo announced on Wednesday in the capital, Kinshasa. The accident took
place on Tuesday, some 50 km from the town of Inongo, in Bandundu
Province.

Humanitarian Affairs Minister Catherine Nzuzi wa Mbombo reported on
Thursday that 222 survivors had been rescued. "These figures could rise
significantly, however, because the number of passengers on the two
ferries was between 450 and 500," she said.

She added that while there was still some hope of finding survivors, "if
by the end of the day these people are not found, then there will be
little hope". The government has sent investigators to the scene to
determine the cause of the collision. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=38124]

DRC: 700 Mayi-Mayi elements demobilised in Kindu

Some 700 people associated with Mayi-Mayi militias were demobilised in
Kindu, eastern DRC, on 22 November by the UN peacekeeping mission in the
country, MONUC, in cooperation with forces of the seventh military region
of the unified national army.

A statement issued by MONUC on Monday reported that the 700 individuals -
including women, children and the elderly - who opted to return to
civilian life, were part of a larger group of about 2,000 fighters, the
remainder of whom had asked to be integrated into the national army.

According to MONUC, those who wished to join the national army were
transported to Camp Lwama, some seven kilometres from Kindu, while those
who wished to return to civilian life were registered and photographed,
after surrendering their weapons and military uniforms to the seventh
military regional command. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=38052]

DRC: Leprosy cases rise

Increasing numbers of leprosy cases have been recorded in the DRC, as
health agents reach areas previously inaccessible due to the five-year
war, according to the director of the National Anti-leprosy Programme, Dr
Luenga Mputu. He told IRIN in Kinshasa on Tuesday that the annual report
for 2002, just published by his office, showed that 5,055 new cases had
been detected, and 4,624 in 2001.

Moreover, figures for the number of people contracting the disease could
climb dramatically as health authorities gain access to areas previously
inaccessible. "We think that we could even double or triple the figures
that we have," he said.

For this reason, Mputu's office has started to seek increased state and
donor funding so it could cover the entire country and to try to attain
the national goal of eliminating leprosy by 2005. Mputu said his office
needed greater financial resources than its current US $500,000 budget so
that it could cover the worst affected and most remote communities
nationwide. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=38099]

DRC: €2 million French grant for electricity, water supplies

The French Development Agency signed a grant agreement with the DRC
government of €2 million ($2.36 million) for electricity and water supply
projects.

The agreement was signed in Kinshasa on Wednesday to coincide with a
two-day visit by Jean-Pierre Barbier, the agency's director for southern
and central Africa and the Indian Ocean.

This is the first agreement the agency has signed with the DRC for 10
years. French aid to the country was suspended in 1992 because of
generalised theft of state funds.

ROC: Ebola death toll now 23

The Ebola toll in the Republic of Congo (ROC) has reached 23 deaths among
43 cases, the World Health Organisation (WHO) reported on Thursday from
the capital, Brazzaville.

Of the 43 cases, 40 have been in Mbomo District and three in Mbanza
District of Cuvette Ouest Department, northwestern ROC. Of the 23 deaths,
20 have been in Mbomo and three in Mbanza. Of the 20 people currently
suffering from the disease, 15 are being cared for at home while five have
been hospitalised. It is believed that 114 people have come into contact
with infected persons, in Mbomo, Mbanza and Ewo.

The WHO country director for ROC, Dr Adamou Yada, and ROC Health Minister
Dr Alain Moka, travelled to Mbomo on Tuesday in an effort to encourage
health teams on the ground. Meanwhile, an emergency team from WHO
headquarters in Geneva is due to arrive on Friday in Brazzaville, to
relieve the team currently in place. The new team is expected to reach
Cuvette Ouest on Sunday. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=38126]

ROC: National Assembly clears way for International Criminal Court

The ROC National Assembly has authorised the country to join the
International Criminal Court (ICC), the government reported on Wednesday.
The Senate must now give its approval before the government lodges its
instrument of ratification with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

"The ratification of the statutes of the ICC is yet further proof that
Congolese authorities are committed to upholding human rights in the
Congo," a government communique stated. It added that it would now work to
bring national laws into harmony with the statutes and objectives of the
court.

ROC human rights groups praised the government, but urged it not to lose
momentum towards ratification of the Rome Statute. "The adoption of the
proposed law ratifying the Rome Statute is a great step forward in the
fight against impunity," the Association pour les Droits de l'Homme et
l'Univers Carceral (ADHUC) said in a statement. "While congratulating the
Congolese parliament, ADHUC urges the competent authorities to take all
measures necessary so that the Rome Statute is ratified as soon as
possible." [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=38125]

ROC: China announces US $5.7 million grant for reconstruction

China has announced a grant of three billion francs CFA (US $5.7 million)
to the ROC for the rebuilding of the country's infrastructure, damaged
during repeated civil wars during the past decade, the ROC government
reported on 20 November from Brazzaville.

"We exchanged ideas on Chinese-Congolese cooperation. A technical team
[from China] is currently in Brazzaville to evaluate renovation work
needed for the national parliament," a communique from the ROC government
quoted Chinese ambassador Wo Ruidi as having said. It added that Chinese
experts were also in the middle of a project to provide water to outlying
areas of Brazzaville, through the construction of boreholes.

The Chinese-built Palais du Parlement was badly damaged during fighting in
June 1997. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=38035]

CAR: Peacekeeper killed as he rescues girl from gang rape

Armed robbers killed a Chadian soldier serving with the Economic and
Monetary Community of Central African States (CEMAC) peacekeeping force
when his squad attempted to rescue a 14-year-old girl from rape on Sunday
in a suburb of Bangui, capital of the Central African Republic (CAR), an
official told IRIN.

WO Ngueubla Etienne South was in the 10-man squad that had gone to rescue
the family of a gendarmerie officer whose home was under armed attack by
the robbers, the commander in chief of the CEMAC force, Rear-Adml Martin
Mavoungou, said on Monday. The robbers ambushed the soldiers on their way
to gendarme's home, near the Ngola cattle market and 14 km from the city
centre, at about 3 a.m.

"As the place was not accessible by vehicles the soldiers had to walk to
reach the scene of the attack," Mavoungou said. He said the two turbaned
robbers who were raping the gendarme’s daughter wore a mixture of civilian
and military clothes. He added that no other soldier was wounded and that
none of the robbers had been arrested. Investigations have been launched
into the attack, he said. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=38056]

CAR: Inquiry detects 1,670 ghost civil servants

An inter-ministerial team set up in May to determine the real number of
civil servants has completed its report, which shows that there are 1,670
ghost civil servants whose salaries were being paid, state-owned
Television Centrafricaine reported on Monday.

Chaired by Jean-Claude Ngouandja, the special adviser to Prime Minister
Abel Goumba, the commission found that these individuals had been paid at
least 600 million francs CFA (US $1.1 million) so far.

Receiving the report on Monday, Goumba said that the government's efforts
to pay salaries were still being sabotaged. Such irregularities were
making it more difficult for the government to repay its global debt of
112 billion francs ($210 million) and to meet its budgetary deficit of 19
billion francs ($35.7 million), he said, noting that the transitional
government had found only found 5.5 million francs ($10,329) in the
treasury when it took over on 15 March.

KENYA: Cautious welcome for resumed IMF lending

Kenya has welcomed a decision by the IMF to resume lending, more than
three years after it suspended lending to the country, citing corruption
and slow economic reform. The Bretton Woods body on 22 November announced
that it had approved a three-year US $252.75 million loan for Kenya.

In a statement, the IMF said its decision to resume lending to Kenya had
resulted from the government's "strong commitment to break with Kenya's
past record of uneven economic performance" and bold steps in the fight
against corruption in key government sectors. "They [the government] have
already taken significant steps in their fight against corruption, with
the passage of key governance legislation in May 2003 and the setting up
of institutions to enforce the legislation," the statement said.

Local economists, however, cautioned that it was too soon to celebrate,
noting there were a string of conditionalities for the Kenyan government
to meet if the funding was to continue. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=38061]

TANZANIA: Suspension of Zanzibari newspaper denounced

Lawyers and a media analyst have criticised the government's suspension on
Monday of a Zanzibari weekly newspaper, Dira, terming the move a violation
of press freedom. The government of Zanzibar suspended the privately-owned
newspaper for "a lack of professional ethics", Salum Juma Othman, the
minister of state in the chief minister's office, said on Tuesday.

"There are some genuine complaints from the government that a responsible
editor could have addressed, but nonetheless, this does not justify
closing the newspaper down," Kajubi Mukajanga, the editor of Media Watch,
the newsletter of the Media Council of Tanzania, told IRIN on Tuesday.

"They [the paper] should go to court because they have a good case," a Dar
es Salaam lawyer, who requested anonymity, said. "If it had just been
about professional ethics, there are avenues for that. They are clearly
touching some of the things that make the government feel uncomfortable,"
the lawyer said. Another lawyer said that the fact that Dira's editor, Ali
Nabwa, was a former assistant to the late vice-president, Omar Ali Juma,
and having been "part of the system, knows a lot". [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=38080]

TANZANIA: Vaccination campaign gets $20 million boost

Due to its improved performance in vaccinating children, the government of
Tanzania is due to receive some $20 million over five years for
immunisation against preventable diseases, the Global Alliance for Vaccine
and Immunisation has announced. The money, to be spent on purchasing
vaccines and ensuring that they reach all parts of the country, may be
increased depending on the country's performance in implementing the
campaign.

"Between 2000 and 2002, Tanzania increased immunisation coverage from 70
percent to 89 percent. This is a very big increase," Tore Godall, the
alliance's executive secretary, told IRIN on Wednesday. "They have done
very well and, as we have been doing, for every child over the
immunisation target, the country will receive an extra $20," he said.

Godall said that the alliance was committed to providing the $20 million
between 2002 and 2006, by which time the government and other donors would
be stepping up their contributions to fund immunisation. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=38117]

UGANDA: Dutch warning on aid

The Dutch ambassador, Matthew Peters, has warned Uganda that it risks
losing budget support unless it does more to strengthen its democratic
credentials. He was speaking on Wednesday at the signing of Uganda's
budget support agreement, valued at €23.9 million (US $28.5 million). "It
is my great fear that the space for political parties will be opened up at
a late stage, which would not allow sufficient time for the democratic
process to run its course," he said.

"Uganda has never had a peaceful transition of leadership," Peters added.
To do so, he said, "would be a major step towards embedding a democratic
tradition in Uganda".

Uganda is the fourth biggest recipient of aid from The Netherlands. [Full
story at: http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=38113]


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