U N I T E D   N A T I O N S
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Integrated Regional Information Network for Central and Eastern Africa

Tel: +254 2 622147
Fax: +254 2 622129
e-mail: irin@ocha.unon.org


CENTRAL AND EASTERN AFRICA
IRIN-CEA Weekly Round-Up 329
29 April - 5 May 2006


CONTENTS:

BURUNDI-DRC: UN agency moves Congolese refugees from Bujumbura
BURUNDI: Free maternal healthcare, pay rise for workers
CONGO: Reconstruction of Brazzaville-Kinkala road begins
DRC: Elections to be held on 30 July, polls body says
DRC: With more displaced in Katanga aid groups step up activities
KENYA: Floods displace thousands as torrential rains persist
TANZANIA: Cholera deaths up in Zanzibar
UGANDA-SUDAN: 160 Sudanese refugees start journey home
UGANDA: Gov't launches emergency plan for the north


BURUNDI-DRC: UN agency moves Congolese refugees from Bujumbura

The United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, has moved the first 67 Congolese 
refugees from the Burundian capital, Bujumbura, to a camp in the 
southeastern province of Rutana where they will benefit from the agency's 
assistance.

Another 85 would be moved next week to the Gasorwe Transit Camp in the 
northeastern province of Muyinga, the agency's public relations officers, 
Catherine-Lune Grayson, said on Friday in Bujumbura.

The UNHCR said on Wednesday that most of these refugees arrived in 
Bujumbura in late 2005 from South Kivu in the east of the Democratic 
Republic of Congo, fleeing persisting insecurity in their homes. They had 
been living in Bujumbura since their arrival but had expressed their wish 
to be moved to a camp so that they could benefit from UNHCR aid.

Since December 2005, the refugees had been organising frequent sit-ins 
before the UNHCR offices in Bujumbura to demand the agency's help.


BURUNDI: Free maternal healthcare, pay rise for workers

Free maternal healthcare, a 15 percent salary increase for workers in the 
public service and the setting up of anti-corruption bodies are some of 
the measures Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza announced in a message 
to the nation on the eve of Labour Day, marked worldwide on 1 May.

President Nkurunziza said the pay rise, effective 1 July, was coming at a 
time when the Burundian franc - exchanging at 1,000 to the US dollar - had 
"dropped dramatically". He added that workers had been unable to pay their 
rents, meet the cost of healthcare and purchase basic necessities.

However, the leader of the Burundi Trade Unions Confederation 
(Confederation des Syndicats du Burundi), Tharcisse Gahungu, said the 
salary increase would have little impact on the lives of civil servants.


CONGO: Reconstruction of Brazzaville-Kinkala road begins

Work has begun on the resurfacing of the 62-km stretch of road that links 
Brazzaville, capital of the Republic of Congo, to Kinkala, the main town 
the country's war-torn Pool region in the south of the country.

The European Union (EU) has loaned Congo 31 billion francs CFA (about US 
$62 million) for the two-year project to be undertaken by the French firm 
Dragages and the public works companies DTP-Earthwork and Socofran.

"When completed, this project must open access to the Pool so that its 
residents can access basic social services," Domenica Pavard, the head of 
the EU delegation to the country, said.


DRC: Elections to be held on 30 July, polls body says

Presidential and parliamentary elections, the first in nearly 40 years 
since independence in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), will be held 
on 30 July, Independent Electoral Commission Chairman Apollinaire 
Muholongo Malumalu announced on Sunday.

He also said the election campaign will begin at midnight on 29 June and 
end at the same hour on 28 July.

The Supreme Court has cleared 33 candidates to contest the presidency and 
9,362 will vie for the 500 legislative seats in the country's Parliament.


DRC: With more displaced in Katanga aid groups step up activities

With ongoing fighting between the government and Mayi-Mayi militia groups 
in the north and centre of Katanga Province the number of displaced has 
reached at least 165,000 in the last six months, UN officials said.

"One hundred and sixty five thousand is the figure we are using but it 
could be as high as 200,000," a UN aid official asking not to be named 
told IRIN on Wednesday. "Every week we get reports of 200 to 1,000 new 
displaced that are directly linked to the conflict."

Various aid organisations are now stepping up their activities in the 
area, he said.


KENYA: Floods displace thousands as torrential rains persist

Flooding caused by heavy rainfall in Kenya has displaced thousands, 
submerged homes and killed several people in various parts of the country 
during the past week, officials said on Thursday.

The worst-affected areas were the Indian Ocean coastal region and Nyanza 
and Western provinces , according to Shem Amadi, director of the National 
Disaster Operations Centre in Nairobi, the capital.

Eight drowning deaths have been reported since 25 April. Most of them 
involved people being swept away when they tried to cross swollen rivers. 
Five of the deaths were reported in Migori District in the west, and three 
occurred in Samburu District in the north.

In the port city of Mombasa, Kenya's second largest city, torrential rains 
over the past five days left hundreds of families homeless after their 
homes were submerged.


TANZANIA: Cholera deaths up in Zanzibar

Deaths from cholera in Tanzania's semiautonomous island of Zanzibar have 
reached 15, up from eight recorded two weeks ago, health officials said.

The director of information policies in the Ministry of Health and Social 
welfare, Dr Omar Suleiman, said on Tuesday in Stone Town, the capital of 
Zanzibar, that cholera continued to be a threat, especially in rural 
areas.

"More than 300 have suffered from severe diarrhoea and vomiting," he said. 
"These records are just from our health centres, but they may be more 
people who have suffered without going to the hospital."

He added: "We still have new cholera cases in Unguja and Pemba islands, 
therefore, people must be serious in observing hygiene including using 
boiled water for drinking."


UGANDA-SUDAN: 160 Sudanese refugees start journey home

Almost two dozen trucks left Uganda on Tuesday, carrying scores of 
Sudanese refugees home from settlements near the border with Sudan as 
their voluntary repatriation kicked off, said UNHCR.

"Today [on Tuesday], we have facilitated the return of 160 r efugees from 
Moyo District to their villages of Kangapo I and II," said Roberta Russo, 
the Kampala-based spokeswoman for UNHCR.

Russo said UNHCR would help between 700 and 800 refugees to return home by 
the end of this week, while at least 10,000 would have returned by the end 
of the year.


UGANDA: Gov't launches emergency plan for the north

The Ugandan government has launched an emergency plan for intervention in 
war-affected northern Uganda, emphasising security, humanitarian 
assistance, peace-building and reconciliation.

The initiative pledges increased and enhanced police presence in the 
north, where the rebel Lord~Rs Resistance Army (LRA) has wreaked havoc for 
some 20 years. It aims to establish clear roles for the army, local 
government-allied militias and police, who are working to facilitate the 
voluntary return of displaced people and maintain security.

The emergency action plan also aims to consolidate peace initiatives and 
"establish contact and promote dialogue with middle-level LRA, where 
possible." However, at the launch of the plan on Thursday, Ugandan 
President Yoweri Museveni ruled out the possibility of a negotiated 
settlement with the LRA leadership.


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