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 Southern Africa

Tel: +27 11 880 4633
Fax: +27 11 880 1421
e-mail: irin-sa@irin.org.za


SOUTHERN AFRICA
IRIN-SA Weekly Round-up 20
13-19 May 2000



ZIMBABWE: Election set for June
ANGOLA: Angola will boycott OAU summit
ANGOLA-ZAMBIA: Lusaka and Angola to discuss border allegations
NAMIBIA: Civilians attacked at Angolan border
NAMIBIA-ZAMBIA: EU aid for refugees
ZAMBIA: New opposition leader
MALAWI: President seeks debt relief
MOZAMBIQUE: New European aid
LESOTHO: Journalist summoned over labour report
SOUTH AFRICA: IOM Representative Shun Chetty dies


ZIMBABWE: Election set for June

Ending weeks of expectation and speculation, President Robert Mugabe
announced that the country's parliamentary elections will be held on the
weekend of June 24 and 25.

Within hours of the announcement in the announcement in the official
daily, 'The Herald' on Tuesday, the opposition Movement For Democratic
Change (MDC), citing countrywide political violence over the occupation of
white-owned farms and intimidation by supporters of Mugabe's ruling
ZANU-PF party, took legal action to seek a proper nomination process and
clarification on political constituencies.

Four more killed

Earlier in the week, the third white farmer to die in the violence, John
Weeks, 65, succumbed to gunshot wounds sustained last Friday at his farm
in the Beatrice district some 50 km outside Harare. On Thursday, two more
opposition party supporters also died in political violence, police said.
James Chitungo, elections director for the minority opposition United
Party, said a traditional chief was among the UP members killed in
skirmishes with ZANU-PF activists in the north-eastern district of Mudzi.

The UP is led by Bishop Abel Muzorewa, who headed a short-lived government
in 1979-80, on the eve of Zimbabwe's independence from Britain. In one of
the most violent incidents this week, one person died and at least 18 were
injured, four of them seriously, in violence between rival political
supporters in a Harare suburb. The clash, between MDC and ZANU-PF
supporters, occurred on Tuesday night, Harare provincial police spokesman
Inspector Tendai Nembire told the state-run Ziana news agency. The latest
killings brought to at least 24 the total number of people killed in two
months of political and land-related violence.

International observers welcome, but not Britons

The latest clashes came as officials from the Commonwealth, the European
Union (EU) and South Africa visited Suggest a link Zimbabwe with offers
tohere send observers to monitor the parliamentary elections. Don
McKinnon, Commonwealth's secretary general, said after meeting Mugabe he
believed it possible a free and fair election could be held despite the
violence. In Brussels, the EU said it would consider freezing further aid
to Zimbabwe if the election was deemed unfair.

But Mugabe, speaking to reporters, made it clear that while observer teams
were welcome, they should not include British nationals.

The opposition has accused Mugabe of launching an intimidation campaign
after his party lost a referendum in February over a new constitution that
would have entrenched Mugabe's powers and allow him to seize white-owned
land without compensation. It marked his biggest political defeat during
the 20 years he and ZANU-PF have held power in Zimbabwe.

The election process Under the constitution

Mugabe has the right to appoint 30 of the 150 parliamentary candidates,
leaving a total of 120 candidates to contest the election. IRIN has
published a detailed analysis of the election process which can be viewed

Britain and South Africa agree on joint approach

In London, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and South African President
Thabo Mbeki called this week for a large team of international observers
to be sent as soon as possible. After talks on a range of issue, Blair
told a news conference he and Mbeki shared a key goal over the crisis in
Zimbabwe - to return stability and prosperity to the country. They
welcomed the announcement of elections in the country while Blair lauded
the South African president's "quiet diplomacy": "We agreed on the
elections being free and fair. Any initiative by the UN would be of
immense importance and help in trying to deal with difficult issues."
Mbeki sad it was vital that the violence in Zimbabwe ended and the
conflict over land addressed in a way that benefited everyone in the
country.

Invaders move into businesses

About 40 armed Mugabe supporters occupied a major timber works in the
eastern Zimbabwean town of Mutare this week taking over the Border Timbers
company, the third largest timber company in southern Africa. They
demanded that all white managers be replaced, that workers supporting the
opposition be identified and the company declare that it supported the
ruling party.

The reports said that the company immediately ceased all operations and
sent about 3,500 workers home. Meanwhile, Zimbabwe's militant black
empowerment lobby group, the Affirmative Action Group (AAG), launched a
number of property invasions in Bulawayo, the country's second city. AAG
members and supporters, mostly unemployed youths, have seized four
buildings in Bulawayo, one owned by an Asian businessman and the others by
a white businessman.

Government orders end to dual nationality

The Zimbabwe government this week said that an estimated 86,000 people
holding dual British and Zimbabwean citizenship should surrender their
Zimbabwean passports. Those who did not renounce British citizenship would
be deemed "residents and not citizens" of Zimbabwe, a government statement
said.

The military is neutral - defence minister

Zimbabwean Defence Minister Moven Mahachi said this week the country's
armed forces were "not in any way" involved in the occupation of more than
700 white-owned farms or other political activities. Speaking at a news
conference in the capital, Harare, Mahachi said the defence forces had
received "unwarranted, speculative and negative" publicity since the
invasions and violence against opposition political activists started two
months ago.

"Media speculation and misinformation about the involvement of the
Zimbabwe Defence Forces in the farm occupations by war veterans and other
political activities has been rife," Mahachi said.

"The reports are disturbing and alarming as they portray a negative image
of our defence forces. It has therefore become imperative for me in my
capacity as the minister of defence to put the record straight: I wish to
state categorically that the Zimbabwe Defence Forces are not in any way
involved in the occupation of commercial farms or in any activities of a
political nature."

World Bank suspends loan payments

The World Bank this week suspended loan payments to Zimbabwe, adding
further to the country's economic woes. "Zimbabwe is 60 days overdue with
its loan repayments. This is completely routine and has nothing to do with
the political situation in the country. Once Zimbabwe had paid its
arrears, the suspension would be lifted," Richard Uku, communications
officer at the World Bank headquarters in Washington told IRIN.

Opposition concerns

The MDC warned twice during the week that "government-sponsored" violence
would escalate ahead of next month's parliamentary elections. "Violence is
going to increase," MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai told a press conference
in Harare. "Because of the fraudulent nature of the process anyone knows
that, before we even go to the elections, it is not going to be free and
fair," Tsvangirai said. Earlier, the party accused Mugabe in a statement
of orchestrating a brutal, countrywide campaign of intimidation and
violence against anyone deemed to be an opponent of his ruling ZANU-PF
party.


ANGOLA: Angola will boycott OAU summit

Angola said this week it would not attend the annual summit of the
Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in Togo because the country had been
named in a UN report for breaching sanctions against the UNITA rebel
movement. The announcement was made in a state radio interview with Joao
Lourenco, Secretary-General of the governing MPLA party. At the summit
scheduled for 10-12 July, Togolese President Gnassingbe Eyadema is to be
elected to the OAU's rotating chairmanship.

Lourenco, the right-hand man of President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, said:
"We think that as of now, the OAU's credibility would be seriously
compromised. By allowing someone, who has been accused in a UN report of
being one of Africa's leading supporters of a terrorist, to become its
chairman, the OAU has given the green light to Eyadema to continue
supporting a terrorist who has been destabilising a member state."

Earlier in the week, Angola said it would seek to get the venue of the
summit changed. In the event such a move would not be possible, he was
asked what else Luanda intended to do. "Of course, we will not attend the
summit. We will not prevent others from taking part in the summit, but we
will not be there," he said.

UN special adviser visits Angola

Ibrahim Gambari, the Special Adviser of the Secretary-General for Special
Assignments in Africa, visited Angola this week for talks with the
government. A UN spokesman said Gambari met President Jose Eduardo Dos
Santos on Thursday. He was due to travel to the second city of Huambo in
the central highlands on Saturday to see "firsthand the conditions"
internally displaced persons camped in and around the city.

Humanitarian requirements

The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said in a special alert
this week that Angola needed 333,000 mt of emergency food assistance for
at least the next 12 months. It cited figures of the UN Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) that continued warfare had
pushed the number of IDPs to nearly 2.6 million, 1.9 million of whom
urgently need humanitarian assistance.

New US funding for landmine clearance

The United States has granted US $500,000 to Norwegian Peoples Aid (NPA),
the largest landmine clearance organisation in Angola. A spokesman for NPA
told IRIN this week the funds would enable it to embark on an urgently
required landmine clearing programme in and around the Moxico provincial
capital of Luena.

He said Luena was crammed with displaced people who had fled fighting that
ensued after a new government offensive against the rebel UNITA movement
which started last October causing influxes of refugees into neighbouring
Zambia.

"There have been many requests for assistance with demining in Luena from
the government, NGOs and the local authorities," he said. "We are
therefore very pleased to receive this timely assistance from the US
Department of State and we hope it will lead to further support."

Humanitarian pipeline weak

In a related development, WFP warned this week that its pipeline remained
very weak with no new donor pledges received during the reporting period
10-17 May. WFP said that between the 8 and 14 May it had transported 2,576
mt of food aid commodities and 279 mt of non-food items by air. It
delivered a further 3,091 mt of food by road. "Of this amount 572 mt were
delivered to the warehouses of WFP's implementing partners in Luanda and
Bengo Provinces and 2,564 mt was delivered in Malange, N'Dalatando, Sumbe
and Donde." In addition 129 mt of food was transported by rail.

New EU food relief

But WFP said it had received a relief food shipment last Friday of 15,000
mt worth an estimated US $15 million from the European Union. WFP said the
consignment of maize arrives at "a very critical time" for the
humanitarian situation in Angola, where security was deteriorating while
the numbers of civilians in need of food aid was increasing.

"Donors such as the European Union are the life blood that will enable WFP
to sustain our efforts against the danger of malnutrition and starvation,"
said Ronald Sibanda, WFP Representative in Angola. "This donation will
cover over one month of maize rations for the 1.2 million people currently
registered to receive food from WFP."



ANGOLA-ZAMBIA: Lusaka and Angola to discuss border allegations

Meanwhile, amid a new round of allegations of military incursions across
their common border, officials in Zambia and Angola said this week they
were willing to hold talks on the issue. A Zambian foreign ministry
spokesman told IRIN Zambia was ready to discuss charges by Defence
Minister Chitalu Sampa that Angola had launched cross-border air and
ground attacks into Zambia's Western and North Western Provinces in recent
weeks.

Sampa said the attacks had included the dropping of incendiary bombs on a
Zambian village and the killing of a Zambian soldier by Angolan troops who
had crossed into the country. "Zambia is ready to discuss this issue with
Angola in order to reach a peaceful solution," the spokesman said. "But we
are as yet still to set a date for such talks." In Luanda, Foreign
Minister Joao Miranda said the Angolan government was "flabbergasted" by
Zambian allegations of border incursions by his country's armed forces. He
suggested that the Joint Angola-Zambia Military Commission meet as soon as
possible "to analyse the situation because falsehoods are poisoning our
bilateral relations".



NAMIBIA: Civilians attacked at Angolan border

Two brothers were killed and two women wounded at villages west of Rundu
near the Angolan border on this week when men armed with assault rifles
launched pre-dawn attacks, 'The Namibian' reported. Nearly 40 Namibians
have been killed in the cross-border raids since President Sam Nujoma's
government last November allowed Angolan soldiers to use Namibian
territory to pursue UNITA rebels from their bases in the southern parts of
the war-torn country.

US donation for war refugees

The UN's World Food Programme (WFP) said this week the United States had
donated US $466,267 for food to be distributed at the Osire refugee camp,
about 230 km north of the capital Windhoek. WFP said that the donation
would cover both the food commodities and transportation costs.

"We are extremely grateful for this large contribution which will help us
continue in our mission to bring food to those in desperate need," said
Ronald Sibanda, WFP Representative for Angola and Namibia. "The US
donation represents almost a 100 percent of current requirements, and will
provide survival food to these refugees for several months at current
levels," he added. The food supplies comprises maize meal, beans, iodised
salt and cooking oil. WFP said that according to latest figures from UNHCR
there were now nearly 11,000 refugees at the Osire Camp, most of them
Angolans.


NAMIBIA-ZAMBIA: EU aid for refugees

The European Union (EU) has approved funding worth about US $1 million for
programmes to assist Angolan refugees in Namibia and Zambia over the next
nine months, an EU official in Zambia told IRIN this week. In Namibia, the
official said the funding would cover the provision of shelter, water and
other essential services in the Osire refugee camp, situated about 230 km
north of the Namibian capital, Windhoek. She

added that two other transit centres along the Namibian and Angolan
borders would also benefit from the funding.

In Zambia, the EU official said the funding would be used to provide for
refugee registration, transport, sanitation and health care needs of the
refugee population. Zambia, said the official, has a total refugee
population of about 200,000.

The Angolans account for between 22,000 and 25,000 of the refugees and are
accommodated in the Nangweshi camp. The EU said the aid will be channelled
through the UNHCR, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM),
Medecins sans Frontieres and the Belgian Red Cross.



ZAMBIA: New opposition leader

The former governor of the Central Bank of Zambia, Francis Nkhoma, has
been elected the new leader of the opposition. He replaces former
president Kenneth Kaunda as leader of the United National Independence
Party (UNIP). Zambian news reports said a former finance minister and
close aide to Kaunda, Rabbison Chongo, was elected Nkhoma's deputy in a
closely contested race which was sparked by Kaunda's decision to resign.



MALAWI: President seeks debt relief

President Bakili Muluzi of Malawi has called for fast track debt relief
under the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund's Highly Indebted
Poor Countries initiative. Muluzi, speaking after meeting World bank and
International Monetary Fund officials, said debt relief would make funds
available to improve the lives of the country's 10-million mainly rural
people.

Debt servicing consumes 25 percent of Malawi's government budget compared
to only 10 percent that goes to basic education, primary health, nutrition
and water development. Malawi's external debt stands at US $2.5 billion.
Muluzi hoped Malawi would qualify for debt relief by the end of the year.



MOZAMBIQUE: New European aid

The European Union (EU) is to disburse an estimated US $41 million to be
used for the financing of various development project in Mozambique. The
foreign ministry said this week the funding falls under the country's
National Indicative Programme with the EU. It said that the projects
completed under the programme are the Institutional Capacity Building
Project for the Management of Water Resources and Supply in the Zambezi
Valley, a project for the development of the country's private sector and
rural development projects in the provinces of Zambezia, Cabo Delgado and
Inhambane.



LESOTHO: Journalist summoned over labour report

Candi Ratabana Ramainoane, a Lesotho journalist and manager of an
independent Maseru-based radio station, was summoned to appear at the
Ministry of Communication this week over the broadcast of a nationwide
strike on 10 May, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said. The
summons, according to the CPJ, accuses MoAfrika FM of fuelling
anti-government sentiment by publicising a strike called by an anonymous
group in support of demands for the holding of elections and the
establishment of a government of national unity. It cited concern that the
broadcaster's licence could be revoked.



SOUTH AFRICA: IOM Representative Shun Chetty dies

Shun Chetty, the Southern African regional representative of the
International Organisation for Migration (IOM), died in Pretoria on
Monday, the IOM said in a statement. Chetty, who was born in Durban, South
Africa, in 1941, was admitted as an attorney in 1971 and practised in
Durban and Johannesburg. He left South Africa in the late 1970s for
political reasons. Among the high-profile political cases he handled was
the marathon trial of a dozen black activists - from 1975 to 1977 - who
were charged for organising and holding pro-FRELIMO rallies to celebrate
Mozambique's independence from Portugal.

Chetty was also the instructing attorney in the inquest into the death of
Black Consciousness Movement (BCM) leader Steve Biko who died in police
custody in 1977. After leaving South Africa, Chetty worked for the UNHCR
from 1980 to 1995 in various positions and represented the organisation in
numerous countries. He went on to work for the Australian Refugee Review
Tribunal in Sydney as chief executive officer from 1996 to 1998 and then
moved to the IOM. Chetty was also a member of the International Union for
the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

New US aid and investment

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) this week
pledged US $250 million over the next five years for development
programmes in South Africa that will include job creation, prevention of
HIV/AIDS, strengthening the justice system and improving access to public
services like housing.


Southern Africa ill-prepared for natural disasters

Southern Africa needs a regional response to crises such as the recent
floods which devastated Mozambique and parts of Zimbabwe and South Africa
this year, South Africa's environment minister said this week.

"I don't think we are anywhere near fulfilling the responsibility for
adequate preparedness," Mohammed Valli Moosa told a conference on disaster
management hosted by the country's second house of parliament, the
National Council of the Provinces. "It should and must be possible to
limit the damage that is caused, particularly to human life," he added.


Johannesburg, 19 May 10:45 GMT



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