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.zaSOUTHERN AFRICA IRIN-SA Weekly Round-up 24 10-16 June 2000
CONTENTS: ZIMBABWE: Observers hope their presence will diminish violence ZIMBABWE: Thousands displaced in rural violence ZIMBABWE: Electoral Commission takes government to court ZIMBABWE: Mugabe says foreign-owned mines to seized ZIMBABWE: Mozambique owed US $35 million ZIMBABWE: Diamond company's listing put on hold ZIMBABWE: Catholic church calls for an end to brutality ZIMBABWE: Currency shortages threaten gold mines SOUTH AFRICA-DRC: SA parliament approves team for DRC SOUTH AFRICA-ZIMBABWE: SA will only take stand on elections after poll NAMIBIA: Human rights activist expelled NAMIBIA: Finland accepts Namibian refugees NAMIBIA: Soldiers in DRC may be freed ANGOLA: UNHCR team arrives ANGOLA: UNICEF polio campaign ANGOLA: New displaced in Lunda Sul ANGOLA: Peace rally held MALAWI: War on malaria costs US $2.7 million MOZAMBIQUE: Cholera scare MOZAMBIQUE: Tanzania donates food MOZAMBIQUE: Donors pledge US $1 billion LESOTHO: World bank funds for health reforms SOUTHERN AFRICA: Mixed crop outlook AFRICA: De Beers diamond urges action on "conflict diamonds" ZIMBABWE: Observers hope their presence will diminish violence International observers monitoring the run-up to Zimbabwe's parliamentary elections next week said they hoped their presence would serve to diminish intimidation and violence which has swept rural areas of the country claiming at least 30 lives. The deputy head of the European Union (EU) mission, Senator Tana de Zulueta of Spain, told IRIN after a visit to the city of Mutare near the Mozambique border that "we hope our presence will have a pacifying influence on the situation". De Zulueta said that the mission to Mutare had passed off without incident. "We were able to travel in the area and meet with people freely. I noted that MDC (Movement for Democratic Change) people were able to campaign in the town without visible harassment. But because these homes were burnt down before we got there, the EU plans to deploy extra observers in the area and show our presence in the expectation that it will calm things down." The Commonwealth team, led by former Nigerian strongman Abdulsalami Abubakar, meanwhile, rejected warnings by independence war veterans not to speak to workers on occupied white-owned farms. "Our job is to go and observe. If there is a polling station on farmland, of course we will be meeting with voters," Abubakar said. Western diplomats, however, cited concern at the accreditation process for international observers in Zimbabwe who are required to pay a US $100 dollar fee. The accreditation process has also prevented some teams from deploying to the countryside. "We have been here for a week already, and we are still awaiting our accreditation," Peter Manikas, head a team of eight from the Washington-based National Democratic Institute (NDI) told IRIN. ZIMBABWE: Thousands displaced in rural violence More than 6,000 people have been internally displaced in Zimbabwe as rural violence and intimidation continue to take a rising toll. Bidi Munyaradze, director of the Zimbabwe Human Rights Association, told IRIN this week that the association had already logged 6,040 displaced people since February. He said the violence mainly involved incidents at campaign rallies and attacks on employees at more than 1,000 white farms occupied by independence war veterans and supporters of the ruling ZANU-PF party. ZIMBABWE: Electoral Commission takes government to court Zimbabwe's Electoral Supervisory Commission (ESC), a government-appointed body charged with supervising all elections, took the government to court this week to challenge new regulations that usurp its powers to supervise polls. The ESC filed its case with the High Court on Tuesday, arguing that it is the sole body entrusted with supervising elections and accrediting monitors, observers and polling agents under the country's constitution. New regulations gazetted last week give the office of Registrar-General Tobaiwa Mudede, accused of being pro-ruling party by the opposition, sweeping powers to conduct the accreditation of all local and foreign observers and to issue them with a code of conduct that carries heavy penalties if broken. ZIMBABWE: Mugabe says foreign-owned mines to seized President Robert Mugabe told a London newspaper this week that once land seized from white farmers had been confiscated, the next target in his "Africanisation" programme would be foreign-owned mines and other big businesses. "There must be Africans in there, as owners, not just as workers," he said. "We are gold, copper, asbestos and iron producers. But most of the benefits are enjoyed by the former colonialists. At the end of the day, black people must be able to say, the resources are ours - our people own the mines, our people own the industry." ZIMBABWE: Mozambique owed US $35 million Zimbabwe has accumulated a debt of up to US $35 million to the Cahora Bassa hydroelectric company in Mozambique over a two-year period for imports of power from the giant dam, Mozambique's Mineral Resources and Energy minister said this week. Castigo Langa said: "We are very concerned about the issue and hope that Zimbabwe will find the solutions to settle its debt." ZIMBABWE: Diamond company's listing put on hold The listing of Oryx Diamonds on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) was put on hold this week due to an investigation launched by the LSE into the activities of the company. Oryx, which mines diamonds in territory held by Zimbabwean troops in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), has at least two senior Zimbabwean government ministers among its shareholders. Reports said the decision to put on hold its listing could be related to the British government's campaign against the sale of diamonds from war-torn areas in Africa. ZIMBABWE: Catholic church calls for an end to brutality The Catholic church in Zimbabwe has called for an end to brutality. A statement by the Catholic Bishops Conference said that the church appealed to all parties to stop the violence and urged voters to go to the polls telling them "not to be afraid". "Whatever your choice, remember to vote for people who are God-fearing and who will respect human rights and dignity," the statement said. ZIMBABWE: Currency shortages threaten gold mines Zimbabwe's gold production has been hit by foreign currency shortages, with monthly output dropping by up to 45 percent in April, mining industry sources told IRIN this week. James Maposa, the president of the Zimbabwe Chamber of Mines, said that total national gold output this year may fall by up to 45 percent of the 28 mt produced last year. "The lack of inputs such as cyanide and explosives creates a potential for a further reduction in production," Maposa said. Zimbabwe's gold mining companies have faced difficulties in meeting payments of some US $8 million to their suppliers, most of whom are in South Africa. "The credit facilities have been put on hold. The suppliers won't deliver and we may grind to a halt," warned Maposa. Further IRIN reports on Zimbabwe can be found at: SOUTH AFRICA-DRC: SA parliament approves team for DRC The South African Cabinet this week gave the go-ahead for a team from the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to take part in a United Nations peace observer mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Government spokesman, Joel Netshitenzhe, said that the earliest possible date for their deployment was the 26 June. He said that an assessment by South Africa and the UN would determine the final date. "Special elements from our defence force will be deployed at the peace mission headquarters and sector headquarters in Kinshasa and the logistical support base in the Central African Republic," he said. Netshitenzhe said that the cabinet had not yet considered a UN request to contribute ground troops to the UN peacekeeping mission. The team will be deployed in six sectors ranging from flight operations and air traffic control to logistics and medical support, and that pre-deployment activities would begin on 21 June. SOUTH AFRICA-ZIMBABWE: SA will only take stand on elections after poll South Africa will not take a stand on the fairness of Zimbabwe's elections until after the poll, Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad said. Pahad said South Africa would try to help ensure that tension in the country abated so that the elections could go ahead. "Our main objective has to be to meet with all groups to try to ensure that conditions are created for the easing of tensions, and that the election does take place," Pahad said. Pahad said South Africa's own observers would only report back after the elections. NAMIBIA: Human rights activist expelled A Zambian-born human rights activist who has lived in Namibia for the last 16 years has been expelled by immigration officials because of his alleged support for Caprivi secessionists, the Namibian Society for Human Rights (NSHR) told IRIN this week. The expelled activist, Moses Nasilele, a founder member and executive of NSHR told IRIN that he was ordered to leave Namibia on 21 February by an immigration officer in the northern town of Katima Mulilo, the Caprivi district capital. "I was taken from the office of NSHR in Katima Mulilo to the immigration office, where I was accused of supporting the activities of Caprivi secessionists. An immigration officer there ordered me to leave the country in 30 minutes," Nasilele said. NAMIBIA: Finland accepts Namibian refugees Two Namibian refugees who were among asylum seekers who fled to Botswana in 1998 have been granted refuge in Finland. Reports said that Finish authorities had acceded to a request by UNHCR for resettlement. This brings to four the number of Namibians resettled by UNHCR after it agreed to resettle some of the refugee outside Botswana. NAMIBIA: Soldiers in DRC may be freed Namibian soldiers who have been held as prisoners of war (POWs) in Kigali, Rwanda may be freed, a report in the 'The Namibian' said this week. A spokesman for the southern Africa Regional Delegation of the International Confederation of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Harare told IRIN that the release was part of a recent agreement on POWs reached between all sides in the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). "It is not only related to the Namibians, but all soldiers," he said. ANGOLA: UNHCR team arrives An emergency UNHCR team has arrived in the northwestern Angolan town of Uige to provide humanitarian assistance for thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs), Kris Janowski a spokesman for UNHCR said in Geneva this week. Janowski said that a UNHCR support team was also working in Viana in Luanda province and that later in the year the operations should expand with the re-opening of UNHCR offices in Mbanza Congo in Zaire province and Maquella do Zombo in the extreme north of Uige province. "In all UNHCR hopes to provide help for up to 350,000 people," Janowski said. "Security, logistics and transport are a major concern. Insecurity and the terrible condition of roads means UNHCR staff must fly from Uige to the nearby town of Negage, a distance of only about 40 km, to visit IDPs in the town. Freedom of movement is severely restricted, with only a 10 km safety zone around Uige and even less in Negage," he said. ANGOLA: UNICEF polio campaign UNICEF's immunisation campaign against polio last weekend reached 20 percent more children in the Luanda province than in previous years, an official of the children's agency told IRIN this week. The coordinator of the ongoing Angolan Expanded Programme on Immunisation against polio, Dr Oscar Casteillo said about 85,000 children under five were vaccinated in the Luanda province. "This represents more than 20 percent of the children who have been reached in previous years," Casteillo said. ANGOLA: New displaced in Lunda Sul The government's humanitarian agency MINARS has reported that large numbers of people are fleeing insecurity in the northern province of Lunda Sul. According to MINARS, some 4,449 people arrived recently in the municipality of Cacolo from Xassengue, Cucumbi and Alto-Chicapa. The new arrivals pushes the number of displaced in Cacolo to around 7,000 people. Small numbers of families originally from Cacolo are reportedly also beginning to arrive Saurimo, the provincial capital. ANGOLA: Peace rally held Some 20,000 people attended a peace rally and ecumenical service in Luanda last Sunday led by Angola's churches. The crowds reportedly responded enthusiastically to calls of 'No to war! Yes to peace!' and 'No to lies! Yes to dialogue!' by church leaders. The independent gathering - a rare event in Angola - was sanctioned by the ruling MPLA party, but no government officials were present. The government has repeatedly said it would not open peace talks with UNITA rebel leader Jonas Savimbi, describing him as a war criminal. MALAWI: War on malaria costs US $2.7 million Malawi spends at least US $2.7 million annually treating victims of malaria, which remains one of the country's main health delivery concerns. A health ministry official reported that malaria continues to occur with at least eight million cases recorded annually in the country. The official said on average individual Malawians spend at least US $35 every year on malaria treatment in a country where per capita income is below US $200 annually. MOZAMBIQUE: Cholera scare Poor road conditions are hampering attempts to control a cholera outbreak in the Chilucuane area of Gaza province, the Mozambican government disaster management authority INGC reported. There were also problems with water supply in some resettlement areas in the Save basin, straddling Inhambane and Sofala provinces, and the Buzi basin in Sofala province, the agency said. The incidence of cholera from the beginning of the year until 3 June was reported to be 12,060 cases, with 161 deaths. Moreover, the incidence of malaria is declining, although it is still relatively high, the INGC report added. MOZAMBIQUE: Tanzania donates food Tanzania has donated 1,000 mt of maize to Mozambique to help with the flood recovery effort. The food, to be channelled through WFP, is likely to be distributed in Maputo and Gaza provinces and would feed over 60,000 people for a month, WFP said in a statement. The agency said it has extended its emergency operation until early 2001 to provide assistance to people who do not have access to a second harvest this year. WFP continues to feed 550,000 people in five provinces. Meanwhile, Inyene Udoyen, WFP spokesman said that an estimated 6,000 people were still in government accommodation centres. He said that the government had allocated plots to people but most of them do not have sufficient materials to start building. MOZAMBIQUE: Donors pledge US $1 billion International donors have pledged US $530 million this year and US $560 million in 2001 to Mozambique for poverty alleviation and programmes against the spread of AIDS. These contributions were in addition to the US $453 million that was pledged in May for flood reconstruction. LESOTHO: World bank funds for health reforms The World Bank has approved US $6.5 million to assist Lesotho in improving access to quality preventive, curative and rehabilitative health care services. The World Bank said in a statement that Lesotho had made impressive gains in the improvement in health over the past 20 years. But the demands associated with HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis had strained the capacity of the health care system. SOUTHERN AFRICA: Mixed crop outlook The number of countries in the world facing food emergencies increased in May with 36 of them currently affected by food shortages, the UN's Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) said in its latest 'Food Outlook'. According to the June report, drought is largely to blame for the food crises, which are all found in developing countries, but civil strife, especially in Africa, is exacerbating the situation. In southern Africa, the report said, despite severe flooding and some crop losses due to excessive rains and cyclones in recent months the overall prospects for production were "favourable". "Major, maize growing areas in the sub-region gave generally benefited from the abundant moisture," it said. It added that the FAO's latest forecasts pointed to a grain crop of about 17 million mt, an increase of 7 percent from last year. An IRIN report on the FAO June report can be found at: The FAO report can be found at: http://www.fao.org/WAICENT/faoinfo/economic/giews/english/fo/fo0006/HTTOC.ht m AFRICA: De Beers diamond urges action on "conflict diamonds" Diamond giant De Beers said this week that a "collective response to the issue of diamonds being used as a source of funding for rebel armies in Africa" was needed. De Beers said that it would urge that traders dealing in so-called "conflict diamonds" should be expelled from the world diamond community at the World Diamond Congress in Antwerp, Belgium, in July. Johannesburg, 16 June 10:45 GMT IRIN-SA - Tel: +2711 880 4633 Fax: +2711 447 5472 e-mail: irin-sa@irin.org.za [This item is delivered in the English service of the UN's IRIN humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations. For further information, free subscriptions, or to change your keywords, contact e-mail: irin@ocha.unon.org or Web: http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN . If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Reposting by commercial sites requires written IRIN permission.] Copyright (c) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2000 distributed by - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Volunteers in Technical Assistance Disaster Information Center lists: www.vita.org/listsub.htm sitreps nat-dsr web: www.vita.org fireline - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Southern Africa - http://www.vita.org/humanitarian/safrica
: 07/09/00 EDT