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

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SOUTHERN AFRICA
IRIN-SA Weekly Round-up 39
29 September - 05 October 2001


CONTENTS:

ZIMBABWE: Mugabe's land reform programme gets green light
ANGOLA: Nutrition levels stabilise in some areas - OCHA
ZAMBIA: Election campaign opens with swipe at donors
MOZAMBIQUE: Aid could be increased
SOUTH AFRICA: : ANC chief whip resigns
SWAZILAND: Opposition leader arrested for breach of bail
AFRICA: Poverty to rise in the wake of recent terror attacks


ZIMBABWE: Mugabe's land reform programme gets green light

President Robert Mugabe's controversial land reform programme was given a
further boost this week when the Supreme Court in Harare gave Mugabe and
his government the go-ahead to proceed with its plans, news reports said.
The Supreme Court in November had declared the land reform scheme
unconstitutional in November and ordered a halt to the programme.

On Tuesday, a bench dominated by new appointees, most of whom are loyal
supporters of the ruling ZANU-PF party, said in a two-page ruling that
administrative courts could resume processing the government's requests to
acquire farms. The interim ruling, reports said, made no mention of the
court's earlier order that police evict the occupiers who began forcibly
invading white-owned farms in February 2000.

Opposition ready for presidential poll

Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai said on Sunday his
two-year-old Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) was confident of winning
presidential elections due next year, Reuters reported. "In MDC we have
one - project and that is to remove Mugabe and his cronies...we are ready
for the presidential elections," Tsvangirai told about 10,000 supporters
at a rally to commemorate the party's second anniversary in Zimbabwe's
second city, Bulawayo.

Civic groups want independent poll and right to educate voters

Meanwhile, civic organisations in Zimbabwe told IRIN on Thursday that for
next year's presidential poll to be free, voter education should be
encouraged and a genuinely independent electoral commission established as
soon as possible. Local human rights watchdog ZimRights this week
announced it had produced a manual on voter education which could be used
as a guide by organisations and individuals involved in preparations for
next year's presidential election. "We've done lots of research and it's
clear that many Zimbabweans do not vote because they are afraid of the
process," David Jamali of ZimRights told IRIN.

ZimRights was trying to get to poorly-educated rural Zimbabweans who,
Jamali said, had "been the victims of government misinformation". He said
rural people told ZimRights that the government had informed them that by
using computers they could tell who had voted for who.

Information Minister Jonathan Moyo has said the government is considering
banning civic groups, churches and aid agencies from conducting voter
education programmes because they have "hidden agendas". The Zimbabwe
Election Support Network (ZESN), a coalition of 38 civic organisations,
told IRIN it was concerned by ruling party statements in parliament in
August suggesting that civic organisations be barred from conducting voter
education. "We will continue to maintain a dialogue with government and
lobby for the constitutional right to educate our people about why voting
is important," Rindai Chipfunde of ZESN told IRIN.

Government rules out independent electoral authority

Mugabe's government had ruled out the establishment of an Independent
Electoral Commission (IEC) to conduct next year's presidential election
and was instead formulating a code of conduct to clamp down on activities
of Zimbabwean and foreign election observers, the 'Financial Gazette'
reported on Thursday, quoting official sources. "The issue of the IEC is
out," a senior cabinet minister told the newspaper. The action could set
the government in direct confrontation with opposition and civic
organisations demanding the formation of a genuine IEC as a minimum
condition under which a free and fair ballot can be staged.

"Without an IEC the (presidential) elections will be a foregone
conclusion," Lovemore Madhuku, chair of the National Constitutional
Assembly (NCA), another influential civic coalition, told IRIN. Madhuku
dismissed the Electoral Supervisory Commission (ESC), which has conducted
elections since independence, as "an arm of the civil service totally
under government control". Government wants the ESC to stage the
presidential poll, which must be held by the end of March.

For more details:
http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/sa/countrystories/zimbabwe/20011004.phtml

ANGOLA: Nutrition levels stabilise in some areas - OCHA

Morbidity and mortality rates remained high in many parts of Angola in
August, but nutrition levels stabilised in areas where humanitarian
partners had sustained access and where food security interventions
continued, OCHA said in its latest monthly analysis. OCHA said nutrition
levels in Kuito, the capital of Bie province, had stabilised in August.
Tens of thousands of people fleeing fighting around the central highlands
province began converging on Kuito early this year, most of them ill and
in states of severe malnutrition. Mortality rates in the town dropped from
17 percent in June to 8.3 percent in July, OCHA said.

OCHA said that in Camacupa, an MSF-B nutritional survey indicated that
although the nutrition situation had improved since March 2001, the
average global malnutrition rate of displaced populations remained high,
at 12.5 percent. On the nutrition situation in other provinces during
August, OCHA said that in Benguela province, the results of a nutritional
survey conducted by the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) in Cubal indicated
that global and severe malnutrition rates had decreased since February.

For more details:
http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/sa/countrystories/angola/20011004.phtml

Church launches Angola peace effort

The Catholic church in Angola last weekend launched a new campaign to try
and bring about an end to the long-running civil war, reports said on
Monday. The campaign is a joint effort between the Catholic church and the
international human rights group - the Open Society Foundation. Reports
said that as part of the campaign, an "informal referendum" against the
war was launched in the capital Luanda on Saturday. The church planned to
canvass the entire nation asking citizens to cast ballots for or against
peace. Guests attending the launch had the chance to air their views in a
debate, which was broadcast live on the Catholic radio station, Radio
Ecclesia, reports said.

The message of the church's new campaign, reports added, was that
political rivalry should be set aside in favour of peace. It argued that
those waging the war were those who were least affected by its
consequences.

Army discovers large UNITA arms dump

Meanwhile, Angola's army this week said that it had discovered a large
cache of heavy weapons and munitions near the airport in Mavinga, a town
in the southeastern province of Cuando-Cubango, about 800 km south of the
capital Luanda. A large number of portable rocket launchers, a ZU-23
anti-aircraft battery, B12 cannon munitions, and explosives were found in
the cache, according to Luanda Commercial Antenna (LAC) radio.

In a separate development, Alleged UNITA rebels attacked the village of
Cachingues in Bie province, about 600 km southeast of the capital Luanda,
leaving six civilians dead a police source told Lusa on Monday. The police
department source in Kuito, the Bie provincial capital, said the assault
had occurred in the early hours of Sunday morning with Cachingues
residents being awakened by heavy gunfire. Angolan government troops were
forced to abandon their positions as the UNITA force occupied the village
for two hours, until the garrison managed to regroup and take back the
settlement. The police source added that six civilians were killed in the
fighting, in addition to five government and four UNITA soldiers.

Petrol price increased

The Angolan government this week increased the price of petrol by seven US
cents a litre. The increase was part of an International Monetary Fund
(IMF) demand that the government end state subsidies on fuel. The
government last raised fuel prices in April. The country could qualify for
IMF-assisted loans and other technical help if it meets the targets set by
the fund.

ZAMBIA: Election campaign opens with swipe at donors

More than 10,000 Zambians attended a rally on Saturday where President
Frederick Chiluba launched his party's general election campaign by taking
a swipe at Western donors. The rally was an effort by the ruling Movement
for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) to firm up its base of support in the
central province of Copperbelt, after a devastating political year that
saw most of Chiluba's top ministers defect to the opposition. Chiluba has
yet to set a date for the election, but the poll is expected to come in
late October or early November.

Chiluba spoke to the crowd in the national language, Bemba, saying he
wanted to reach out to the people, and painted the opposition as a puppet
of Western donors. "The donors want to put in a puppet government. Defend
the sovereignty of the country. We should not permit a foreigner to run
this country," Chiluba said. "Your friends in Zimbabwe, the members of
(the ruling) ZANU-PF, they have been voting for the ruling party against
the party funded by the donors because they want their land," Chiluba
added, referring to the violent crisis over land ownership in the
neighbouring nation.

Officially, the rally was held to introduce the MMD's candidate Levy
Mwanawasa, who was vice president during Chiluba's first term but who has
since withdrawn from political life.

Ex-convict reveals plot to kill senior opposition politicians

An ex-convict in Zambia had confessed to killing senior politician Paul
Tembo and to involvement in a plot to assassinate other opposition
leaders, an AFP report said on Thursday. A senior police officer told AFP
that Chrispin Mwale was arrested and detained after he confessed to
killing Tembo. Outspoken opposition leader Edith Nawakwi was quoted by AFP
as saying that she discovered Mwale was involved in the killing, and had
arranged for police to hear his confession with her.

The report said that during his statement to Nawakwi and police, Mwale
said he had been in prison to serve a sentence for robbery. Mwale said he
was recruited in the prison and told that his release would be arranged if
he agreed to work with a group that would conduct political killings,
police said. He said Nawakwi was among the people targeted for
assassination, police added.

MOZAMBIQUE: Aid could be increased

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank could increase
aid to Mozambique, news reports said on Wednesday. This came less than one
week after the two organisations granted the country additional debt
relief of US $600 million under the enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Country
Initiative (HIPC).

In an evaluation of Mozambique's Action Programme for the Reduction of
Absolute Poverty (PARPA), the analysts from the two organisations said
that despite some shortcomings and "over-optimism", the two financial
institutions were generally complementary towards Mozambique's efforts to
reduce poverty.

The report noted for example that in spite of "neither the government nor
organisations of civil society having much experience in the establishment
of partnerships for the formulation and discussion of policies", there has
been a positive effort in the drawing up of PARPA in which there has been
"a significant number of consultations with interested groups".

According to the analysts' report, PARPA envisages a 30 percent reduction
in the absolute poverty level over a 13-year period "from 80 percent in
1997 to less than 60 percent in 2005 and 50 percent in 2010".

For more details:
http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/sa/countrystories/mozambique/20011003.phtml

SOUTH AFRICA: : ANC chief whip resigns

Tony Yengeni announced on Thursday that he would step down as chief whip
of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) pending his trial for
corruption. "I announce that I'm resigning as chief whip of the ANC," he
was quoted as saying in a brief statement. "I have personally taken this
decision after I was charged and arrested yesterday." Yengeni said he
could not continue as chief whip of the majority party with "those kinds
of charges hanging over my head", and the impending trial.  He is to
remain as a member of the ANC in parliament.

Yengeni appeared on Wednesday morning in Cape Town's Magistrate's Court on
charges of corruption. He was not asked to plead and was granted US $1,000
bail. Yengeni had earlier handed himself over to the Scorpions, South
Africa's anti-corruption unit, after a warrant of arrest had been issued.
The case was remanded to 25 January next year.

Census a tool for development

Census 2001, starting next week in South Africa, will not only be about
counting the numbers of citizens but it will also be an important tool for
the government, NGOs and foreign donors to plan proper development
strategies, Motale Phirwa, National Census Manager at Statistics South
Africa told IRIN on Tuesday. "Accurate statistics will be invaluable for
facilitating informed policy decisions as well as monitoring
implementation," Phirwa said.

Phirwa said 85,000 representatives of Statistics South Africa would be
spread out across the cities, townships and rural areas of the country.
"We're confident we'll get to everybody, we've recruited and trained
enough staff and they will have better maps and more resources than
before, ensuring all households are covered," he said. Phirwa added that
the information would be collected by interview, so that it didn't matter
whether respondents were literate or not. Statistics South Africa said the
country had been divided into a mosaic of 81,000 units or enumeration
areas by applying digital mapping technology to identify and isolate areas
with 100 to 150 dwellings. Enumeration areas include houses, flats,
townhouses, farms and hostels.

For more details:
http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/sa/countrystories/southafrica/20011002.phtml

Porous borders facilitate smuggling

Lax border controls allowed people and goods to be smuggled across South
Africa's international frontiers at will, according to the Pretoria-based
Institute for Security Studies (ISS). "It seems that South Africa's
international land border lines are open to whoever wants to enter or
leave with illegal goods, including firearms, without being detected or
brought to book for these illegal actions," said Ettienne Hennop,
researcher for the arms management programme at the ISS and author of a
report on the borders released on Monday.

He said border posts were 50 percent understaffed. But a main obstacle to
effective control was lack of communication between police and army units.
South Africa loses billions of rand a year in uncollected duties as a
result of illegal imports, the report said. In 1999, the police seized
1,053 stolen vehicles, 266 illegal firearms, 30,000 kg of cannabis and 1.5
million Mandrax pills. They also arrested 40,000 illegal immigrants. The
army is estimated to have arrested double that number.

For more details:
http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/sa/countrystories/southafrica/20011003.phtml

SWAZILAND: Swazi opposition leader arrested for breach of bail

The leader of Swaziland's' main opposition, Mario Masuku, was arrested and
taken to prison in Mbabane on Thursday after defying bail conditions
imposed on him following a charge of sedition, reports said. Masuku, head
of the Peoples United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO), was charged with
sedition a year ago in the tiny landlocked kingdom ruled by absolute
monarch King Mswati III.  Masuku made a brief appearance before the High
Court of Swaziland for breach of his bail conditions before being taken to
Sidvwashini Prison in the capital. Chief Justice Stanley Sapire remanded
his case until 29 October.

AFRICA: Poverty to rise in the wake of recent terror attacks

The 11 September terrorist attacks in the US were likely to hurt economic
growth in developing countries worldwide in 2001 and 2002, condemning as
many as 10 million more people to live in poverty next year, and hampering
the fight against childhood diseases and malnutrition, the World Bank said
in a preliminary economic assessment released on Monday.

"The worst hit area will be Africa, where in addition to the possible
increases in poverty of 2-3 million people as a result of lower growth and
incomes, a further 2 million people may be condemned to living below US $1
a day due to the effects of falling commodity prices," the Bank said in a
statement.

"The 300 million poor in Sub-Saharan Africa are particularly vulnerable
because most countries have little or no safety nets, and poor households
have minimal savings to cushion bad times. About half the additional child
deaths worldwide are likely to be in Africa," added the statement.

Meanwhile, the latest economic forecasting from the London-based Economist
Intelligence Unit (EIU) shows that most southern African countries are
facing mixed economic fortunes.

For more details:
http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/sa/countrystories/other/20011001.phtml;
http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/sa/countrystories/other/20011002.phtml


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