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 42
20 - 26 October 2001


CONTENTS:

ZIMBABWE: Commonwealth visit could lead to further isolation
ANGOLA: "Conflict diamonds" report prompts debate
ANGOLA-ZAMBIA: Refugees flee renewed fighting
ZAMBIA: Chiluba warns election observers "not to interfere"
MALAWI: Action needed now to avert starvation
SOUTH AFRICA: Zimbabweans fear for their lives after attacks
LESOTHO: WFP warns of "silent emergency"
NAMIBIA: Minister paints bleak financial picture
SWAZILAND: Meeting "threatened state security" - minister

ZIMBABWE: Commonwealth visit could lead to further isolation

A significant development in Zimbabwe this week was the arrival on
Wednesday (24 October) of a Commonwealth mission charged with monitoring
September's Abuja agreement. The visit came as farming organisations and
civic groups said that state-backed invasions of white-owned farms had
escalated despite the deal the government signed in Nigeria pledging to
end the land crisis.

Analysts said the ministerial mission would probably try to set a
timetable for the government to comply with the Abuja agreement which
pledged British funding in exchange for an orderly and legal land reform
programme without violent farm seizures.

President Robert Mugabe's government has been giving mixed signals about
the visit. While it agreed to cooperate with the Commonwealth team, an
article in the state-controlled Herald newspaper on Thursday attacked
Britain for not implementing its side of the Abuja deal.

A senior British source said in London on Tuesday that Zimbabwe had not
yet delivered on the key elements of the deal and that British Foreign
Office Minister Baroness Valerie Amos was travelling to Zimbabwe with "no
illusions".

Another Herald article criticised the European Union (EU) for allegedly
telling Foreign Minister Stan Mudenge earlier in the week that Zimbabwe
would face sanctions unless it accepted EU observers into the country to
witness presidential elections next year. The government also criticised
white farmers for mounting a "propaganda campaign" aimed at showing that
the government was failing to implement the accord. The mainly-white
Commercial Farmers Union (CFU) said last week that after surveying most
commercial farms in the country, it found that a further 700 had been
occupied or disrupted since Abuja.

The CFU warned that output of key crops, such as tobacco, wheat and maize,
could fall by 40 percent next year. "We're very concerned that government
will try and stage manage this Commonwealth visit. We have not been
approached to show the delegation farms that represent what is really
going on," CFU spokeswoman Jenny Williams told IRIN.

But Mudenge insisted that government was doing its best to implement the
Abuja agreement. He told the Commonwealth delegation on Thursday that the
cabinet, as well as the ruling ZANU-PF party, met after Abuja to consider
and adopt the agreement. He added that committees were set up to implement
the accord.

After meetings with Mugabe and Mudenge, the delegation spoke to
stakeholders and representatives from civil society. The Zimbabwe
Independent reported on Friday that the delegation foiled an official
attempt to restrict the scope of its inquiry by foisting on the
Commonwealth team groups aligned to the government while excluding genuine
civic organisations. Diplomatic sources said the government tried to limit
those seeing the team, led by Nigerian Foreign minister Sule Olamido, to
six groups.

But the visitors reportedly protested that they did not want to be
restricted to the government list and would be happy to see any civil
society group that was prepared to meet them. Diplomats were surprised
when NGOs they had suggested did not find their way onto the list.

Analysts said it was unlikely that the visit would have much effect on
Mugabe's controversial land reform programme. "If South Africa and the
Southern African Development Community (SADC) have failed to moderate his
(Mugabe's) policies, its hard to see how the Commonwealth can have an
impact," economist Tony Hawkins told IRIN. He predicted that the visit
could lead to further international isolation for Zimbabwe.

Malawi President Bakili Muluzi responded to criticism that SADC had done
nothing to solve the crisis in Zimbabwe by saying on Tuesday that SADC
would continue seeking an "acceptable solution" to Zimbabwe's land crisis.
Muluzi added that last week, while in London, he had asked British Prime
Minister Tony Blair to be flexible with President Robert Mugabe because
Mugabe had also shown his flexibility by agreeing to the Abuja accord.

For the full IRIN story:
http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/sa/countrystories/zimbabwe/20011025.phtml

Human rights violations continue - Amnesty

As Commonwealth ministers gathered in Harare, Amnesty International warned
that state-sponsored repression - including political killings and torture
- was worsening in the country. Zimbabwean human rights organisations
reported as many as 50 politically motivated killings since early 2000 and
more political killings took place during several by-elections in
September 2001. Amnesty International fears the situation will deteriorate
if the international community does not take preventive action.

"The level of human rights violations and intimidations have continued
since the signing of the Abuja agreement in September," Casey Kelso a
researcher with Amnesty International in London told IRIN. "We fear that
these violations and intimidations will only increase as the election
draws closer. We call on the Commonwealth ministers to use this visit to
undertake their own investigation into the reports of violations."

For more details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=12496&SelectRegion=Southern_Africa&SelectCountry=ZIMBABWE

Price freeze leads to more shortages

Meanwhile living standards for ordinary Zimbabweans continued to decline
this week as the consequences of the government's controversial price
controls were felt. Local media reported that the recent freezing of
prices on basic commodities was leading to food shortages in urban areas.
Shops in the capital Harare were reportedly running out of washing soap
and cooking oil. This follows last week's bread shortages as some bakeries
went out of business due to having to sell bread at below cost.

A survey by the independent Daily News in Harare on Thursday (25 October)
revealed that products whose prices are now controlled such as cooking
oil, washing soap and salt were out of stock, with shelves empty in most
supermarkets.

South African food retailers complained that maintaining a steady supply
of produce was proving increasingly difficult.  Shoprite CEO Whitey Basson
said it was especially difficult to find fresh produce. He believed
disruptions on farms were the main reason for this. Pick 'n' Pay CEO Sean
Summers said he was confident that he could keep his stores supplied with
food, but he was critical of the price freeze. Summers said the freeze did
not make "commercial sense" .

The Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) warned earlier this month
that there would be food shortages in Zimbabwe following the gazetting of
price control regulations on specified basic commodities. The CZI added
that the controls would also lead to unemployment and further shrinkage in
the economy as food-related industries closed down. The government said it
introduced the controls as a measure to counter rampant price increases.

For more details:
http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/sa/countrystories/zimbabwe/20011024.phtml

Travellers forced to sell maize to state

Self-styled war veterans and the police have been impounding maize from
travellers from rural areas, and ordering them to sell it to the Grain
Marketing Board (GMB), local media reported this week. Passengers and bus
conductors complained of police harassment, saying the maize they carried
was in small quantities and had been given to them by their relatives in
the communal areas for their own consumption.

The government declared maize a controlled product in July and made the
GMB the sole buyer and seller. The order outlawed maize sales countrywide,
including trade in small quantities of maize among villagers.
Travellers, who for years cut costs by supplementing their needs with
maize secured from their rural homes, were caught in the net. Hundreds
reportedly lost out to the war veterans and police officers at roadblocks.

ANGOLA: "Conflict diamonds" report prompts debate

News that illicit diamonds worth US $1 million left Angola each day in
spite of strict United Nations' sanctions overshadowed other developments
in the war-torn country this week.

The UN's Monitoring Mechanism on Sanctions against UNITA, the rebel
movement led by Jonas Savimbi, said in its supplementary report to the
Security Council on 8 October that UNITA was probably responsible for
smuggling about 25 percent of the illicit diamonds out of the country. It
said the rebel movement continued to use agents, diamond houses and
bourses in Antwerp, South Africa, Israel, India and elsewhere to sell its
diamonds. Evidence indicated that the movement - which funds much of its
guerrilla war effort through money from diamond sales - continued to use
well-established routes through the Democratic Republic of Congo and
Zambia to transport its diamonds, the report added.

The report led to much debate over whether the United Nations' sanctions -
aimed at cutting off financial and material support for Savimbi - have
worked. Many sources said the report could prompt a rethink within the UN
on the manner in which its sanctions are imposed, possibly leading to a
streamlining of sanctions committees and monitoring groups, with a view to
greater control and efficiency. The Security Council, in the meantime,
extended the monitoring mechanism's mandate for a further six months.

Global Witness, an international lobby group which placed "conflict
diamonds" on the international agenda, responded to the UN report by
questioning whether sanctions were indeed working, and by saying that the
diamond industry should take greater responsibility for keeping conflict
diamonds off the market. For its response to the UN report and for links
to other information on the campaign to ban conflict diamonds, please see:
http://www.oneworld.org/globalwitness/press/pr_181001diamonds.htm

For the Monitoring Mechanism's full report, please see:
http://www.un.org/Docs/sc/committees/Angola/966e.pdf

More civilians flee as fighting continues

The World Food Programme reported that increasing instability in Angola's
interior had led to a steady influx of internally displaced people into
"most provincial capitals" from 8-12 October. News reports indicated that
this trend continued over the past two weeks.

In its latest situation report, WFP said 1,348 new IDPs (internally
displaced persons) from across central Bie province were registered in its
capital, Kuito, over the five-day period. "In Camacupa, an average of 40
persons per day were registered. So far during the month of October, a
total of 3,142 IDPs have been registered in Kuito and Camacupa," the
report said. It also said a high number of IDPs were registered in the
southeastern Cuando Cubango province during this period, "due to military
operations in the north of the province".

WFP's reported increase in the number of IDPs occurred against the
backdrop of intense military activity between Angolan Armed Forces (FAA)
and rebel UNITA soldiers across Angola, particularly in the eastern and
southeastern regions. It also came as UNITA raids on villages for food and
other supplies seemed to increase. According to news reports, a massive
government offensive, based on intelligence that UNITA leader Jonas
Savimbi may be cornered in Moxico province (which borders Zambia), could
be the primary reason for much for the instability in the interior of the
country.

For more details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=12538&SelectRegion=Southern_Africa&SelectCountry=ANGOLA

ANGOLA-ZAMBIA: Refugees flee renewed fighting

Fresh fighting in eastern Angola has led to a new influx of refugees into
Zambia, deepening the humanitarian and security burden. Delphine Marie, a
UNHCR spokeswoman in Geneva, told IRIN on Tuesday (23 October) that the
refugees were being transported by truck to Nangweshi, about 140 km from
Zambia's western border with Angola. "The transfer of some 4,000 newly
arrived refugees away from the borders is now half completed," Marie said.
"About 2,000 refugees have already been moved and we are optimistic that
the remaining 2,000 will be transferred by the end of this week."

Marie said the new arrivals at Nangweshi were being accommodated in a
temporary centre situated just outside the main camp. "The Nangweshi camp
has already reached full capacity. The camp can house about 15,000 and at
the moment we have 15,700 refugees at Nangweshi," she said. "The temporary
site already has 1,300 refugees and with new arrivals this could overflow
soon."

For more details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=12467&SelectRegion=Southern_Africa&SelectCountry=ANGOLA-ZAMBIA

Meanwhile, as the UN's World Food Programme (WFP) rushed relief supplies
to western Zambia, the agency warned that its food stocks were under
pressure. With a United States cereal donation only due in the country in
mid-January, WFP's Deputy Country Representative Jorge Fanlo Martin told
IRIN that the agency "urgently" needed US $820,000 to purchase 2,000 mt of
cereals to cover a two-month supply gap. Martin said the arrival of the
Angolan refugees had "added to our problems". Nevertheless, WFP was
ferrying food to the newcomers at Nangweshi, in what Martin described as a
"truck-to-mouth operation".

UNHCR spokesman Ron Redmond told a press briefing on 19 October that most
of the new arrivals had come from the Angolan towns of Kavaleka and
Cilenga in Cuando Cubango, an area of intense fighting between government
forces (FAA) and UNITA rebels. The fresh violence has followed a familiar
pattern over the past two years, in which the FAA has tried to consolidate
its positions against UNITA ahead of the rainy season.

However, according to one Johannesburg-based security analyst, the FAA
this time believe they have trapped senior members of the UNITA leadership
close to the Zambian border. If that proves to be the case, he pointed
out, the situation would become "problematic" if UNITA was forced to cross
into Zambia, a country that has tried to distance itself from Angola's
long-running civil war.

Security fears at Nangweshi

UNHCR said it needed time to relocate the refugees from Nangweshi further
inland, following concerns that the camp was being used by UNITA rebels as
a training and logistical base. "UNHCR has been concerned about these
allegations and there has been talk of relocation, and while that still
may be on the table, we are confronted by the needs of the new arrivals
from Angola," UNHCR southern Africa spokesman Fidelis Swai told IRIN on 24
October.

Nangweshi, the main refugee camp in the region, lies on the western fringe
of Zambia, isolated from the rest of the country by the Zambezi river.
Described by UNHCR as a model camp, Nangweshi was set up at the end of
1999 to shelter an earlier influx of refugees fleeing fighting around
Jamba, a major UNITA stronghold in southeastern Angola.

However, the UN's Monitoring Mechanism on Sanctions against UNITA has
expressed concern that UNITA intelligence officers of the Brigada de
Informacao Geral (BIG) operate in Nangweshi, and that the camp may be used
as a rebel logistical base. In a supplementary report to the UN Security
Council earlier this month, the Monitoring Mechanism said: "The Mechanism
believes that ideally the camp should be moved further away from the
border. Should that not be possible, another option would be to ensure
that the refugee leadership does not include anyone who had leading
functions in Jamba, or who could build up UNITA control over the camp."

For more details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=12491&SelectRegion=Southern_Africa&SelectCountry=ANGOLA-ZAMBIA

ZAMBIA: Chiluba warns election observers "not to interfere"

Zambian President Fredrick Chiluba said on Wednesday that international
election observers were welcome to monitor the country's upcoming general
elections, but warned that they should not interfere. Chiluba has yet to
announce an election date. "We will welcome observers and not discoverers.
Zambia is already discovered," Chiluba was quoted as saying. "We need no
wise men from the east or the west to tell us what system of government is
suitable for Zambians."

A spokeswoman from the Zambian Electoral Institute told IRIN on Thursday
that international observers had been invited and that they were expected
to "follow certain rules and procedures". "The rules that they will be
expected to follow are the same that any international observers follow
when monitoring any election," she said.

The spokeswoman added that the preparation for the elections were "on
schedule" and that the Commission "was prepared" for the upcoming polls.
"The voter education exercise has been going very well and we have been
working closely with local NGO's," she said. The spokeswoman added that
about 2.6 million people had been registered to take part in the
elections, expected before the end of the year. The constitution outlaws
Chiluba, who has ruled Zambia since 1991, from standing for a third term
in the presidential poll.

MALAWI: Action needed now to avert starvation

Feeding programmes to assist the poor should begin soon to prevent
starvation, and possible death, by the end of the year, World Vision
relief manager for Malawi, Elton Ntwana, warned on Wednesday. His warning
followed the release of a World Vision nutrition survey conducted in part
of the Machinga District from 2-8 October. The survey, using a
height-for-age formula, found a global acute malnutrition rate of 31.8
percent among children between six months and five years old.

"If people will only act when the malnutrition rate is very high, children
will die. If any assistance is needed, programmes should start now so that
by December people can get food," Ntwana told IRIN. According to the
survey, about 75 percent of respondents at the Nayuchi Area Development
Programme in Machinga, where the survey was conducted, had no food
reserves. Only 20.8 percent had food until December.

For more details:
http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/sa/countrystories/malawi/20011024.phtml

Opposition leader released on bail

In a significant political development, a leading opposition leader
arrested on treason charges was freed on 20 October after Malawi's High
Court ruled his detention unconstitutional, Associated Press reported.

Brown Mpinganjira, a former minister in President Bakili Muluzi's
government and now leader of the opposition National Democratic Alliance,
was arrested on October 16 after government officials said five witnesses
in a court trial had accused him of plotting a coup. About 1,000 of
Mpinganjira's supporters pushed their way past security guards into the
grounds of Blantyre's Chichiri prison on Saturday morning to celebrate his
release.

Authorities had asked that Mpinganjira be jailed for 14 days while they
investigated his case, but High Court Judge Chimasula Phiri ruled that his
detention was illegal and signed an order for his release. After his
release, Mpinganjira denied ever having masterminded the government's
overthrow, but said he wanted Muluzi ousted at the polls.

"Government has run out of ideas on how to run this country so they want
to keep arresting us to detract attention," he was quoted as saying.
Mpinganjira's arrest followed witnessess's claims during the trial of four
men charged with plotting to overthrow the government that he had funded
the plot. Fahad Assani, Director of Public Prosecutions, was quoted as
saying that he was surprised at the court's decision to free Mpinganjira,
but would not immediately challenge it.

SOUTH AFRICA: Zimbabweans fear for their lives after attacks

An attack at the weekend on Zimbabwean immigrants in the impoverished
Zandspruit settlement northwest of Johannesburg has again thrown the
spotlight on xenophobia in South Africa. Local residents of the
impoverished Zandspruit settlement decided at the weekend to expel the
hundreds of Zimbabweans living among them and destroy their homes. They
accused them of involvement in violent crime and taking the jobs of South
Africans. Locals with Zimbabwean friends were also targeted.

Police spokeswoman Terry-Anne Booyse said more than 20 people were
arrested for public violence and would appear in court in Johannesburg on
24 October. The Zandspruit squatter camp has about 15,000 shacks and some
50,000 residents living there.

The South African Human Rights Commission and the local churches said they
would mediate between South Africans and Zimbabwean living in the informal
settlement. The SAHRC condemned the "racial cleansing" at Zandspruit.
"Whilst we acknowledge the dire economic situation faced by many South
Africans, actions such as those in Zandspruit merely fuel xenophobic
hatred rather than address the core issues of economic underdevelopment",
SAHRC's Phumla Mthala told IRIN on Wednesday.

For more details:
http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/sa/countrystories/southafrica/20011024.phtml

Role of SANDF in Burundi still to be decided

The South African cabinet said on Wednesday that "concrete decisions" with
regards to the role of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) in
Burundi to protect a transitional government, could only be finalised once
the United Nations Security Council had approved the mission.

"Concrete decisions with regard to the role of the SANDF in this process
will be finalised once the UN Security Council has processed relevant
resolutions, and details of the mandate have been negotiated. When these
decisions are finalised, they will be duly communicated to all relevant
institutions as required by our constitution and conventions," a cabinet
statement said.

Mbeki urges Zimbabwe to act within law

South African President Thabo Mbeki urged Zimbabwe on Wednesday (24
October) to handle Zimbabwe's land programme within the law and pledged
his country's support for global efforts to bring peace and stability to
the country. Responding to questions in parliament, Mbeki said the
Commonwealth and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) had
each appointed a task group to deal with the land crisis and political
instability in Zimbabwe. "Both SADC and the Commonwealth - and South
Africa as part of both of those initiatives - are committed to those
goals. South

"Zimbabwe must address all of the questions that have been raised, of
peace and stability and an end to the conflict, of dealing with the issue
of land redistribution within the context of the law and addressing these
very, very serious issues concerning the economy, in a serious way. We are
very interested that this government does indeed deal with those
questions," Mbeki said.

LESOTHO: WFP warns of "silent emergency"

Lesotho is facing a "silent emergency" as drought-induced food shortages
hit poor households in the tiny mountain kingdom, the World Food Programme
(WFP) warned on Monday (22 October).

A rapid survey in five districts has estimated that 8,400 households need
immediate food assistance, WFP's Acting Country Director Viney Jain told
IRIN. The vulnerable households included the elderly, landless casual farm
workers, single-headed homes and orphans. The survey revealed that people
at risk in each community were already eating seed meant for next season's
crop, and were selling what few assets they had. "This is a silent
emergency which could have a long-lasting impact for the next crop and the
future for most vulnerable households," Jain said. "You don't see walking
skeletons but the nutrition impact - the stunted growth - is growing
fast."

A five-month targeted feeding programme, which would carry beneficiaries
over to the next harvest in March 2002, would require 3,550 mt of food aid
and cost US $1.59 million. "It's a small intervention but it will go a
long way in a small country like Lesotho," Jain said. So far, Ireland is
the only aid donor to have responded, contributing $110,000 to the
programme.

Lesotho, surrounded by South Africa, has a population of around two
million. In the past, its economy was buoyed by remittances from workers
in the South African mines. But job losses in that sector have hit Lesotho
hard - a country with an official unemployment rate of over 40 percent. In
addition, although Lesotho is a net food importer, this season's
production has been 55 percent less than the average of the last five
years.

NAMIBIA: Minister paints bleak financial picture

Finance Minister Nangolo Mbumba presented parliament with the revised
2001/2002 budget this week, painting a pessimistic picture, reported the
Namibia Economist. "This year's revised budget is presented in a situation
where international economic prospects and the situation of the world's
financial markets are very bleak. World economic recession is more real
now than earlier anticipated," he was quoted as saying.

According to the report, he highlighted the slowdown in the world economy,
specifically in the United States, the European Union and Japan. "It is
anticipated that US consumers will put a break on spending, despite the
recent interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserves," he said, naming the US
as one of Namibia's major trading partners, especially in terms of
diamonds and other minerals. The minister added that a resulting decline
in demand for consumables would negatively affect the country's exchange
earnings and revenue generation.

"There is therefore an imperative need for government, as well as the
private sector and even individual households, to place greater emphasis
on fiscal sustainability and positive policy action for accelerating the
economic growth process. In this vein, exercising restraint on public
expenditure ... and stepping up efforts towards directing public
expenditure to the most productive sectors of the economy should form an
integral part of fiscal strategy in years ahead," was quoted as saying.

The minister noted that the main budget for the year was intended to be a
three-year rolling budget. He pointed out that the budget deficit dropped
progressively from 3.9 percent in 1998/9 to 3,1 percent in 1999/2000. For
the last financial year, he said, "actual figures now indicate a deficit
below 2 percent of GDP". However, the minister added: "This year's budget
situation, unfortunately, represents a marked deviation from that trend
towards increased fiscal stability." Included in the factors which
affected the budget adversely, the minister said, was the government's
massive bail-out of Air Namibia.

Take us back to Angola, demand Swapo youths

Meanwhile, young Swapo loyalists camping outside the ruling party's
headquarters in Windhoek this week demanded to be taken back to Angola
where they were born in exile if the party refused to hear their concerns,
The Namibian reported.

According to the report, the group were seeking job and education
opportunities from the government, saying they were tired of living in
poverty. Many of the youngsters, who said they were born in exile in
Angola to parents involved in Namibia's struggle for liberations, said
they were tired of government promises.

"We are sick and tired of this situation. We would be very happy to return
to Angola rather than suffering in our own country. We really looked
forward to coming home to our motherland, Namibia, an independent Namibia
to live in freedom and prosperity. But now some of us are not liberated as
yet. We are still struggling to get out of this poverty," the group's
spokesperson, Frans Ndeapunye, was quoted as saying. "I feel cheated by my
own comrades because I was not born in Namibia as most of them," he added.

SWAZILAND: Meeting "threatened state security" - minister

A Swaziland minister on Wednesday condoned a police break-up of an
opposition news conference last week, saying the meeting had presented a
threat to state security.

Trade and Foreign Minister Abednego Ntshangase was quoted as saying that
the government could not be blamed for the police action. "There was
nothing wrong with police stopping that so-called press conference as it
is incumbent upon them to enforce the law whenever they feel a crime is
about to be committed," Ntshangase said. The minister said the police's
conduct was "for the good of governance in Swaziland".

According to news reports, police broke up a press conference last Friday
(19 October) in the central town of Manzini, called by the Swaziland
Democratic Alliance to discuss the arrest and eviction of some 200
families in eastern Swaziland about a year ago to make room for a land
purchase by the brother of absolute monarch King Mswati III. Reports said
that the police had "manhandled" a member of the opposition group, and
arrested Times of Swaziland photo-journalist Thulasizwe Mkhabela for
defying an order not to photograph the clash.

Johannesburg, Friday 26 October 16:45 gmt


IRIN-SA
Tel: +27 11 880-4633
Fax: +27 11 447-5472
Email: IRIN-SA@irin.org.za

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