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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e-mail: irin-sa@irin.org.za


SOUTHERN AFRICA
IRIN-SA Weekly Round-up 44
03 - 09 November 2001


CONTENTS

ANGOLA: Young men face conscription
ZIMBABWE: WFP to launch large-scale food programme
MALAWI: MPs and judges in hot water
ZAMBIA: Election date remains a secret
BOTSWANA: Ethnic tensions on the rise
COMOROS: IRIN Briefing on separatist crisis
SOUTH AFRICA: Civic groups call for basic income grant
MOZAMBIQUE: Contingency plans not yet finalised
SWAZILAND: SADC seeks solution to Swazi problems - Chissano


ANGOLA: Young men face conscription

Fear gripped thousands of young men across Angola this week as the defence
ministry ordered all men born in 1979 and 1980 to report for military duty
or be punished. According to a ministry statement quoted by Angolan
government radio on Wednesday 7 November, conscripts should report to
recruitment centres. The statement also said the call-up included men who
were born in 1978 and whose extensions had expired. It said that those who
did not present themselves for duty would be regarded as "draft dodgers"
and punished accordingly.

News reports earlier in the year said the military hoped to draft about
15,000 new recruits. Conscription campaigns in the past have been
characterised by force, with the authorities conducting house-to-house
searches for young men, sometimes violently.

UNITA adapts its war as sanctions bite

At the same time, the Swiss government approved measures on Wednesday 7
November obliging banks and financial institutions in the Alpine republic
to declare the account details of members of UNITA, the rebel movement
which has been fighting the ruling MPLA since 1976.

The Swiss move came after the UN Mechanism on Sanctions against UNITA - as
part of what has become known as a "name-and-shame campaign" aimed at
deterring illicit diamond and arms trading - submitted its third report to
the UN Security Council in October, detailing progress regarding a UN
embargo on UNITA diamond sales and arms purchases.

The sanctions had reduced UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi's capacity to wage an
expensive conventional war against the Angolan state, but according to
analysts and the detailed UN report, the rebel movement had adapted well
to its waning fortunes. The report said UNITA was probably selling about
US $250,000 dollars worth of diamonds illicitly each day and was still,
for the most part, using its old routes and connections to do so. It also
said UNITA continued to buy arms it needed to wage guerrilla warfare and
that it was using new information technology, like the Internet, to spread
its message more widely than ever before.

For the full IRIN report
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=13605&SelectRegion=Southern_Africa

The consequence of the war is witnessed by Angola's basic indicators. In
its emergency update this week, Save the Children Fund said the ongoing
conflict and a lack of investment in social services have had a
devastating impact on the country's children, with basic indicators
continuing to be "among the worst in the world".

Quoting UN statistics, SCF said one in every three Angolan children died
before the age of five, one mother in every 50 died while giving birth, 42
percent of all Angolan children were underweight for their age and less
than half ever went to school. "Nationwide, 50 percent of men and 70
percent of women are illiterate. According to OCHA, 3.7 million people are
in need of humanitarian assistance of whom 1.5 million are internally
displaced persons (IDPs), displaced in their home country due to the war.
It's estimated that 34 percent of households in Angola have ready access
to potable water and 44 percent to basic sanitation," the report said.

For the full IRIN report:
http://www.reliefweb.int/w/rwb.nsf/

Potholed runway grounds plane, halts aid delivery

In another development this week, humanitarian officials said on Monday 5
November that they expected a damaged Boeing 727 plane to be removed from
the Kuito airstrip in Bie province by the end of the week, without
affecting the delivery of food aid to the needy.

The Boeing, delivering cargo to businesses in the province, was damaged
and grounded when it hit a pothole on the runway while landing. No one was
injured, but the accident once again highlighted the dismal state of the
airstrip in the provincial capital. World Food Programme (WFP) deputy head
of air operations in Luanda, Jose Fernandez, told IRIN that the
distribution of food to the needy would not be affected by the accident
because even though WFP had to suspend its flights to Kuito until the
runway was cleared, there was enough food aid in the city to last for
about two months.

For the full IRIN report
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=12987&SelectRegion=Southern_Africa&
electCountry=ANGOLA


ZIMBABWE: WFP to launch large-scale food programme

In an indication of how close parts of Zimbabwe are to serious hunger, the
UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on Thursday 8 November it was about to
undertake a large-scale relief operation in the country. A team of WFP
emergency experts who recently returned from Zimbabwe strongly recommended
a major emergency intervention to feed 558,000 rural people facing acute
food shortages, and who are not receiving assistance through NGO bilateral
food aid programmes.

"The WFP team was in Zimbabwe for three weeks. It worked with NGOs and
other organisations in order to build-up a comprehensive picture of the
food needs," Judith Lewis, WFP's Regional Director for Eastern and
Southern Africa, told IRIN. Zimbabwe, normally a food surplus country, has
seen a sharp deterioration in food security due to a combination of
factors: erratic rainfall preceded by widespread flooding; a strong
downturn in the economy combined with steep rises in staple food prices;
and disruption to the commercial farming sector due to land acquisition
activities.

For the full IRIN report
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=13591

IRIN interview with UN Resident Coordinator, Jose Victor Angelo

In an exclusive interview with IRIN on Wednesday 7 November, UNDP Resident
Representative and UN Resident Coordinator Jose Victor Angelo said that
the UN system in Zimbabwe was continuing to work with the government to
find solutions to the food crisis and to ongoing conflict on commercial
farms. He said that UNDP would be working hard to ensure that food was
distributed as equitably as possible in the run-up to next year's
presidential poll.

"As the United Nations system in Zimbabwe we are looking at the delivery
mechanisms (for food) and we are going to make a number of proposals to
make sure that the selection of beneficiaries is transparent and those in
real need benefit from the programme," Angelo said. He told IRIN that a
forthcoming UNDP assessment mission to Zimbabwe would be trying to come up
with an outline of a land reform programme that could be accepted by all
the stakeholders. The mission would not be looking to see whether the
Abuja agreement was being implemented, it would simply gather facts to
present to all parties involved in the agreement, he said.

For the full IRIN report
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=13219

Government rejects international monitors

On the political front this week the government was reported on Wednesday
7 November to have banned foreign election monitors and observers ahead of
next year's presidential election. Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa was
quoted as telling the state-run Herald newspaper he intended to introduce
a law in parliament banning all independent election observers when the
legislature reconvenes on 20 November.

The government would provide its own observers, he said. The European
Union (EU) last month warned of possible sanctions if Zimbabwe refused to
admit election observers and failed to end political violence that has
killed scores of opposition supporters and white farmers in recent months.

The Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) told IRIN that it was totally
opposed to government-appointed election monitors. "It would be highly
irregular for civil servants to monitor themselves. This would be
equivalent to a candidate marking his/her own examination script," said
ZESN chair Reginald Matchaba-Hove.

In move seen by observers as further impacting on opposition support,
Friday's Herald quoted Chinamasa as saying that under new proposals,
postal ballots for the election would only be accepted from staff at
diplomatic missions and from soldiers posted abroad. The new rules would
also bar Zimbabweans living in other countries from returning home to cast
ballots.

New assault on free press

And, in a fresh attack on dissenting voices, the editor-in-chief of
Zimbabwe's only independent daily newspaper, Geoff Nyarota and Wilf
Mbanga, a former director of the newspaper's parent company, were arrested
at their homes early on Thursday morning and were still in custody on
Friday 9 November, Nyarota's lawyer said.

"Both Mr Nyarota and Mr Mbanga have been charged with fraud, and
alternatively contravening an act that prohibits the supply of false
information to a lawful authority, and in their case to the Zimbabwe
Investment Centre," Lawrence Chibwe told Reuters. Daily News editor
Nyarota said his arrest was part of a government drive against the private
media before the elections.

For the full IRIN report
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=13768&SelectRegion=Southern_Africa&
electCountry=ZIMBABWE

Ruling party liable in US courts

But in the continuing international pressure on the government, a US
federal court judge ruled last week in New York that Zimbabwe's ruling
ZANU-PF party can be held liable in US courts for political violence in
the southern African country. Judge Victor Marrero ruled in a 130-page
opinion that although President Robert Mugabe was protected from being
personally sued because of immunity granted to heads of state, in his
capacity as head of ZANU-PF he was legally liable.

The ruling clears the way for a US magistrate's court to award damages in
a lawsuit filed last year which sought US $63 million in compensation for
victims of political violence and their relatives. "If ZANU-PF assets can
be identified and attached, then this is an important avenue for
Zimbabweans seeking justice in these cases," international criminal lawyer
Chris Roederer told IRIN on Tuesday.

For the full IRIN report
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=12994

Veterinary service working to get EU beef ban lifted

Meanwhile, Zimbabwean Department of Veterinary Services Director Stuart
Hargreaves told IRIN on Wednesday 7 November that despite a new outbreak
of foot-and mouth disease on a farm near Nyamandlovu, about 400 km
southwest of Harare in Matebeleland North Province, he was confident that
the European Union (EU) ban on beef would soon be lifted.

For the full IRIN report
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=13343


MALAWI: MPs and judges in hot water

Malawi's ruling United Democratic Front (UDF) party faced widespread
criticism this week as seven opposition MPs and three judges thought to be
cosying up to the opposition faced threats of dismissal. The threats
forced one of the judges to quit in the middle of a sensitive treason
trial.

AFP reported on Friday 9 November that High Court judge Frank Kapanda had
issued an order on Thursday barring Speaker of Parliament Sam Mpasu and
Attorney-General Peter Fachi from dismissing the MPs until the court had a
chance to review the case. According to the report, the injunction would
be valid until Sunday 11 November, when both sides were set to argue
before the court.

Ralph Kasambara, a lawyer for the accused MPs, was quoted as saying that
the sackings were unconstitutional because the law used against them came
into effect after they had already moved to work together across party
lines. The law, passed in June, gives the speaker power to strip MPs of
their seats if they defect to other parties or declare themselves
independent.

According to the report, the motion to remove the MPs from the 193-member
parliament and to declare their seats vacant was moved on Wednesday by a
fellow opposition member, who said the seven were elected in 1999 on the
ticket of either the ruling UDF or the opposition MCP, "but had now joined
the NDA whose objectives are clearly political in nature". Malawi Congress
Party (MCP) and National Democratic Alliance (NDA) leaders had joined
forces to vigorously campaign against a possible third term bid by
President Bakili Muluzi when his two terms end in 2004, the report said.

It named the MPs facing dismissal as: MCP leader Gwanda Chakuamba, NDA
founder and leader Brown Mpinganjira - a former senior minister who was
close to Muluzi but reportedly fell out of favour with the president last
year after being accused of corruption, the MCP's Hetherwick Ntaba,
Mpinganjira's wife Lizzie, and NDA members Peter Chupa, James Makhumula
and Grashan Naura.

Earlier in the week, on Tuesday 6 November, one of Malawi's 22 High Court
judges withdrew from a high-profile treason trial he was presiding over
after three UDF MPs instituted impeachment proceedings him and two other
judges for allegedly favouring the opposition. "This is the first step
towards the death of rule of law in this country. Judges will work in fear
of removal," University of Malawi law lecturer and outspoken human rights
activist, Edge Kanyongolo, was quoted as saying to AFP. "The motion is a
deliberate move to kill the rule of law in Malawi," he added.

According to the report, impeachment proceedings were postponed on Tuesday
after the Judicial Services Commission pleaded for time to conduct a
formal probe into the conduct of the judges. It also said the motion to
impeach justices Anaclet Chipeta, Dunstain Mwaungulu and George Chimassula
Phiri had produced a backlash within the judiciary. On Monday one High
Court judge, Bathiel Chiudza, issued a restraining order barring
parliament from summoning the three judges.

"Young democrats" implicated in intimidation

In another development in the poor southern African country this week,
ruling party UDF activists, the so-called "young democrats", became
embroiled again in allegations of intimidation and violence. Media
Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) researcher Zoe Titus told IRIN on
Monday 5 November that the organisation planned to contact the Malawian
government urgently regarding claims in a local newspaper on Monday 5
November that the UDF had drawn up a list of journalists to be assaulted,
allegedly for discrediting the party.

For the full IRIN story
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=12905


ZAMBIA: Election date remains a secret

After months of speculation, Zambians still have no clear idea when their
elections will take place, the BBC reported this week. Although many
people now believe that the polls - for president, parliament and local
government - will be held in early December, constitutionally they could
be delayed until March. Only the outgoing president, Frederick Chiluba,
knows the exact date and he is keeping it very close to his chest.

Anderson Masoka, leader of the opposition United Party for National
Development, believes that the election has been delayed because President
Chiluba is confused about the best possible date for the ruling Movement
for Multiparty Democracy (MMD).

"He is still trying to gauge the chances of MMD winning," said Masoka.
"Initially, he considered a snap election to take the opposition by
surprise. Then he decided to delay it in order to develop his presidential
candidate, Levy Mwanawasa, to an acceptable level. I think the president
is at sixes and sevens at the moment. We just don't know what he has up
his sleeve." With all the MMD's campaign material emblazoned with the year
2001, indications are that the election will be held in December.

Meanwhile, the economy and stubborn levels of poverty remains the
government's achilles heel. In response to the growing problem, the
Catholic Church has called on the government to let poverty alleviation
strategies guide the way it spends money.

For the full IRIN report
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=13349

Underlining the problems facing the economy, Konkola Copper Mines'
announcement last month that it is mothballing its US $600 million Kokola
Deep Mining Project (KDMP) pending a marked improvement in world copper
prices, is a major economic blow to Zambia, according to a report this
week by Oxford Analytica. It has also highlighted the country's severe
vulnerability to external shocks.

"The Zambian government is entering a difficult period. Growth will slow
as a result of depressed copper prices, delays to long-term mining
projects and reduced output," the report said. The government's intention
to reap the rewards of privatisation "are belied by recent moves on the
part of private operators to limit their exposure to adverse market
conditions".

Combating violence against refugees

A programme to combat sexual and gender-based violence among refugees in
Zambia is to be launched by relief agency Care International at the end of
November. The US Department of State-funded scheme will focus on two
refugee camps - Mwange in the north and Nangweshi in the southwest - with
the aim of developing a system to address and prevent sexual violence.

For the full IRIN report
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=12965


BOTSWANA: Ethnic tensions on the rise

Ethnicity, previously an issue that was never publicly discussed, has over
the past few years gradually taken centre stage in Botswana - at least
among the political classes. The debate is over the position of
"minorities". Simply put, the Khalanga people, who reportedly constitute
just 10 percent of the 1.5 million population, are disproportionately
represented in the professions such as the judiciary. Some Batswana allege
they are being disadvantaged by "nepotism".

For the full IRIN report

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=13599


COMOROS: IRIN Briefing on separatist crisis

Comoros was rocked by renewed instability from Friday 2 November to Sunday
4 November, when the former military ruler on the breakaway Indian Ocean
island of Anjouan attempted to retake power. The coup attempt was thwarted
by forces loyal to military ruler Major Mohamed Bacar, and Lt-Col
Abderemane Said Abeid was forced to flee the island.

The failure of the putsch has raised optimism among pro-union parties that
a referendum across the archipelago on a new constitution to end the
country's secessionist crisis will go ahead in December as scheduled.
According to news reports, Abeid's power bid was motivated by a desire to
end moves towards reconciliation between Anjouan and the other two Indian
Ocean islands that make up the Comoros.

For the full IRIN report
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=13397


SOUTH AFRICA: Civic groups call for basic income grant

Civic groups gathered in Johannesburg on Thursday 8 November to urge
government to introduce a basic income grant. Cecily Singer from the
Development Resource Centre (DRC) told IRIN that the countrywide campaign
had brought together a coalition of various organisations. "The feeling is
that the real problem in this country is poverty," Singer said. "There is
an acknowledgement that everybody has the right to a minimum to help
households meet their basic needs."

A spokesman for the government's Department of Social Development told
IRIN that a committee was set up towards the end of last year to
investigate a comprehensive social security system. "It is expected that
the committee's report will be presented to the cabinet by the end of this
month," he said.

Singer explained that the coalition was recommending a basic monthly grant
of SAR 100 (US $11). "The idea is that there would be universal coverage,
irrespective of their incomes. Obviously there are those that won't need
it, but these are very much in the minority at the moment."

For an IRIN focus on the income grant debate please go to
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=13582

Documents and discussion papers on the debate can be found at
http://www.drc.org.za

In a related development, the South African National Non-Governmental
Coalition (SANGOCO) will be holding its annual NGO week from the 12-16
November. This year's theme is 'grassroots action for eradication of
poverty'.

For more details
http://www.sangoco.org.za/ngowk2001/pages/index.htm


MOZAMBIQUE: Contingency plans not yet finalised

Although the rainy season has begun in Mozambique, aid organisations and
the government are still to complete contingency plans to help cope with
the possible repeat of the flood disasters that have hit the country for
two years running. Johannes Giorgis, a United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) advisor to the government's disaster management authority
- the INGC, told IRIN the government was finalising its national
contingency plan expected to be ready by mid-December.

But some humanitarian and diplomatic sources in Mozambique told IRIN that
although it was "commendable" that the government was drawing up a
contingency plan, they felt mid-December was too late. "This plan should
have been finalised by now and made public. Government at all levels
should have known by now what it is they need to do and how it needs to be
done in case of any kind of extreme weather," one diplomatic source said.
"By now when people ask the government what is the contingency plan, they
should be able to say 'Okay this is what we have planned'. A good
contingency plan is a vital part of early warning but it needs to be ready
at least by now."

For the full IRIN report
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=13023

ADB approves US $30 million loan

However, in a vote of confidence in the government, the African
Development Bank (ADB) said on Tuesday 6 November that they had approved
three lines of credit for Mozambique, amounting to more than US $30
million. It said that US $4 million would go to institutional capacity and
mineral resource management projects, US $14 million to electricity
projects and more than US $12 million to education projects. It said that
the electricity projects included the expansion of the domestic power grid
in 19 rural areas in the provinces of Gaza, Inhambane, Tete and Nampula.

Metical to close

A statement from the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) quoted a
letter by Nina Berg, the widow of the late Carlos Cardoso - editor of the
Metical who was assassinated in November last year, as saying that the
newspaper would close at the end of the year. In the letter, published in
the Metical on Friday 2 November, Berg said it would "terminate its
activities on 31 December 2001". She said that all employee contracts
would be terminated on the same day. Upon Cardoso's death his children
inherited his rights to the newspaper. "Since they are minors, it is not
legally possible to continue running and maintenance of the enterprise,"
Berg said.


SWAZILAND: SADC seeks solution to Swazi problems - Chissano

Mozambique's president Joaquim Chissano, on behalf of the southern African
Development Community (SADC), this week urged the king of Swaziland to
improve the troubled political situation in the kingdom. "(SADC has) asked
me to come and discuss the problems to find a lasting solution in order
for Swaziland to be on a par with other countries in the region," Chissano
told journalists after meeting with King Mswati III on Thursday 8
November. The Mozambican is currently on a three-day state visit to
Swaziland, which started Thursday. Chissano said SADC asked him to
facilitate the formation of a joint commission between Mozambique and
Swaziland. The joint commission would meet every month to assess political
and economic progress in Swaziland.


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