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 28
14-20 July 2001


Please note, this is the correct number for this report, apologies for the
previous error.

CONTENTS:

ZIMBABWE: Donors may help avert food crisis
ANGOLA: Attack on diamond town
ZAMBIA: Lusaka appeals for food aid
SOUTH AFRICA: Maize price rise on back of regional gloom
SOUTH AFRICA-ANGOLA: Govts agree on sanctions monitoring
NAMIBIA: Nujoma sore with film crew
MOZAMBIQUE: Fears of censorship

ZIMBABWE: Donors may help avert food crisis

As the Zimbabwe government slowly begins to face the reality that in six
months time the country could run out of food, UNDP told IRIN on Thursday
that donors might support a UN-administered food aid initiative. "A food
aid project in which UNDP is the sole distributor in Zimbabwe could be the
sort of solution that international donors would consider," Mkuleko Hikwa
of UNDP in Harare said.
 
A recent WFP/FAO report on Zimbabwe estimated that the country would need
to import 579,000 mt of grain to avoid a major food crisis in coming
months. The report highlighted the fact that due to the substantial
decline in gold production and the tobacco harvest, and the lack of
foreign currency earnings, the government's ability to import maize is
extremely limited.  Experts said that shortages would begin to be felt in
the first half of 2002.

A government admission two weeks ago that it may have to ask for food aid
was rapidly followed by an announcement that an inter-ministerial food
security task force would be established to address the looming crisis.
But UNDP said that no special request for food aid had been received from
President Robert Mugabe's government or from any other organisation.
"We're still talking to the government and we're facilitating negotiations
between them and donor countries and organisations," Hikwa told IRIN.

For the full story:
http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/sa/countrystories/zimbabwe/20010719.phtml

Government gears up for maize shortage

Although government appears to be "getting real" over the food crisis, the
introduction of price controls this week on maize is likely to push
farmers away from growing the staple next season, when President Robert
Mugabe faces a highly-charged election battle, economists told IRIN.

Concerned over a maize shortfall of 500,000 mt and the impact on prices in
the second half of this year, the government on Monday reintroduced the
monopoly of the state-run Grain Marketing Board (GMB) over the purchase of
maize and wheat. As sole purchaser, the GMB has set its maize buying rate
at Zim $7,500 per mt (US $136). In record sale volumes on the open market
last week ahead of the expected legislation, maize was selling at Zim
$9,329 per mt (US $170), the official 'Herald' newspaper reported.

"Many farmers will chose not to sell it rather than sell at that price,"
economist John Robertson told IRIN. "It's not enough to compensate for
costs and a long way short of covering the cost of growing next year's
crop." He said around Zim $11,000 (US $195) was a more realistic price.
Without that rate, Roberston added, "there will be a very serious drop in
confidence among growers and that will very seriously affect next year's
harvest. It is a matter of enormous concern." Zimbabwe's next harvest is
May 2002.

But the government's immediate consideration is apparently short term and
the cost of food to consumers. The price of maize meal and wheat flour has
been controlled, to prevent a rise in food prices that in the past has
sparked political unrest. According to the 'Herald', millers and private
maize traders who ignore the new legislation have been warned that they
will have their stocks confiscated or silos closed.
 
For the full story:
http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/sa/countrystories/zimbabwe/20010718.phtml

Forex scheme set to benefit tobacco growers

Although maize growers are having a rough time at present, there was some
respite for Zimbabwe's tobacco farmers this week. They will soon start to
benefit from a 20 percent foreign currency retention scheme which is
expected to allocate them US $80 million from this year's tobacco crop,
the state-run 'Herald' newspaper reported on Monday.

Tobacco remains a major foreign currency earner for the cash-strapped
government. Now, of the forex that is earned through sales, 20 percent
will be reserved for growers to help them buy inputs such as diesel,
fertiliser and seed. Some 12,000 smallholder and large-scale farmers will
receive the funds. The ministry of finance and the Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe approved the 20 percent retention scheme to ensure that the
farmers can afford inputs needed for growing tobacco.

"It's an attempt to revitalise and broaden the industry," Stanley Mutepfa
of the Zimbabwe Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board told IRIN. The
government has been making concerted efforts to include smallholder
farmers in the lucrative tobacco growing sector as part of efforts aimed
at improving productivity.

For the full story:
http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/sa/countrystories/zimbabwe/20010716.phtml

Libya to ease fuel crisis

The government is reported to have secured a deal with Libya which could
ease crippling fuel shortages. The independent Financial Gazette newspaper
quoted unnamed senior government sources on Thursday as saying the deal
was brokered between President Robert Mugabe and Libyan leader Muammar
Gaddafi, who visited the country last week.

Under the arrangement, Libya is to supply fuel worth US $360 million a
year in exchange for exports of Zimbabwean products. The country needs
about US $40 million of fuel imports each month, but supplies have been
erratic for more than 18 months, since the National Oil Company of
Zimbabwe (NOCZIM) had its credit lines cut over mounting debts. The
reported agreement will mean that each quarter, US $90m will be released
for fuel supplies. "The deal will guarantee fuel supplies to Zimbabwe for
at least a year, and is renewable, which means this could be the end of
the country's fuel problems," an official was quoted as saying. Last year
Libya gave Zimbabwe a US $100 million financial package.

Meanwhile in a bid to head-off another damaging strike against rocketing
fuel prices, labour minister July Moyo said on Thursday he hoped to meet
the country's main trade union movement, but ruled out scrapping the
increase. "We hope these discussions will avert any attempt to go for
another national strike, because nobody wins," Moyo told journalists
during a visit to South Africa. He said he hoped to meet union leaders
next week.

Libya contributes to ZANU-PF campaign fund

The 'Zimbabwe Independent' reported on Friday that Gaddafi also pledged US
$50million to President Mugabe for his re-election campaign next year,
quoting senior party sources. Insiders said the financial deal would not
be made public as it was most certainly illegal in terms of the amended
Political Parties (Finance) Act, which prohibits foreign funding of
political parties. Although ZANU-PF engineered the law, its functionaries
are reportedly traversing the world looking for funds for the crucial
poll. The party's secretary for external affairs, Didymus Mutasa, and
Information chief, Nathan Shamuyarira, are understood to be leading the
foreign fundraising campaign.

Think-tank calls for sanctions

Meanwhile, international condemnation of the Zimbabwean government grew
this week. A Brussels-based think-tank has called on the international
community to isolate and punish the political leadership in Zimbabwe
should next year's presidential election prove fraudulent. In a report
published last Friday, the International Crisis Group (ICG) drew a bleak
picture of the state of the economy and political freedoms in Zimbabwe.

It noted: "Confronted with plummeting popularity and a diverse coalition
seeking fundamental reforms, the ZANU-PF leadership appears willing to do
anything to stay in power. Using war veterans, police, army, and other
ZANU-PF supporters to suppress violently all opponents, the party's only
objective is to maintain its hold on power. [President] Robert Mugabe has
institutionalised an authoritarian system in Zimbabwe that is aimed at
ensuring ZANU-PF controls the keys to the doors of power even if it means
the entire house may burn to the ground."

The report recommended that "a strategy for change not unlike that
undertaken by the international community in Yugoslavia" should be
implemented in Zimbabwe to persuade Mugabe to allow free and fair
elections in 2002. "If Mugabe will not permit free and fair elections, the
international community should apply sanctions that impact on the
political leadership - a freeze on personal funds and travel restrictions
- but not on the general population, and the Commonwealth should suspend
Zimbabwe," the ICG said.
 
To view the report go to:
 

US Senate passes democracy bill

The ICG report was released the day after the US Senate Foreign Relations
Committee passed the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 2001
which proposes far-reaching sanctions against Zimbabwe. The bill, which
was first introduced into the Senate last year, went through two readings
in the Senate before being referred to the foreign relations committee.

The committee's approval paves the way for the proposed law to sail
unopposed through the House of Representatives, Zimbabwe's 'Standard'
newspaper reported. The bill halts the US government and all institutions
with American links from dealing with the Zimbabwean government. The bill
targets Mugabe, his immediate family, his cabinet ministers, government
and ZANU-PF officials from travelling to the United States.

According to the 'Standard', quoting the bill, pre-requisites for
restoring normal relations include: "The restoration of the rule of law,
respect for ownership and title to property, freedom of speech and
association, an end to lawlessness, violence, and intimidation which is
sponsored, condoned, or tolerated by the government of Zimbabwe, the
ruling party and their supporters or entities."

Mbeki concerned that Zim unrest could spread

Hot on the heels of orchestrating a watered-down resolution on Zimbabwe at
last week's final OAU summit, South African President Thabo Mbeki said on
Thursday he agreed with concerns that unrest in Zimbabwe had the potential
to provoke unrest elsewhere in southern Africa if it were not brought
under control. Speaking during a two-day visit to Rome where he met
foreign ministers from the Group of Eight most powerful nations, Mbeki
said he agreed with fears those ministers had expressed.

In a communique the foreign ministers said they were concerned generally
about conflict in Africa and added: "We consider that a sustainable
solution to Zimbabwe's problems is essential to stability in the Southern
Africa region."

"Yes, indeed. Yes," Mbeki said, when asked if he agreed. "In fact, we are
in the process at the moment of establishing a Commonwealth committee of
foreign ministers to deal with these issues, and Zimbabwe has agreed to
that." He said the committee would also look into issues such as whether
Zimbabwe would be capable of holding free and fair elections next year,
when President Robert Mugabe, 77 and in power for 21 years, will run for
another six-year term. Asked if he thought the elections, scheduled for
early next year, would be free and fair, Mbeki was non-committal.

ANGOLA: Fighting intensifies in highlands

Feeding the hungry in Angola's central highlands continues to be impeded
by the poor state of the runway in the provincial capital Kuito and
escalating fighting, aid workers told IRIN. Two years after a deal was
struck to fix Kuito's landing strip, it still remains in a severe state of
disrepair. Eleven flights a day are needed to transport enough relief
supplies for the needy in Kuito and the rest of Bie Province. But,
according to WFP, only six to seven are landing.

Fighting between government troops and UNITA rebels in Cuemba to the
northeast has displaced thousands of people. They began to head south to
Camacupa - 80 km from Kuito - in large numbers in March, overwhelming
local services. On 3 July, WFP delivered 111 mt of food to 14,211 IDPs in
Camacupa, a mere half of what is deemed necessary. "In addition, people
arriving have no shelter, few are clothed beyond essential coverings, and
none are wearing shoes," WFP said this week in its latest situation
update. Temperatures in the central highlands range between 18C during the
day to 4C at night.

As fighting intensifies, an additional 13,000 people are expected to
arrive in Camacupa from Cuemba within the next few weeks, mostly escorted
by the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA). Adding to their plight, there are
allegations that as the security situation deteriorates, the FAA has
turned to using civilians as human shields. "There is a clear cut use of
people by the military," a diplomatic source told IRIN. "The government is
actually herding people into Cuemba and Camacupa to use as shields and to
prevent logistical supplies reaching UNITA."

UN sanctions team visits

A mission of the UN Security Council Monitoring Mechanism on Sanctions
against UNITA arrived in Luanda on Wednesday to gather information and
investigate alleged sanctions violations. Juan Larrain, head of the
mission, told the press that there are no indications that sanctions will
be lifted as rebel leader Jonas Savimbi has been demanding.

Jorge Valentim, international secretary of the splinter group
UNITA-Renovada on Wednesday defended the tightening of sanctions against
UNITA, Radio Ecclesia reported. Valentim also suggested that an
investigation be carried out on Togo, a West African country identified by
the UN Sanctions Committee as one of Savimbi's main supporters.

In a related development, UNITA MP Daniel Maluka told Radio Ecclesia that
the UN had been applying sanctions against UNITA for seven years without
any success. He said it was now up to the United Nations to create a
mechanism to enable dialogue and peace.

UNITA attacks on towns

At least 70 people were killed and 15 wounded when armed men attacked the
north Angolan diamond-mining town of Chinguvu, close to the Congo border,
Lusa reported on Monday. Quoting an unnamed military source who identified
the attackers as UNITA, the news agency said about 100 rebels were
involved in the Saturday assault on a residential area of Chinguvu. A
number of local residents were taken away by the attackers.

Meanwhile, the governor of southern Angola's Cunene province, Pedro
Mutinde, was due to undergo surgery at a hospital in the Namibian capital
a day after he was seriously wounded in a land mine explosion, Angolan
national radio reported on Monday. The state broadcaster said Mutinde was
out of mortal danger although his foot may have to be amputated. He was
injured on Sunday when his vehicle set off an anti-tank mine near Humbe,
about 100 km northwest of the provincial capital, Ondjiva.

In a separate development, UNITA rebels overran and occupied the southern
Angolan town of Ngola for two days at the weekend, Catholic Radio Ecclesia
reported on Monday. It was the second strike against the key highway in
one week. Citing a military source, the radio said counter-attacking
government troops had routed the rebels and retaken the town, which lies
on Angola's main north-south highway.

Journalist, activist arrested

Open Society Foundation representative and freelance journalist Rafael
Marques was arrested on Friday night and assaulted by police before being
released, Lusa has reported. According to the report, Marques was arrested
after taking pictures of tents in Viana, south of Luanda, where the
government wants to house residents it has evicted from Boa Vista, a
Luanda shantytown. The residents were to stage a march on Saturday to
protest their eviction, but the march was banned by the government. Police
moved into Boa Vista more than a week ago, demolishing houses and forcing
people to move to resettlement camps in Viana, between 40 km and 60 km
away. Two people were killed in clashes with police. The deaths are still
being investigated and the residents have approached the court for
assistance.

Journalists allege state "terror"

In a related development, the Angolan Journalists Union (SJA) on Monday
said a "terror campaign" was being waged against the private media and
independent journalists in Angola, Lusa reported. The SJA, Angola's second
biggest journalists union after the National Union of Angolan Journalists,
also noted a "climate of political intolerance" fomented in the state
newspaper 'Jornal de Angola'.
 
ZAMBIA: Lusaka appeals for food aid

The Zambian government has launched an urgent appeal for food aid for two
million people facing severe shortages following floods and dry spells
across the country and a poor maize harvest, news reports said on Tuesday.
Zambian Vice-President Enock Kavindele issued an urgent appeal for food
aid, saying his government needed 98,000 mt of maize. "There is a disaster
in food security in some areas. There are up to two million people whose
food security has become worse and for whom the situation is desperate,"
Kavindele told a meeting with Lusaka-based diplomats.

The Zambia National Farmers' Union (ZNFU) said maize production was down
30 percent in 2000/2001 at 490,000 mt. Kavindele said the government
required 98,000 mt of maize to hand out to those in need. ZNFU said that
figure referred to peasants who required hand-outs, but another 150,000 mt
of maize would have to be imported for the open market, Reuters reported.
Heavy rains in February and March caused extensive flooding, mainly in the
Central, Copperbelt, Eastern, Lusaka, Northern and Northwestern provinces
along the Zambezi and Luangwa rivers, OCHA said in a report last week.
 
FAO reported a sharp reduction in yields in the Southern and Western
provinces due to prolonged dry weather. ZNFU president Ajay Vashee told
Reuters the government's crop tracking and forecasting unit had collapsed
and no reliable commodity statistics were available from that source.
Vashee said a lack of credit, a shortage of inputs such as fertiliser and
poor marketing had combined to undermine maize output. He added that low
prices for last year's crop had led some farmers to withholding their
harvest from the market this year as they tried to avoid last year's
losses.

Fears over rising political violence

Rampaging political gangs torched several vehicles and attacked voters in
a crucial parliamentary by-election in Zambia's capital on Tuesday,
heightening fears that widespread political violence will undermine
general elections scheduled for the year-end. Both opposition parties and
independent observers blamed the violence on the "Ku Klux Klan" - a corps
of ruling Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) cadres. They have been
accused of terrorising Lusaka's central business district and townships to
disrupt opposition activity and assert the party's authority.

At least 10 people, including a reporter on the 'Monitor', an NGO-backed
tabloid, sustained serious injuries after MMD cadres and the opposition
Forum for Development and Democracy (FDD) clashed during and after the
voting in the working class township of Chawama.

Opposition candidate Jeff Samukonga won the poll, which analysts
considered a litmus test for the popularity of political parties that plan
to contest the forthcoming general elections. The Chawama parliamentary
seat fell vacant when vice-president Christon Tembo quit the ruling party
to join the breakaway FFD. President Frederick Chiluba subsequently
dissolved his cabinet after 20 other MMD parliamentarians, including some
key ministers, opposed his attempt to run for a third term. The Zambian
constitution imposes a two-term restriction on the presidency.

For the full story:
http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/sa/countrystories/zambia/20010718.phtml

Cross-border attacks

Heavily-armed suspected Angolan bandits have looted shops and villages in
Mwinilunga District in Zambia's North Western Province in the past few
days.


The 'Zambia Daily Mail' newspaper on Friday quoted provincial permanent
secretary Maybin Mubanga as describing the situation as tense. He called
for immediate measures to protect the residents in the district. According
to Mubanga, some 60 suspected Angolan combatants entered the area in the
past few days and forced villagers to give them food before they went back
into Angola. The permanent secretary also said over 300 refugees crossed
into Mwinilunga from Angola this week, and are awaiting transported to
refugee camps.

SOUTH AFRICA: Maize price rise on back of regional gloom

As Zimbabwe and Zambia face serious maize deficits, South African maize
futures prices have risen sharply on expectations of higher demand because
of shortages in the region. South Africa is expected to produce 7.04
million mt of the staple maize this season versus last year's exceptional
10.1 million mt, Reuters reported. Domestic consumption is between seven
and eight million mt a year, but the country has carryover stocks from
last season of about two million mt. July white maize contracts are at 933
rand (US $113.5) per mt, 48 percent higher up on a year ago.

By contrast, USAID's Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWSNET) has
forecast Zimbabwe will run out of maize by February 2002 if there are no
imports to augment domestic supply. The agriculture ministry has
maintained it still has not assessed a need for imports, Reuters said. The
government has accused white commercial farms, who produce about 40
percent of the national maize crop, of hoarding grain to create artificial
shortages and hiking prices in retaliation for the state's drive to seize
white-owned farms for redistribution to landless blacks.

Pro-poor policy shift

A shift in South Africa's economic policy will target the less privileged
members of society by boosting growth and promoting both domestic and
foreign investment, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) forecast in its
latest country report.

The outlook released on Thursday said that real GDP in 2001-02 is expected
to continue to grow to 3.5 percent, but not by enough to alleviate the
country's huge unemployment problem. It predicted that headline inflation
will average 6.4 percent this year, before slowing to 5.9 percent next
year. The rand will remain vulnerable to external shocks and mistrust of
emerging markets, and will decline to R8.50 for US $1 by end-2002.

Although the government has not entirely abandoned its core policy
document, Growth, Employment and Redistribution: a Macroeconomic Strategy,
it now aims to benefit the poorer members of society by seeking to boost
investment and growth. Thus, as well as seeking to preserve its reputation
for fiscal discipline, the government also aims to aid economic growth by
increasing investment - especially in infrastructure - and by courting
foreign investment much more aggressively, the EIU said.
 
SOUTH AFRICA-ANGOLA: Govts agree on sanctions monitoring

The South African and Angolan governments are to establish a joint
commission to monitor sanctions against the rebel movement UNITA "as a
matter of urgency", the South African defence ministry told IRIN on
Monday. Sam Mkhwanazi, spokesman for Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota said
the two parties had agreed that the creation of a mechanism to monitor UN
sanctions against UNITA was a priority. No time-frames were given for the
creation of the commission.
 
Lekota returned to South Africa on Saturday after an official visit to
Angola and Namibia. On his return at the Waterkloof air base just outside
Pretoria, he told reporters his trip was aimed at consolidating the
country's military ties with Angola and Namibia. According to news
reports, he said the joint commission would hopefully stem the flow of
arms to UNITA. Several reports have emerged in recent years of UNITA
receiving arms from private South African sources, but news dispatches
quoted Lekota as saying: "We have no evidence at present of such
activities, but we must make sure that we are able ... to nip them in the
bud."

Lekota also said he and his Angolan counterparts had agreed to put into
effect a defence commission signed earlier this year and that the first
session of the commission would be held in South Africa in August or
September. Angola and Namibia had also agreed to work with South Africa to
speed up the finalisation of an SADC defence pact, Lekota was quoted as
saying.
 
NAMIBIA: Nujoma sore with film crew

Namibia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has lodged a complaint with the
South African Broadcasting Monitoring and Complaints Unit after an SABC
television crew allegedly "tricked" President Sam Nujoma into an
interview, the 'Namibian' reported on Wednesday.

Foreign affairs permanent secretary, Mocks Shivute said in a statement
that Nujoma granted the Special Assignment team an interview after they
said they wanted to tell his story "in an informal way by following him
with our cameras through the course of the day". However, what was
broadcast on 5 June showed Nujoma as "a furious, intolerable person",
while it focused on minority rights, especially those of homosexuals, the
government official said.

"It is exactly because of such behaviour that African heads of state are
not easily accessible to the media and why the media cry foul when they
fail to secure appointments with leaders," he added.

MOZAMBIQUE: Fears of censorship

Mozambican newsrooms are still haunted by fear and self-censorship eight
months after the assassination of investigative journalist Carlos Cardoso,
the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reported on
Thursday.

Speaking after a four-day fact finding tour of Mozambique, CPJ deputy
director Joel Simon said he was deeply disappointed at the state of
Mozambican media, the African Eye News Service reported. "We met with
dozens of journalists at both state-owned and private media, and they all
had the same story. Journalists are scared to tackle investigative
stories, and many believe it is simply best not to touch stories involving
highly placed people," Simon said.

Stressing that there was no official censorship in Mozambique, Simon said
journalists however readily admitted to censoring themselves to stay out
of trouble. "Many told us that certain stories are off limits,
particularly those involving corruption," he said. "It's very
disappointing given that CPJ and other press freedom organizations have
given Mozambique high marks in the past. The country is internationally
known for allowing both independent and State-sponsored media to compete
freely, without official interference," Simon said.
 
He said that everyone the CPJ talked to agreed that the military-style
assassination of veteran journalist Carlos Cardoso earlier this year had
robbed the country of its foremost investigative reporter. "His murder has
left a serious gap for aggressive, investigative reporting. Many
journalists told us they were too afraid to follow in Cardoso's
footsteps," said Simon. The CPJ has therefore called on the Mozambican
government to help reduce the levels of fear by publicly reaffirming its
respect for the role of the press as a public watchdog against any abuse
of power.

Johannesburg, 20 July 17:45 gmt


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


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