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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Fax: +27 11 880 1421
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SOUTHERN AFRICA
IRIN-SA Weekly Round-up 50
15 - 21 December 2001


CONTENTS:

ZAMBIA: Controversial general elections
SOUTHERN AFRICA: IRIN Interview with electoral analyst
SOUTHERN AFRICA: Effect of falling rand could spread
COMOROS: Exiled politicians accused of coup attempt
ANGOLA: Political progress, but war goes on
ZIMBABWE: Commonwealth increases pressure on Mugabe
SOUTH AFRICA: Policy divisions on Zimbabwe
MOZAMBIQUE: WFP begins contingency planning for floods
NAMIBIA: Government fights court ruling on legal aid
SWAZILAND: Faster growth and HIV/AIDS action needed

ZAMBIA: Controversial general elections

Zambia's preparations for general elections at the end of the month have
come in for a hammering by international observers. They said that voter
apathy and "disenfranchisement" could effect the democratic process.
Zambians are scheduled to go to the polls on 27 December to elect a new
president, members of parliament, and municipal officials.

European Union chief elections observer, Michael Meadowcroft, told the
independent Post on Tuesday that many of the reasons given for the low
turn out of eligible voters to register could have been avoided. He
pointed out that the requirement to make two visits to a registration
centre to obtain a voter's card prevented many people from registering.

In a pre-election report released last week, the Carter Centre expressed
its concerns about the low level of participation, a widespread perception
over the alleged misuse of state resources, and the unequal access to
broadcast media. The report was based on the accounts of the Carter's
Centre's long-term observers who have been deployed to all nine provinces
and 47 of the 72 districts centres.

The report said that the electorate demonstrated a "high level of
discontent, mistrust and scepticism" towards the government, which was
"manifested in the equally high levels of voter apathy". "The lack of
decision-making transparency on the part of the ECZ [Election Commission
of Zambia] has contributed to these feelings of discontent. Voter apathy
is a serious concern and the overall mood if the electorate appears not
conducive to ensuring a fully democratic environment," the Centre warned.

For more details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=18028&SelectRegion=Southern_Africa&SelectCountry=ZAMBIA

The election may be the least successful in the country's 37-year history.
Only 2.6 million of the country's estimated 3.6 million eligible citizens
registered to vote – roughly the same number that registered in 1996, when
the voting population was smaller. And, unless voter behaviour has changed
over the past five years, a good number of those who registered will not
actually cast their ballots. In 1996, only 1.19 million of the 2.3 million
people who registered actually voted. Of those votes, only 1.14 million
were valid.

For a who's who of the top contenders in Zambia's third multiparty
elections:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=17864&SelectRegion=Southern_Africa&SelectCountry=ZAMBIA

The elections are going ahead in the wake of severe food shortages which
have forced the government to appeal for emergency aid. Commercial maize
purchased by the government started rolling into Zambia this week, but the
opposition and ruling party have traded accusations over the
politicisation of the maize scarcity. In the countryside there have also
been reports of villagers baretering their voters cards for food. Analysts
have warned that another poor harvest and more shortages are likely next
year.

For more details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=18060&SelectRegion=Southern_Africa&SelectCountry=ZAMBIA

The US government has given the UN's World Food Programme (WFP) US $1
million to feed refugees in Zambia, but this might not be enough to
replenish depleted food stocks. "The money is enough to cover food needs
until the end of December," Richard Ragan, WFP Country Director for Zambia
told IRIN on Thursday. "After that we have about six weeks' worth of
carry-over stocks, but we are going to have to cut rations in half when
the next feeding cycle starts in January."

Ragan said WFP was feeding about 125,000 refugees. Zambia hosts more than
270,000 refugees, mostly from Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Meanwhile, Ragan told IRIN that WFP had purchased about 11,000 mt of food
to help alleviate shortages among the general population in Zambia. Last
month WFP appealed for US $18 million to buy 42,000 mt of food to
distribute during the lean months of December to March 2002.

For more details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=18059&SelectRegion=Southern_Africa&SelectCountry=ZAMBIA

SOUTHERN AFRICA: IRIN Interview with electoral analyst

The next four years will see significant elections take place in southern
Africa - starting with Zambia's general election and presidential polls in
Zimbabwe next march. IRIN spoke to Claude Kabemba this week, senior policy
analyst at the Electoral Institute of Southern Africa (EISA), about the
state of democracy in the region.

For more details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=18025&SelectRegion=Southern_Africa&SelectCountry=SOUTHERN_AFRICA

SOUTHERN AFRICA: Effect of falling rand could spread

On the economic front, the South African rand's continued slide against
the US dollar and other major currencies could impact negatively on the
southern African region, analysts told IRIN this week. "It could be
negative for the region in that if South Africa goes through this badly:
if interest rates go up and there is reduced growth, then you could expect
the same in the region," said South African-based Nedcor chief economist
Dennis Dykes.

University of Zimbabwe economist, Tony Hawkins, said: "It (the
depreciating rand) will for the most part be negative in the sense that
the perception that is doing the rounds internationally is that the rand
is a very weak currency, and this has a contagion effect across the whole
region."

For more details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=18026&SelectRegion=Southern_Africa&SelectCountry=SOUTHERN_AFRICA

Botswana feels the pinch

The Bank of Botswana is holding negotiations with government and organised
business following the decline in value of the South African rand against
major international currencies, the Botswana Gazette reported on
Wednesday. The pula is pegged to the rand and South Africa remains
Botswana's major trading partner. The Public Affairs Manager of Bank of
Botswana Joe Selwe, said the bank was worried that the rand's slide had
tended to take the pula down with it "thereby making import bills go up".
"The market seems to be saying we should devalue the Pula, but on the
other hand that could kill the value of the Pula, so we should look for
the balance," he said.

COMOROS: Exiled politicians accused of coup attempt

The Comoran authorities have arrested a former senior officer and blamed
France-based exiled politicians for a bungled mercenary-led coup attempt
in which five insurgents were killed, Information Minister Ali Toihil told
IRIN on Thursday.

Former colonel Hassim Said Haruna, who served under the regime of Mohamed
Taki, was arrested on Wednesday. Media sources on the main island of
Grande Camore told IRIN that former president Tadjidine Ben Said
Massoundi, who was overthrown in 1999, was under house arrest. But Toihil
said Massoundi had "volunteered" to answer police questions.

The authorities have stressed there is no evidence of French government
involvement in the coup plot, but documents found with the mercenaries
allegedly point to a link between Haruna and Paris-based Comoran political
exiles, Toihil said.

The target of the group of 15-20 mainly European mercenaries was
apparently Grande Comore. But, according to the minister, their boat hired
out of the northern Madagascar island of Nosy Be, sprang a fuel leak. The
crew was forced to land on Moheli, the smallest of the three Comoran
islands. In the fighting, five mercenaries were killed and three captured.
Two others escaped to the second island of Anjouan, where they were
arrested. One Comoran soldier was reportedly wounded in the clashes.

For more details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=18058&SelectRegion=Southern_Africa&SelectCountry=COMOROS

ANGOLA: Political progress, but war goes on

Positive political developments in Angola this week were accompanied by
stories of starvation in the country's interior and increased military
activity between the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA) and UNITA, Jonas Savimbi's
rebel group which has been at war with the Angolan state for almost 30
years.

AFP reported on Tuesday that President Eduardo dos Santos' government -
after talks with UN Deputy Secretary for African Affairs Ibrahim Gambari
during his week-long visit to Luanda - had agreed to let the United
Nations, supported by civil society and the church, initiate contact with
Savimbi. The Angolan government broke all contact with the rebel leader
after war resumed in 1998. Savimbi and other senior UNITA officials are
also under UN sanction, restricting their travel, political and economic
activities.

Gambari was expected to address the UN Security Council on Friday 21
December on his discussions in Luanda. The UN brokered the 1994 Lusaka
peace accord, which sought to end the fighting and pave the way for
multi-party elections. The process broke down and war all-out war resumed
in 1998. The church has played a major role this year in trying to get a
ceasefire and to get Savimbi and Dos Santos back around the negotiating
table.

Nonetheless, even as talk of renewing contact with UNITA dominated the
news, Dos Santos continued his tough talk and the FAA reported several
victories against UNITA across the country. AFP reported that Dos Santos,
speaking on the sidelines of a Southern African Development Community
(SADC) defence organ meeting, said on Tuesday that Savimbi had three
choices. "Either he gives up his arms and hands them over to the UN, our
soldiers will capture him or he will be killed in combat," he was quoted
as saying.

Army claims capture of key rebel base

Dos Santos's comments came as FAA reported two major successes in its
recent offensive against UNITA. LUSA quoted the FAA as saying on Thursday
that it had overrun a major rebel base in Cuemba, in the central highlands
province of Bie. According to the report, the FAA Bie military command
announced that its forces seized UNITA's regional operational command
centre after heavy fighting during the first 10 days of December.

The FAA said 33 rebels were killed, including two colonels and a major,
and that two other officers were captured at the base near Capolo, some 70
km south of Kuito, the provincial capital. About 6,000 civilians were
freed from UNITA control during the operations, the army claimed. On
Wednesday, the national ANGOP news agency reported that the army had
presented captured UNITA members, including a general and the relatives of
local reporters to the public in the eastern Moxico provincial capital of
Luena. The group was reportedly seized in recent military operations near
the Cambule River.

At the same time, LUSA reported on Thursday 20 December that the leader of
UNITA's breakaway pro-peace faction, Eugenio Manuvakola, said that Savimbi
was losing control of the movement. In spite of this, however, UNITA
demonstrated that it still has the power to create fear and confusion.
LUSA reported that seven people were killed and 14 injured in an ambush on
a civilian vehicle travelling between Gabela and Sumbe in Cuanza Sul on
Monday 17 December. It was not the first attack on the busy road.

Displaced die of hunger in Bie province

With a government offensive against UNITA in full swing, the humanitarian
situation in some parts of Angola - particularly in areas to which aid
organisations have no access - has been deteriorating. LUSA on Thursday
quoted a local official as saying that nearly 80 people had died from
hunger and a lack of medical care in Cuemba in Bie province in the first
two weeks of December.

Cuemba, located about 160 km east of Kuito, lies outside areas targeted by
international humanitarian agencies. With its bridges down and roads
mined, the only aid reaching Cuemba has been ferried in by the Angolan air
force, according to LUSA. Humanitarian, civic and church bodies have been
appealing to the government to create safe corridors in areas like Cuemba
for at least the past year so that much needed aid can be delivered to
those affected by the war.

According to a World Food Programme (WFP), intense military activity
continued in the eastern and northern parts of Bie last week. The UN food
agency said poor security in the country had affected its operations in
the northern Uige province. "The road between Uige and Negage remained
shut for the second consecutive week, holding back road deliveries from
the provincial capital (Uige city)," WFP said in its weekly report for 11
- 17 December. "A number of attacks and skirmishes were reported
throughout Uige province during the week in the towns of Quissacala -
located seven kilometres from Mucaba, Toto/Bembe, Senga - between Uige and
Negage, and in Quibianga, located 25 km outside the provincial capital,"
it added. A 9pm curfew has been imposed by authorities in Uige city.

IRIN Review of 2001

Angola's year 2001 began with small signs of hope for an end to Angola's
26-year civil war. As the year end approaches, the prospect of a peaceful
settlement seems no clearer than it did 12 months ago, analysts say.

For more details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=17965&SelectRegion=Southern_Africa&SelectCountry=ANGOLA

ZIMBABWE: Commonwealth increases pressure on Mugabe

Commonwealth ministers on Thursday increased the pressure on Zimbabwean
President Robert Mugabe and agreed to discuss the crisis formally for the
first time next year. "The CMAG (The Commonwealth Ministerial Action
Group) decided to include the country at its next meeting on 30 January
2002," a CMAG statement said.

"The Group reiterated its deep concern about the ongoing situation in
Zimbabwe especially the continued violence, occupation of property,
actions against the freedom and independence of the media and political
intimidation. It agreed that the situation in Zimbabwe constitutes a
serious and persistent violation of the Commonwealth's fundamental
political values and the rule of law as enshrined in the Harare
Commonwealth Declaration," the statement said.

It also "reaffirmed" its full support for the process established by the
Abuja Agreement that was reached at the initiative of Nigerian President
Olusegun Obasanjo, it also expressed support for the initiative by the
Southern African Development Community (SADC).

For more details:
http://www.thecommonwealth.org

As the CMAG discussed possible action against the Zimbabwean government,
South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC) held talks with
their ZANU-PF counterparts in Harare. Officials from both sides denied
that there was a rift between the two countries and slammed media coverage
of Harare's economic and political crisis.

South African Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana denied that President
Thabo Mbeki had toughened his stance against Zimbabwe in recent weeks.
"President Mbeki is a friend of Zimbabwe, he has been and will continue to
be," Mdladlana, a member of an ANC delegation was quoted as saying. The
worsening economic and political crisis in Zimbabwe is cited as one of the
factors in the South African rand's recent plunge to historic lows against
major foreign currencies.

Pressure for free election

Meanwhile, human rights group ZimRights called for greater pressure on
Mugabe to ensure a free and fair election next March.

ZimRights Director Bidi Munyaradzi told IRIN ZimRights would submit a
petition to the Commonwealth and to the Southern African Development
Community (SADC) in about two weeks, calling on them to ensure a free and
fair presidential poll. "Although ZimRights does not actually support
general sanctions, the Commonwealth and SADC should put pressure on the
Zimbabwean government to ensure the immediate restoration of the rule of
law. Observers should be here now, instead of later," he said.

Munyaradzi said it was important for election observers to arrive in the
country immediately because the election could be rigged if people were
intimidated during the campaign period. He said the petition would also
call for transparent ballot boxes to be used. "We have already dismissed
all domestic channels of appeal. As civil society we can only revert to
international and regional bodies for support," he told IRIN.

The government on Wednesday extended the voter registration exercise to
Sunday 23 December after a push from MDC MPs. The announcement was made in
Parliament on Tuesday 18 December by the Minister of Justice, Legal and
Parliamentary Affairs, Patrick Chinamasa. The voter registration exercise
was scheduled to have on Tuesday.

For more details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=18084&SelectRegion=Southern_Africa&SelectCountry=ZIMBABWE

New media bill curtailing basic rights - MISA

On Tuesday MISA condemned a Public Order and Security Bill, saying it
would curtail citizens' basic rights. The organisation was quoted in the
Daily News as saying that the government had imposed an unofficial state
of emergency in the country through the introduction of draconian
legislation. It cited the Public Order and Security Bill, the Electoral
Act Amendment Bill, the Labour Relations Bill and the Access to
Information and Protection of Privacy Bill as examples.

According to the report, the Bill bans the media from writing on
"information whose disclosure will be harmful to the law enforcement
process and national security, inter-governmental relations or
negotiations, financial or economic interests of a public body, the
government or country or information relating to personal privacy".
Journalists working in Zimbabwe will have to be accredited by the Media
and Information Commission, which will be established by the Bill.

In terms of the Bill, a journalist will be deemed to have abused his
privilege and committed an offence if he or she writes a story that has
already been published by another media house without its permission,
conceals, falsifies or fabricates information, spreads rumours, falsehoods
or causes alarm and despondency under the guise of authentic reports and
collects and disseminate information on behalf of another person who is
not part of the mass media service.

Government denies accusations of violence

In a separate development, a Zimbabwean government official on Monday
denied media reports that the army had been deployed in the opposition's
Matabeleland stronghold and was allegedly intimidating villagers. The
official told IRIN that the security forces were in the southern province
to "prevent violence, not commit violence".

He was responding to a news report in the Johannesburg-based Sunday Times,
which quoted unnamed human rights organisations as saying that they had
been told by villagers in the province that soldiers had beaten them up.
Matabeleland was the scene of a "dissident" campaign in the 1980s which
was suppressed by troops who committed well-documented atrocities against
the civilian population.

Home Affairs Minister John Nkomo told delegates at the ruling ZANU-PF
party congress in Victoria Falls on Friday that the deployment was an
attempt to keep peace in response to "terrorist" attacks on party
officials by the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).

For more details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=17868&SelectRegion=Southern_Africa&SelectCountry=ZIMBABWE

SOUTH AFRICA: Policy divisions on Zimbabwe

At the heart of South Africa's "softly-softly" approach towards its
troubled northern neighbour Zimbabwe, is the lack of a clear policy
consensus over what Pretoria's role should be, regional analysts have told
IRIN this week. "The government is desperate to get ZANU-PF to change its
ways so they are trying every conceivable method," deputy director of the
South African Institute of International Affairs (SAII), Moletsi Mbeki,
told IRIN.

But the government has resisted calls for tougher action against Mugabe to
ensure free and fair elections. President Thabo Mbeki has insisted that
South Africa - the region's superpower - would work through the Southern
African Development Community (SADC), the regional trade organisation that
last week rejected the possibility of sanctions as a means to influence
Harare.

According to Moletsi Mbeki, who has strong links within the ANC, the
"critical issue" is that there is no agreement in government over Zimbabwe
policy. He told IRIN that consensus did not even exist on whether
Zimbabwe's crisis had as yet impacted on South Africa, and neither was
there an understanding of ZANU-PF and how to influence it.

For more details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=17968&SelectRegion=Southern_Africa&SelectCountry=SOUTH_AFRICA

MOZAMBIQUE: WFP begins contingency planning for floods

In its latest emergency report, the UN's World Food Programme (WFP) said
as part of its contingency plans the agency had started pre-positioning
2,070 mt of food, the first of a planned 6,000 mt consignment. WFP said,
however, that despite the arrivals of the commodities, its pipeline
continued to be "precarious" and that shortages of pulses and sugar were
"likely to occur".

"The balance will therefore be pre-positioned when the pipeline improves,"
WFP noted. The food agency said that during November it delivered more
than 2,000 mt of food to its implementing partners, adding that it was
currently reaching about 70,000 people through its food-for-rehabilitation
(FFR) programme.

WFP said that a joint food needs assessment with the government's disaster
management authority - the INGC - in Niassa and Nampula provinces in the
north showed that there were 12,000 people in need of assistance in Niassa
and about 30,000 along the coastal districts of Nampula.

For more details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=17839&SelectRegion=Southern_Africa&SelectCountry=MOZAMBIQUE

NAMIBIA: Government fights court ruling on legal aid

The Namibian government lodged an appeal against a High Court ruling that
it provides free legal representation to 128 high treason suspects.

The suspects, all charged in connection with their involvement in
secessionist activities, won their case against the government on Friday
(14 December) morning, when three judges ruled unanimously that the
Director of Legal Aid provide the men with representation.

For more details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=17867&SelectRegion=Southern_Africa&SelectCountry=NAMIBIA

SWAZILAND: Faster growth and HIV/AIDS action needed

Swaziland needs faster economic growth to narrow the gap between rich and
poor, and stronger measures against HIV/AIDS, according to the new
Swaziland Human Development Report, produced by a forum of national groups
with support from UNDP.

Swaziland, with nearly one million people, ranks among medium human
development countries in terms of the UNDP Human Development Index - based
on income level, educational attainment and life expectancy - a UNDP
statement said. Average yearly income per person is US $1,360,
three-quarters of adults are literate and Swazis live 58 years on average.
Nonetheless, the country faces a "high level of inequality, poverty and
deprivation," the report said.

To address poverty, the report recommended encouraging labour-intensive
industries and the informal sector to expand job opportunities. Though a
large proportion of government spending goes to education, health and
other social services, people living in rural areas - 70 percent of the
population - are underserved.

For more details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=18061&SelectRegion=Southern_Africa&SelectCountry=SWAZILAND


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

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