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 30
28 July - 3 August 2001


CONTENTS:

ZIMBABWE: Ruling party holds key constituency
ANGOLA: Refugees in Congo to be repatriated
NAMIBIA: Human rights deteriorate
SOUTH AFRICA: WHO to evaluate tuberculosis drug management
ZAMBIA: Elections delayed


ZIMBABWE: Ruling party holds key constituency

The ruling party of Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe won a crucial
weekend by-election in the northeastern rural constituency of Bindura, AFP
reported on Monday, quoting state television. Sunday's election to replace
Border Gezi, a late close aide to President Mugabe and former minister,
was seen as a test of the political mood in the southern African country.

Elliot Manyika of the ruling ZANU-PF won the election with 15,864 ballots,
beating Elliot Pfebve of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC), who garnered 9,456 votes. Officials said about 61 percent of
registered voters cast ballots.

The Bindura by-election campaign was marred by widespread violence.

State gives war vets over US $18 million

Mugabe's cash-strapped government has awarded almost US $18 million in
unbudgeted funds to war veterans following a 25 percent increase in their
tax-free monthly gratuities, 'The Standard' reported on Monday. The
announcement of the increases, backdated to January, was tucked away in a
statutory notice on pension reviews published in the Government Gazette
two weeks ago, the newspaper said. It added that Public Service, Labour
and Social Welfare Minister July Moyo had authorised the increases,
together with Finance and Economic Development Minister Simba Makoni.
According to the report, Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans
Association (ZNLWVA) secretary-general Andy Mhlanga confirmed the
increase. "I can confirm that the increments were implemented last week.
We had been pushing for that review since the beginning of the year and we
are glad that it was finally accepted," he was quoted as saying. "The
comrades are happy with this move and we shall rally behind President
Mugabe and the party for it is the one which is looking after our
welfare."

Doctors strike continues

More than 40 people have died in Zimbabwean state hospitals because of the
on-going doctors strike, reports said on Thursday. Health officials were
quoted saying that although they could not confirm figures they had
received reports of deaths related to the strike at three state hospitals.
Officials said the deaths were due to alleged neglect by striking doctors
and nurses. Doctors and nurses are demanding more pay and better
allowances. The 'Herald' said on Wednesday that army doctors had been
called to help at some of the state hospitals. Health Minister Timothy
Stamps was quoted saying that although he had not yet received figures, 26
reported deaths were not abnormal. "If you consider that we have more than
2,000 people dying every day of HIV/AIDS then those figures are not
abnormal," he said. Meanwhile, the independent 'Daily News' said on
Thursday that the Harare Central Hospital was releasing bodies for burial
without conducting autopsies.

CFU boss warns of food crisis

Tim Henwood, outgoing president of the Commercial Farmers' Union (CFU),
has attributed the country's recent, drastic drop in food production
primarily to the invasion of commercial farms by war veterans and ZANU-PF
supporters. The invasions and the subsequent decline in production has
left Zimbabwe facing an impending food crisis. The government has already
announced it needs to import more than 600,000 mt of maize despite earlier
denials of an impending food shortage. Speaking at the CFU's 58th annual
congress, Henwood said: "Farming in Zimbabwe will never be the same again,
and farmers have to adapt to change, but I have every confidence they
will, for we have all adapted in the past and will take the changes in our
stride. The present chaos cannot last indefinitely, and it will end for
it's simply not sustainable," Henwood was quoted saying.

US Senate approves bill in support of Zimbabwean democracy

The US Senate has passed a bill directing President George W. Bush's
administration to support the people of Zimbabwe in their struggle to
bring about democratic change and restore rule of law in the country, AP
reported on Friday. The "Zimbabwe Democracy and Recovery Act" would double
funding for democracy programs in the southern African nation and urges US
support of observers to the upcoming parliamentary and 2002 presidential
elections. The bill, which passed late on Wednesday, also asks the
president to consult with other nations on ways to implement visa
restrictions and other targeted sanctions against those responsible for
political violence in Zimbabwe. Once the president and Congress certify
that democracy and the rule of law have been restored, the bill would
support programmes to strengthen democracy and promote economic recovery,
according to a statement released Thursday by the bill's sponsor,
Tennessee Republican Bill Frist.

ANGOLA: Refugees in Congo to be repatriated

More than 800 Angolan refugees in the Republic of Congo (ROC) are to be
sent to the enclave of Cabinda in northern Angola, Kris Janowski UNHCR
spokesman said at a press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva on
Tuesday. Cabinda is an oil-rich piece of Angolan territory separated from
the rest of the country by a strip of Congolese territory. Janowski said
that UNHCR saw the enclave as "the only safe place in Angola". "Returnees
will make the 120 km trip by truck from Pointe-Noire to Cacongo, 46 km
north of Cabinda City, where Angola's ministry of social integration has
allocated a site for a transit centre. The 182 families will stay a
maximum of five nights before being collected by relatives or transported
back to their home areas in and around Cacongo and Cabinda city," Janowski
said.

Church groups reassert need for peace

About 15 church and civic bodies meeting in Luanda emphasised on Tuesday
that ending Angola's civil war required not only the laying down of arms,
but an assurance of social justice as well, Lusa reported. The three-day
meeting, sponsored by the Inter-Ecclesial Committee for Peace in Angola
(COIEPA) - which comprises of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Angola
and Sao Tome, the Angolan Evangelical Alliance and the Council of Angolan
Christian Churches - was aimed at setting up a "network for peace", the
report said. Participants pledged to commit themselves to seeking a
"longlasting peace, via true social reconciliation" and said "it is up to
the people of Angola to define their path to peace", according to the
report. They also welcomed as positive the efforts by the international
community to include Angolan civil society in the peace process, but
warned that "the international community should place no obstacles, under
any pretext or form, to dialogue among Angolans to achieve definitive
peace", the report said.

Agencies concerned about displaced in Uige

Meanwhile, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs (OCHA) in Angola said on 25 July that aid agencies were concerned
about the condition of about 40,000 people displaced by ongoing war in the
Buengas district of Uige province. Relief agencies have no access to the
displaced population because of military instability in the area. World
Food Programme (WFP) spokesperson Christina Muller told IRIN on Wednesday
the lack of access to people in need was a serious concern for the food
agency. "We have not been able to guarantee safety for our staff to go to
certain areas where we realise there is a need for humanitarian aid.
Military instability is dramatic in most of the country. There is news on
a daily basis of villages which are attacked. These emergencies tend to be
on the rise," she said.


US plane vanishes in Angola

A private US surveillance airplane has been missing in Angola since 16
July, according to a report by Voice of America (VOA) on Friday. A
spokesperson for the Florida-based firm Airscan was quoted by VOA as
saying that one of its twin-engine Cessna 337s went missing on a
night-time surveillance mission near Soyo, in the northwest. The two crew
members are US-trained Angolan contract employees. Airscan has been
providing security for the oil industry in Angola since 1993. It has
provided similar services worldwide, including for the US military in the
Balkans. On Saturday, the state news agency ANGOP quoted a communique from
the Angolan army denying reports in the independent media that the plane
had been shot down. The document said that the military in Soyo had been
informed by Airscan on the same day that the aircraft went missing and
they made available two helicopters. The reportedly started a search and
rescue mission, but were withdrawn after four days after finding no sign
of the missing plane.

WFP highlights IDPs in Moxito

Meanwhile, the United Nations' World Food Programme (WFP) said in its
latest emergency report said that an attack on the Samba Caju municipality
in Kuanza Norte on 20 July had led to a number of internally displaced
persons (IDPs) fleeing to Lucala. It also said that attacks and
kidnappings in the Lutume area of Moxico province had provoked a new
influx of IDPs to Luena, where aid agencies are providing as much
assistance as possible.

NAMIBIA: Human rights deteriorate

The general human rights situation in Namibia deteriorated over the past
year, showing only slight improvements in certain regions, the Namibian
Society for Human Rights (NSHR) said in its annual report on Tuesday.

The NSHR said that infractions of civil and political rights had reached
"unprecedented" high levels since its last report in August last year.
"Widespread and systematic acts or statements manifesting or inciting
racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance were
monitored throughout the period," the report noted.

It added that in the "volatile" northern parts of the country, the human
rights situation had remained "precarious". "Serious active human rights
abuses were widespread, such as arbitrary arrests and detention, summary
executions, torture and enforced disappearance," the NSHR said. "The final
blame of all of these violations should be laid squarely at the feet of
President (Sam) Nujoma because it was he, and he alone, who made the
decision to invite Angolan armed forces to operate within Namibia."

SOUTH AFRICA: WHO to evaluate tuberculosis drug management

WHO representatives are expected in South Africa next month to evaluate
whether the country qualifies for discounted drugs that combat
drug-resistant tuberculosis. The WHO committee will assess whether South
Africa is correctly managing its current supply of multi-drug-resistant
tuberculosis drugs. "The concern is not only the drugs, it is also
ensuring these drugs are not misused," Refiloe Matji, head of South
Africa's TB control programme said. "We can't afford to have people who
have also developed a resistance to the second-line drugs," he added. WHO,
Medecins Sans Frontieres and Harvard University Medical School have led
efforts to increase access to high-quality, second-line drugs meant to
fight mutated, drug-resistant strains of the bacteria that causes TB.
Drug-resistant strains of TB developed because patients prematurely
stopped treatment. The success rate for TB treatment is almost 100 percent
if patients continue with the full six-month course, but
multidrug-resistant TB has a lower survival rate.

Nyanda hesitates to send troops to Burundi

South African National Defence Force (SANDF) chief Siphiwe Nyanda says he
will advise the government against sending troops to take part in a
proposed African peacekeeping mission in Burundi before all sides in the
conflict have agreed to such a force coming in, the 'Cape Argus' said on
Tuesday. Nyanda said he had not been informed directly of any proposal to
send such an African peacekeeping force to Burundi, although he had read
about it in the press and knew of the defence ministers' meeting in South
Africa. He said that if it was ordered to take part in such a mission, the
SANDF would naturally obey. "When this sort of thing was suggested before,
we advised against getting into any situation where there was no prior
agreement among the warring parties," Nyanda said. He said the SANDF did
not feel it had the peacekeeping experience to go into a conflict where
there was no agreement and to try to enforce peace.

COSATU calls for national strike against privatisation

South Africa's largest trade union, the Congress of South African Trade
Unions (COSATU), announced on Thursday a two-day national strike in
protest against the government's plan to privatise state-owned assets,
news reports said. "We will hold a national stayaway on 29 and 30 August,"
COSATU general-secretary Zwelinzima Vavi told a news conference. He said
the 1.8 million-strong union would meet other organisations to plan a more
detailed campaign to stop the government's sell off of stakes in the
state's telecommunications, airline, rail, power and arms companies.

ZAMBIA: Elections delayed

Zambia's presidential and parliamentary polls, which were expected for
October, will be delayed by at least one month because the voters register
will not be ready on time, an election official said on Thursday. "The
general elections will not be held this October because the voters
register will only be ready on October 4 or thereabout," Electoral
Commission of Zambia (ECZ) chairman Judge Bobby Bwalya said. "When we are
ready with the register, that's when we shall inform the president to
announce the date for the general elections," he said. The presidential
and parliamentary elections will now take place in November or December
this year, Bwalya said on a radio discussion programme focussing on the
polls. "You cannot set the date for the election when the voters register
is not ready. Doing so will be a futile exercise," Bwalya said.

More than two million register for polls

Over 2.5 million eligible voters registered in Zambia's nationwide
registration exercise that ended on Tuesday, the 'Daily Mail' newspaper
reported on Wednesday. Electoral Commission spokesperson Priscilla Issac
said the commission had recorded more than 2.5 million voters from most of
the registration centres around the country. She said this figure was
expected to rise once all the data from other centres had been collected.
Numbers from the Central Statistics Office showed that there were more
than three million eligible voters, according to the report. Zambia has a
population of about 10 million. Isaac said that about 60 days were needed
to compile a provisional register, and one more week would be needed for
inspection by various stakeholders, including the electorate, to verify
the details. Voter registration began on 25 June and was expected to end
on 20 July. However, the commission decided to extend the registration
period because of voter apathy in parts of the country.

Journalists suspended over defamation

Acting news editor Gershom Ndhlovu and sub editor Jonathan Bwalya, both
from the state-controlled 'Daily Mail', were suspended last week over a
story published in the 23 July edition of the newspaper, the Media
Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) said in a statement on Wednesday.
According to the statement, the story described Minister of Home Affairs
Peter Machungwa as "disgraced". Machungwa was one of three ministers
recently probed for corruption and abuse of power.

MISA said that according to information obtained by the Zambia Independent
Media Association (ZIMA), Ndhlovu had since been charged with "gross
incompetence" over the story. Bwalya faced a similar charge, it said.
Reacting to the suspensions, Press Association of Zambia (PAZA) President
Hicks Sikazwe said the journalists were victims of political intrigue. "We
are aware of some journalists lined up for persecution and we fear that
unless the issue at the 'Daily Mail' is handled objectively, innocent
people may end up as sacrificial lambs," MISA quoted Sikazwe saying.


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