U N I T E D   N A T I O N S
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SOUTHERN AFRICA
IRIN-SA Weekly Round-up 57
02 - 08 February 2002


CONTENTS:

ZIMBABWE Political tension rises amid food crisis
ZAMBIA: Food crisis persists, despite government action
ANGOLA: Conflict used to mask theft - Global Witness
SWAZILAND: Democracy versus monarchy
BOTSWANA: Rights groups protest against relocation of Khoisan
LESOTHO: SADC delegation in Maseru for talks on election
SOUTH AFRICA-ZIMBABWE: No refugee influx ahead of elections

ZIMBABWE Political tension rises amid food crisis

The week in Zimbabwe was marked by the arrival of international election
observers, an escalation in politically motivated violence and a warning
that the country faced a serious maize shortage.

Commercial maize producers told IRIN on Thursday that their preliminary
production figures looked gloomy. Already it has becoming increasingly
difficult for ordinary Zimbabweans to afford everyday items. IRIN focused
on the daily struggle to make ends meet.

More details:
www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=20493&SelectRegion=Southern_Africa&SelectCountry=ZIMBABWE

Zimbabwe faces a critical shortage of maize with preliminary production
figures looking gloomy, the Grain Producers Association (ZGPA) told IRIN
on Thursday 7 February. Vanessa McKay, administrator for the ZGPA said it
was clear that the expected yield this harvest would be insufficient to
feed the country in the next few months.

Meanwhile, World Food Programme (WFP) has begun importing into Zimbabwe
basic items, such as maize meal and cooking oil, they as yet have
insufficient stock in their warehouses to cover the expected shortage.

More details:
www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=20454&SelectRegion=Southern_Africa&SelectCountry=ZIMBABWE

Zimbabwe's political violence claimed 16 lives in January, the highest
figure recorded so far, according to a report by a human rights umbrella
group. The rights group identified only two of the fatalities as being
supporters of the ruling ZANU-PF. It alleged that "carefully orchestrated
violence" was part of a "modus operandi to crush opposition party support"
ahead of the 9-10 March presidential election.

More details:
www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=20446&SelectRegion=Southern_Africa&SelectCountry=ZIMBABWE

Meanwhile, the process of accrediting observers for Zimbabwe's hotly
contested presidential election has not been without stumbling blocks,
local non-governmental organisations told IRIN on Wednesday 6 February.
Getting foreign and local observers accredited and speedily deployed is
seen as key to ensuring a free and fair election. An election in which
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe faces the toughest challenge to his two
decade rule in Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC).

More details:
www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=20432&SelectRegion=Southern_Africa&SelectCountry=ZIMBABWE

ZAMBIA: Food crisis persists, despite government action

In Zambia this week, analysts told IRIN that a concerted government
campaign to end Zambia's severe food crisis through grain imports appeared
to have met with little success and had left government planners in a
quandary.

They said the government's maize import programme had failed to end a
widespread shortage of maize meal, the country's staple cereal, or to push
meal prices down. The shortage has in recent weeks manifested itself in
spiralling prices and endless queues at retail outlets in the urban areas,
and in increasing cross border movements by hungry villagers into
neighbouring Malawi and Mozambique in search of casual work for food.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=20440&SelectRegion=Southern_Africa&SelectCountry=ZAMBIA

Zambia's economic woes continued with World Bank officials saying that the
Bank had not yet settled on a means of supporting Zambia's ailing, but
crucial, Konkola Copper Mines (KCM). World Bank Representative in Zambia,
Laurence Clarke said: "We have not made a clear decision yet on funding or
support (for) keeping the mine open." Various scenarios, including the
sale of assets and outright closure of the mines, are to be weighed.

Should KCM close it would be a significant setback for the Zambian
economy. The mines are a large foreign currency earner and employ more
than 11,000 people.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=20406&SelectRegion=Southern_Africa&SelectCountry=ZAMBIA

Election observers question poll result

Meanwhile, on the political front, the European Union (EU) and the Carter
Centre this week expressed grave doubts about the authenticity of the
official results of Zambia's general elections held in December, and
called for a speedy judicial review of the results to ease lingering
political tensions.

The two organisations had earlier expressed concern at pre-voting
manipulation of the process, and widespread chaos on polling day which saw
thousands of people disenfranchised. They said in separate statements that
further investigations had revealed that the election results did not
reflect the will of the electorate.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=20380&SelectRegion=Southern_Africa&SelectCountry=ZAMBIA

ANGOLA: Conflict used to mask theft - Global Witness

Global Witness has called for tough measures against companies implicated
in using conflict for gain and exploit natural resources. In a press
statement on Friday 8 February, Global Witness said a call by British
Prime Minister Tony Blair for a clampdown on companies that fuel wars
across Africa must be followed with genuine regulatory action.

"The lack of transparency in resource extraction industries across Africa
sees the corporate sector providing major funds to unaccountable military
and political elites who then use conflict to cover corruption and
embezzlement in countries such as Angola (oil and diamonds), Democratic
Republic of Congo (timber and diamonds), Sierra Leone (diamonds, Liberian
timber) and the Sudan (oil)," the statement said.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=20496&SelectRegion=Southern_Africa&SelectCountry=ANGOLA

IRIN Interview with Abel Chivukuvuku

The conflict in Angola allows few political figures to maintain their
independence. However, Abel Chivukuvuku, a former political adviser to
rebel UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi, insists that he is one such individual.
A Luanda-based UNITA member of parliament, he has avoided the
government-created UNITA-Renovada faction, while at the same time
maintaining some political distance from Savimbi.

In an interview with IRIN, Chivukuvuku calls for the United Nations and
Angolan government to create the conditions to promote peace talks, and
suggests a time table for a peace process that could start within two
months. He believes that Savimbi must initially be "helped" to overcome
his mistrust, and could later consider retiring from active politics.
However, central to a solution to Angola's 27 years of civil war, must be
the realisation that there cannot be a military solution to the country's
troubles, and he rejects the government's "two-track approach" of offering
dialogue while maintaining military pressure on UNITA.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=20435&SelectRegion=Southern_Africa&SelectCountry=ANGOLA

SWAZILAND: Democracy versus monarchy

In Swaziland this week, IRIN looked at the debate between those in the
mountain kingdom who are calling for democratic reforms and the
traditional monarchists.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=20481&SelectRegion=Southern_Africa&SelectCountry=SWAZILAND

BOTSWANA: Rights groups protest against relocation of Khoisan

In Botswana human rights activists protested against the termination of
basic services to the remaining Basarwa (Khoisan) in the Central Kalahari
Game Reserve (CKGR), to force them into a relocation camp hundreds of
kilometres away.

The Botswana government said last week that it would cut off water and
other basic social services from 31 January, saying that it was too
expensive to continue providing them for the remaining 600-700 Basarwa.
"The termination of services by the government effectively forces people
out of the reserve, as they will have no access to basic resources," the
Botswana Centre for Human Rights, Ditshwanelo, said in a press release.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=20350&SelectRegion=Southern_Africa&SelectCountry=BOTSWANA

LESOTHO: SADC delegation in Maseru for talks on election

A ministerial delegation from the Southern African Development Community
(SADC) visited Maseru on Monday 4 February to hold talks with Lesotho
officials on the country's next general election.

A statement issued by the South African Department of Foreign Affairs on
Monday said that the meeting would "determine the progress made towards
the election scheduled to take place in April/May 2002, and will offer
encouragement and support to ensure the successful outcome of these
elections".

Diplomatic sources in Maseru told IRIN that it was "generally" expected
that the current sitting of parliament would be dissolved later this
month. "In terms of the election regulations, parliament has to be
dissolved at least 90 days before the election date, and if we are looking
at a date in May then parliament has to be dissolved this month," the
diplomat said. "Most people in Lesotho are hoping that an exact date is to
be announced when parliament dissolves."

SOUTH AFRICA-ZIMBABWE: No refugee influx ahead of elections

According to South African immigration and customs officials, there has
been no exodus of Zimbabwean refugees fleeing the political violence and
farm seizures in the run-up to Zimbabwe's March presidential election.
Since 2001, only two people have applied for asylum in South Africa, both
were farm managers.

"At this stage there is definitely not an increase according to my
statistics," an immigration official told IRIN. His customs counterpart,
who would be aware of a surge of people packing up their belongings and
heading south, agreed. Although he had recently received telephone
enquiries from white farmers asking about regulations, "most people are
staying put, or coming on extended holidays to check things out", the
customs officer said.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=20348&SelectRegion=Southern_Africa&SelectCountry=SOUTH_AFRICA-ZIMBABWE

However, senior South African army officials told IRIN that a criminal
racket on both sides of the border was helping illegal Zimbabwean
immigrants cross into South Africa. The criminals, known as "Guma-Guma",
act as guides to those slipping across the border and into South Africa's
Northern Province. They charge around R50 (US $4) per person, and failure
to pay can lead to a beating. They can also provide illegal papers for a
price.

South African army patrols net an average of 100 to 200 illegal immigrants
a day. In January, 2,600 people were arrested and handed over to the
police - a figure lower than last year - the officer said. He noted that
increased activity by the Zimbabwean police was likely to have had an
impact on the numbers crossing. The border jumpers are eventually deported
back to Zimbabwe.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=20357&SelectRegion=Southern_Africa&SelectCountry=SOUTH_AFRICA-ZIMBABWE


IRIN-SA
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Email: IRIN-SA@irin.org.za

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Copyright (c) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2002


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