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 130
05 - 11 July 2003


CONTENTS:

MOZAMBIQUE: AU summit focuses on fight against HIV/AIDS
ZIMBABWE: Lack of formal appeal threatens food security
SOUTHERN AFRICA: Seed availability a problem, says SADC report
MALAWI: Interview with senior Disaster Preparedness official, Lucius Chikuni
SWAZILAND: Data collection an effective weapon in anti-HIV/AIDS arsenal
ANGOLA: Separatists and govt urged to resolve Cabinda conflict
BOTSWANA: Vaccine trials open officially
MADAGASCAR: Political legitimacy secures readmission to AU
SOUTH AFRICA: Journalists call for anti-terror bill to be scrapped


MOZAMBIQUE: AU summit focuses on fight against HIV/AIDS

African leaders meeting in Mozambique this week for the second African
Union (AU) summit said the fight against HIV/AIDS, malaria and
tuberculosis (TB) was a priority for the continent, and a new regional
effort which would demand greater financial support from the international
community was needed.

"Only if AIDS is rapidly brought under control will social and economic
development be able to flourish," said Peter Piot, Executive Director of
the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). "This can become
a reality if African leaders make it their business to invest in both AIDS
prevention and care and treatment."



ZIMBABWE: Lack of formal appeal threatens food security

The World Food Programme (WFP) this week warned that it needed an official
appeal for food aid from Zimbabwe before donors would pledge their support
to the emergency operation in that country.

In the latest Zimbabwe Humanitarian Situation Report, the WFP said that
while it had "prepared the Zimbabwe component of its new EMOP (emergency
operation), based on a written request for continued humanitarian
assistance from the Ministry of Labour, Public Service and Social Welfare
in late May 2003, "WFP [still] awaits a formal appeal for specific amounts
of food aid", which "several major donors" had made clear was a
requirement "before committing resources to fund food aid in Zimbabwe".

An estimated 4.4 million people in rural areas and 1.1 million in urban
areas will require food assistance in 2003/04.


Tsvangirai denies reports of ZANU-PF - MDC talks

The main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), on
Wednesday denied there had been a resumption of talks between itself and
the government.

"Since the aborted talks between the MDC and [the ruling] ZANU-PF in April
2002, there has been absolutely no engagement between the two political
parties," MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai said in a statement.

Tsvangirai was responding to comments made by President Thabo Mbeki during
US President George W Bush's visit to South Africa.

"We have urged the [Zimbabwe] government and the opposition [MDC] to get
together ... they are indeed discussing all issues. That process is going
on," Mbeki said in Pretoria.


Lack of funds hampers urban feeding scheme

An international NGO on Tuesday said a shortage of funds was hampering the
delivery of assistance to Zimbabwe's urban poor.

Help Germany coordinator Hans Sittig told IRIN: "With the limited funds we
are just managing to provide help to those who fall under our programme.
But that is just scratching the surface. There are many other vulnerable
groups who are desperately in need of assistance."



SOUTHERN AFRICA: Seed availability a problem, says SADC report

The outlook for seed availability for the 2003/04 growing season is mixed,
warns the latest Southern African Development Community (SADC) Food
Security Network Ministerial Brief.

Zimbabwe, with about 5 million people said to require food aid, is still
the country most affected by food shortages and a deficit of 40,000 mt of
maize seed is anticipated.

The critical seed shortages were attributed to a combination of climatic
factors, human and animal diseases, and the land reform programme which
had resulted in role of the "formerly strong commercial sector in
certified seed production" not being sustained.

"Resettled farmers are yet to acquire experience in seed production. Some
of them lack essential resources for seed production. A further drawback
experienced this season concerns the security of seed crops. Most of the
crops are in deficit due to thefts of seed from fields reported by seed
growers and seed companies," the Seed Security Network noted.


UN report shows slower development

Southern African countries generally fared poorly in the rankings of the
United Nations Human Development Report 2003, IRIN reported on Wednesday.

The human development index is a composite measure of average achievement
in three basic dimensions of human development - a long and healthy life,
education and a decent standard of living.

South Africa, placed at 111 out of 175 countries, was followed by Namibia
(124), Botswana (125) and Swaziland (133), Comoros (134) and Lesotho (137)
in the "medium human development" category of the index.

Zimbabwe (ranked 145), Madagascar (149), Malawi (162), Zambia (163) and
Mozambique (a lowly 170) had all shown low levels of human development
over the past year.

Zimbabwe's position dropped from the medium human development category in
the 2002 Human Development Report, when it was at 128.



MALAWI: Interview with senior Disaster Preparedness
official Lucius Chikuni

Malawi, like its neighbour Zambia, has staged a remarkable recovery from
the widespread food shortages of the 2002/03 agricultural season.

>From a situation where nearly 3 million Malawians needed food aid to
survive at the height of the past year's crisis, aid agencies now estimate
that the need for food aid will peak at about 400,000 people in January
2004.

But experts have warned that the recovery is extremely fragile.

IRIN recently interviewed Lucius Chikuni, Secretary to the Minister of
State Responsible for Poverty and Disaster Management Affairs and
Commissioner for Disaster Preparedness Relief and Rehabilitation, in the
capital, Lilongwe.

More details:
Part 1
Part 2


SWAZILAND: Data collection an effective weapon in anti-HIV/AIDS arsenal

IRIN reported on Thursday that a new information gathering programme will
soon provide an essential database of medical and other humanitarian needs
in the agricultural heart of Swaziland, which would fill gaps in the
national records and bring much needed insight into how to best counter
the spread of HIV/AIDS.

"This is about stopping AIDS at its source and providing assistance to
HIV-positive people, but nothing can happen without information: Where are
the people in need, and what do they require?" Futhi Msibi, who helped set
up the Total Community Mobilisation initiative in Malkerns, 30 km
southeast of the capital, Mbabane, told IRIN.

Malkerns Valley is the pineapple growing district of the country and the
centre of the canning industry, which produces one of Swaziland's chief
exports.

HIV/AIDS is seriously affecting Swaziland's agricultural sector. Even more
than drought and an outmoded land use policy, national food security is
being compromised by a shortage of both commercial food producers and
subsistence farmers supporting families on communal land.


King's national dialogue a "good start"

King Mswati III hosted a groundbreaking workshop over the weekend, called
a "National Dialogue," which for the first time brought sub-Saharan
Africa's last absolute monarch in contact with the views, and sometimes
criticisms, of a wide spectrum of Swazi society, IRIN reported on Tuesday.

"There is no doubt that this has been a success. I've heard ideas that are
relevant and interesting, and I was pleased to join a number of tables to
share in the various views that were being expressed," Mswati told
delegates at the Royal Swazi Sun Hotel in Ezulwini.

"For the most part, these were elites in attendance - business leaders,
government officials, top lawyers - but for the first time, the king was
receiving advice from commoners, and not just his inner circle at the
palace," said one participant.


Youth demand democratic reform

On Monday, IRIN reported that Swaziland may be entering a new and violent
political phase with the proclamation at the weekend of a manifesto by the
Swaziland Youth Congress (SWAYOCO), promising an armed response to alleged
political repression by Mswati's government.

"We urge our members to take up arms against government," a SWAYOCO
pamphlet was quoted as saying by the Times of Swaziland on Sunday.

Sandile Phakathi, information secretary for SWAYOCO, warned in a statement
that "government does not possess a monopoly on violence. We will fight
fire with fire".

Last Friday a dormitory housing policemen and their families was
fire-bombed and extensively damaged in the capital, Mbabane. There were no
injuries reported.



ANGOLA: Separatists and govt urged to resolve Cabinda conflict

Human rights activists in Angola on Thursday called for an end to
hostilities between Cabindan separatists and the government.

At the close of a two-day conference that focused on the political
upheaval in the Cabinda enclave, rights groups said the United Nations
should "support all efforts to normalise the political and social
situation in Cabinda".



BOTSWANA: Vaccine trials open officially

The first trial of an experimental AIDS vaccine in Southern Africa began
this week in Botswana with the enrolment and injection of the first two
volunteers at the Princess Marina hospital in the capital, Gaborone.

"This study is a significant and hopeful step in Botswana's battle against
the scourge of AIDS," said Joy Phumaphi, Botswana's Health Minister. "The
volunteers of this trial exemplify the best of the traditional Botswana
values of altruism and selflessness. They are true heroes in this fight
for our country's future."



MADAGASCAR: Political legitimacy secures readmission to AU

After a year-long suspension, Madagascar on Thursday was readmitted to the
African Union (AU).

At the opening of the AU summit in Mozambique, South African President
Thabo Mbeki said: "They've agreed to lift the suspension of Madagascar.
Therefore I am very pleased to welcome [Madagascar President Marc]
Ravalomanana back [to the AU]."

The Indian Ocean island was banned from attending the first AU summit held
in July 2002 in Durban, South Africa, because of doubts over the
legitimacy of its president.



SOUTH AFRICA: Journalists call for anti-terror bill to be scrapped

There is mounting opposition to an anti-terrorism bill put forward by the
South African government, with several organisations claiming it is
unconstitutional and a threat to press freedom, IRIN reported on Thursday.

Raymond Louw, editor and publisher of the Southern Africa Report, told
IRIN that, if enacted, the bill would "have a chilling effect on all
journalists and editors, and make it very difficult for journalists to
carry out their functions professionally and adequately".

This week, the South African chapter of the Media Institute for Southern
Africa (MISA-SA) added its voice to calls by the South African National
Editors Forum (SANEF) and the Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI), for
the immediate withdrawal of the draft Anti-terrorism Bill.

MISA-SA labelled the bill a "danger to democratic media" and said it was
concerned that the intended law would "detrimentally affect working South
African journalists".


Focus on income-generating initiative

On Monday IRIN reported on an a CARE International programme that nurtures
small businesses and links people to larger markets.

The Thandokuhle market is in the town of Mbazwana, in KwaZulu-Natal, a
strategic spot on the north-eastern coast of the country near the Sodwana
Bay National Park and St. Lucia Marine Sanctuary, popular with both
tourists and scuba divers. The town is on the road to Mozambique and
Swaziland and is poised to experience tremendous growth, with a planned
extension of the road bringing increased traffic and opportunities. The
government has identified Mbazwana as a priority area for development, and
property speculators from as far away as England are buying up land in
anticipation of an economic boom.

But most of the residents know nothing about this - certainly not the
women selling beadwork and woven baskets in the market for as little as US
$1 an item. Unaware of the outside factors influencing their community,
they are not positioned to benefit from its growth. CARE's Local Economic
Analysis Project (LEAP) is trying to change that by helping them to
identify market demands, and supporting efforts to respond to market
opportunities.


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