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 151
11 - 17 October 2003


CONTENTS:

ZIMBABWE: Dialogue is key to resolving crisis
ZAMBIA: Economic reforms on track - govt
ANGOLA: Making safe sex cool
MALAWI: Sabre rattling ahead of election
MOZAMBIQUE: Election process is being questioned
SOUTH AFRICA: Concern over drought warnings
NAMIBIA: Number of people in need rises
SWAZILAND: Low turnout expected for parliamentary poll


ZIMBABWE: Dialogue is key to resolving crisis

The Commonwealth this week reiterated its call for Zimbabwe's ruling party
to negotiate with its political rivals, saying that "dialogue and national
reconciliation" were necessary before the country could be readmitted to
the 54-nation grouping, IRIN reported on Thursday.

Speaking to journalists at the end of a tour of east African countries on
Wednesday, Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon acknowledged that
several attempts by the organisation to engage the Zimbabwean government
on its controversial land reform programme and alleged rights abuses had
failed.

Zimbabwe was suspended from the Commonwealth's decision-making councils
after President Robert Mugabe was re-elected in polls widely condemned by
many Western countries as seriously flawed.
 
More details: 
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=37260

Manufacturing sector shrinks

IRIN reported on Thursday that Zimbabwe's manufacturing sector is in a
pattern of steady decline as a result of acute shortages of fuel,
electricity and local and foreign currency over the past three years.

A Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) report, "The State Of
Zimbabwe's Manufacturing Sector in 2002" noted that the sector continued
to record falling turnovers.

"The Zimbabwean economy is currently in its fifth year of recession, with
no signs of recovery. The causes of the crisis are complex, as they have
economic, political and social dimensions. Unemployment is currently
estimated at a historic high of over 70 percent, while year-on-year
inflation for the month of June rose to 364.5 percent. These problems have
negatively affected the operations of the manufacturing sector," the
report said.

More details: 
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=37262

Feature on corruption fears

Meanwhile, in a further blow to business confidence, Zimbabwe was recently
ranked among the world's most corrupt countries by the anti-corruption
watchdog, Transparency International (TI).

IRIN reported on Wednesday that TI's Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI)
for 2003 ranked Zimbabwe at 106 out of 133 countries sampled. In Southern
Africa it stood as second-worst after Angola. The TI index is determined
by the perceptions of business people who are directly doing business with
the sampled countries or are potential investors.

Commenting on the latest index, the local chapter of the international
body, Transparency International Zimbabwe (TI-Z), said the perceptions of
graft were the result of a number of factors.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=37232

Commonwealth united in concern - McKinnon

On Tuesday IRIN reported that Commonwealth secretary-general McKinnon,
denied that there was a rift within the 54-country body over how to deal
with the Zimbabwe crisis.

Speaking at a press conference held in the Ugandan capital Kampala on
Monday, McKinnon said that the standard story about "the Commonwealth
countries in the West taking a tough stance on [President Robert] Mugabe",
while the African members treat him with kid gloves, was "inaccurate".

"Zimbabwe is not, as it is commonly perceived, an issue dividing Africa
from the rest of the Commonwealth," Mckinnon said. "There's not a single
African leader I spoke to that isn't deeply unhappy about Zimbabwe. No one
wants this crisis to just carry on for ever. All African leaders want to
see reconciliation in Zimbabwe."

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=37196

Farmers present framework for agricultural recovery

Zimbabwe's major farmer unions called on the government and business
sector to establish an agricultural export retention scheme to act as a
reserve of foreign currency to procure inputs at the beginning of each
farming season, IRIN reported on Monday.

The recommendation was one of seven major policy initiatives presented to
the parliamentary portfolio committee on Lands, Agriculture, Water
Development, Rural Resources and Resettlement last week by the Zimbabwe
Farmers Union (ZFU) and the Commercial Farmers Union (CFU).

Observers have forecast another poor 2003-04 farming season due to the
acute shortage of inputs, including seeds, fertiliser and farming
implements.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=37188

Plight of displaced farm workers highlighted

Ex-farm workers make up the bulk of Zimbabwe's estimated 100,000 displaced
persons and are in need of assistance, the NGO, Refugees International
(RI) warned this week.

The organisation added that while former commercial farm workers had been
displaced by the government's land reform programme, some of the
beneficiaries of the programme have also found themselves homeless.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=37287


ZAMBIA: Economic reforms on track - govt

Zambian officials were optimistic on Thursday that recent efforts to trim
government spending would curry favour with donors and place the country
in line for substantial debt relief in 2004.

Earlier this year the International Monetary Fund (IMF) suspended a US
$100 million poverty-reduction credit after an unexplained $125 million
budget deficit. The World Bank and the European Union also called for
increased fiscal discipline and withheld budgetary support to Zambia.

In an effort to gain IMF approval for its Poverty Reduction and Growth
Facility (PRGF), and regain donor confidence, the government proposed an
interim staff monitoring system (SMP). The new programme does not vary
significantly from the PRGF, except that the Fund now measures and
assesses economic performance each month.

"We are on the right track. By December we should have reached all of the
benchmarks and parameters we have set for ourselves. This will hopefully
signal to the IMF that we are serious about budget control. So far there
has been two assessments and the feedback has been promising," director of
planning and economic management in the finance ministry, James
Mulungushi, told IRIN.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=37263

Controversy over national indaba

IRIN reported on Thursday that a cloud of doubt hung over the outcome of a
national meeting, scheduled for Friday, which Zambian President Levy
Mwanawasa hopes will calm the country's political tensions.

Opposition political parties, civil society groups and churches have said
they would boycott what is being referred to as the "big indaba", and have
called on Mwanawasa to postpone the meeting to a later date, after a more
consultative preparatory meeting.

Every conceivable association and organisation has been invited to the
three-day affair, which covers an agenda so diverse as to attract the
participation of groups ranging from polo clubs to karate and youth
associations.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=37268

Back to school for free food

A free daily meal has been enough incentive to attract a steady increase
of primary school children back into class in Zambia's Southern province,
IRIN reported on Tuesday.

The pilot school-feeding programme, launched in July, now reaches 50
schools in five districts, providing a fortified micronutrient-rich
porridge for 19,000 young children in the country's most drought-affected
areas.

"There has been a minimum increase in school enrolment of 20 percent...
There is a lot more involvement of parents and the community [in the
activities of the schools] and the children are more attentive in class,"
World Food Programme (WFP) officer, Sibi Lawson, told IRIN.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=37202


ANGOLA: Making safe sex cool

A trendy new youth centre is aiming to grab the imagination of Angolan
teenagers, and help them steer clear of HIV infection, IRIN reported on
Thursday.

Educating the young about the risks of unprotected sex is vital in any
HIV/AIDS prevention programme, but the Jango centre in Viana, 15 km from
the capital, Luanda, goes a step further by providing the children with a
much-needed place to meet friends, let off steam and chill out.

Funded by the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), run by a local children's
organisation, Cuidados da Infancia, and supported by the NGO, Population
Services International, Jango hammers home its safe-sex message, but in a
fun way, designed to get teenagers back into a positive cycle of
socialising and learning.

"We can talk to youth about high-risk sex, but we also need to give youth
the opportunity and the tools to choose a better life for themselves,"
said Melanie Luick, UNICEF's HIV/AIDS Project Officer.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=37265

Donors call for greater transparency

While recognising the progress Angola has made since the end of the civil
war last year, the European Union (EU) has called for an improvement in
transparency in public sector expenditure, IRIN reported on Wednesday.

EU foreign ministers, meeting in Belgium this week, welcomed the
"substantial political changes in Angola in 2002" but also encouraged the
government "to implement transparent management of public resources ...
for the benefit of all Angolans". Greater economic transparency would lay
the foundation for sustainable economic and social development, the EU
said in a statement.

Given the devastating effects of almost three decades of civil war that
destroyed much of the country's basic infrastructure, the government is
now faced with the monumental challenge of rebuilding the country - a task
requiring significant international aid.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=37229

Air operations in danger due to lack of funds

On Wednesday, IRIN reported that humanitarian activities in Angola will be
"seriously hampered" unless the World Food Programme (WFP) receives
immediate donations of US $2.5 million.

"The funds are urgently needed to finance two special air operations which
benefit more than 200 humanitarian agencies working in Angola. Without the
necessary response, WFP may have to reduce or suspend its passenger air
transport service as early as November," WFP said in a statement.

The agency has been transporting aid workers to remote areas of Angola, as
well as delivering critical non-food cargo, for some years.

Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) France head of mission in Angola, Marilyn
Mulemba, stressed the importance of the WFP special air operation to
humanitarian actors within Angola.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=37231


Web Special on Cabinda

On Tuesday, an IRIN web special focussed on the on-going struggle in the
Angolan enclave of Cabinda.

Successive attempts over the past 27 years to end a secessionist conflict
in Angola's Cabinda enclave are yet to bear fruit. However, a recent visit
to the Angolan capital, Luanda, by the founder of the main rebel group has
been seen as evidence that peace may finally reach the troubled province.

Although details surrounding the meeting of Ranque Franque, leader of the
Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda (FLEC), with Angolan
authorities in July remained vague, some observers saw it as the latest
attempt by the government to move towards a negotiated settlement with
separatists, who have battled the central government and each other since
Angola achieved independence in 1975.

The webspecial examined the economic and social impact of the protracted
struggle on the people of Cabinda, arguments for secession, and attempts
to anticipate the possible obstacles peace negotiators and humanitarian
actors will face in the future.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=37207

Refugees being harassed - UNHCR

The office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in
Angola has appealed to the authorities to guarantee the safety of refugees
and humanitarian workers after reports of ongoing harassment of Congolese
refugees at a camp near the capital, Luanda.

UNHCR spokeswoman Delphine Marie on Monday confirmed that the 300 refugees
at Sungui camp in Bengo province, 72 km north of Luanda, had allegedly
been harassed over the last three months.

She told IRIN the latest incident happened on Sunday. "There has been at
least three incidents that we are aware of. The latest happened on Sunday
evening when a group of armed men entered the camp. They fired shots in
the air and then stole some equipment from a container belonging to
INTERSOS, (UNHCR's implementing partner at the camp)."

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=37190


MALAWI: Sabre rattling ahead of election

The stage is set for a hotly contested presidential election next year,
and Malawi's senior clerics have signalled their intention to closely
monitor the conduct of the presidential and legislative polls in May 2004,
IRIN reported on Thursday.

The African Church Information Service (ACIS) quoted Monsignor Boniface
Tamani of the Roman Catholic Church as saying "we will have to carry out
investigations to establish if there are ... questionable elements in the
[Electoral] Commission, for the sake of free and fair elections next
year".

Rafiq Hajat, of the Blantyre-based Institute for Policy Interaction (IPI),
told IRIN on Thursday there was "a lot of sabre rattling going on", which
was "basically meant to ensure that next year's elections are free and
fair".

He added that, following the controversy around the aborted attempt to
secure a third term for President Bakili Muluzi, "everybody is looking
forward to these elections".

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=37255


MOZAMBIQUE: Election process is being questioned
 
IRIN reported on Tuesday that the run-up to Mozambique's municipal
elections, scheduled for 19 November, has been plagued by problems
relating to the registration of candidates and the establishment of a
statutory body to supervise the conduct of the polls.

The official news agency, Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique (AIM),
quoted the chairman of the Legal Affairs Commission of parliament, Aly
Dauto, as saying that a Constitutional Council - the statutory body meant
to supervise elections - had still not been established.

While the National Election Commission (CNE) told journalists at a
briefing on Friday that of the 94 mayoral candidates, only 33 from Frelimo
had presented nomination papers free of any irregularities.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=37205


SOUTH AFRICA: Concern over drought warnings

South Africa may be heading for a prolonged drought, which researchers
warn could be among the most severe in decades, IRIN reported on Monday.

The country "is currently experiencing drought conditions over most of the
summer rainfall regions", the South African Council for Scientific and
Industrial Research (CSIR) said.

"The drought in Limpopo [province] is worsening, with many dams nearly
half full and water levels in some having fallen to as low as two percent.
Large numbers of animals are also dying and farmers are forced to sell
their livestock," the CSIR warned.

The main provinces affected by the drought are the northern Limpopo
province, the eastern coastal province of KwaZulu-Natal and the central
Mpumalanga province. The central Free State province and North West
Province "will also be seriously affected if no rain falls within the next
few weeks", the CSIR warned.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=37187


NAMIBIA: Number of people in need rises

The number of people in need of relief assistance in Namibia has risen to
642,000, the country's Emergency Management Unit (EMU) told IRIN on
Monday.

EMU deputy director Gabriel Kangowa said recent vulnerability assessments
conducted by his teams had discovered that the number of people in need
had risen to well over the estimated 400,000 projected in August.

Flash floods in the Caprivi region had also contributed to people's
vulnerability.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=37189


SWAZILAND: Low turnout expected for parliamentary poll

Despite a boycott call by the Swaziland Democratic Alliance to protest
what it says will be a meaningless parliamentary election on Saturday,
public apathy is likely to play a bigger role in the expected low voter
turnout.

"Why should I vote for an MP? They don't do anything for anyone but
themselves. If someone from my family were running, I'd vote," said Sesi
Khumalo, a resident of the commercial city of Manzini.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=37291

Feature on exposing child abuse

An IRIN feature on Friday reported on a groundbreaking study by the Swazi
Ministry of Education on the effect of child abuse, which suggests that up
to 38 percent of children might be abuse survivors.

"Sexual abuse of students by teachers is a dirty little secret no longer,"
Alicia Tsabedze, a teacher in the central Manzini province, who conducted
interviews for the project, told IRIN.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=37294


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

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