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SOUTHERN AFRICA
IRIN-SA Weekly Round-up 142
9 - 15 August 2003


CONTENTS:

SWAZILAND: Soul-searching after police attack protestors
ZAMBIA: Impeachment motion defeated
NAMIBIA: More people in need as drought worsens
SOUTH AFRICA: Mbeki agrees to send troops to Liberia
ZIMBABWE: Scarce, expensive agri-inputs threaten food security
COMOROS: Inching towards resolution
ANGOLA: Bridge building project aims to increase access
BOTSWANA: Expanding ARV therapy
MALAWI: Promoting local democracy
MOZAMBIQUE: Prison conditions improve, but not fast enough

SWAZILAND: Soul-searching after police attack protestors

Shocked Swazis began soul-searching on Thursday, a day after police
violently suppressed labour-led protests against the rule of King Mswati
III.

The security forces fired tear gas and used batons to break up
demonstrations by activists demanding political reforms, timed to coincide
with the Global Smart Partnership International Dialogue Summit, a
three-day Commonwealth conference on sustainable development.

"I was selling my newspapers, as I have done for 15 years, at the bus
station. The police were chasing people. They beat me. They could see my
newspapers, but they beat me. I lost all my sales money, and my purse with
all my money. I am bruised, and my head is dizzy," vendor Ncamsile Mncina
told IRIN.

More details: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=35994

King unmoved after three days of protest

King Mswati III asserted on Friday that the rule of law was observed in
Swaziland, despite a police decision to defy a court order permitting
protesting workers to deliver a petition to delegates at a Commonwealth
heads of state summit.

More details: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=36015

Royal rule questioned as draft constitution discussed

Even Swaziland's national anthem, which celebrates royal rule, has come in
for criticism by people calling for political reform in unprecedented,
candid submissions before a Constitutional Drafting Committee (CDC).

Some of their views sharply oppose the strengthening of the nation's
absolute monarchy, as envisioned in a constitution written by King
Mswati's brothers.

"Ordinary people are standing up to the princes and saying they want to be
considered in national affairs. This is revolutionary, and even the older
folks are showing disgruntlement," Sipho Maphalala, a student at the
University of Swaziland, told IRIN.

More details: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=35917


ZAMBIA: Impeachment motion defeated

A motion to impeach Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa on charges of graft,
nepotism and violating the constitution, was tossed out of parliament on
Wednesday.

Despite a spirited fight by the opposition, the motion's defeat was
inevitable, failing by 92 votes to 57, and effectively bringing to an end
attempts to use parliamentary procedure to unseat Mwanawasa.

More details: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=35995

Impeachment motion tabled in parliament

In an unprecedented move, Zambia's opposition parties on Tuesday
successfully tabled a motion in parliament to impeach President Levy
Mwanawasa, accusing him of "gross violation of the constitution,
corruption, nepotism" and "blatant disregard" of laid-down government
procedure in awarding tenders.

The opposition legislators, calling themselves the Inter-parliamentary
Caucus on the Defence of the Constitution and Good Governance (ICDCGG),
presented the Speaker of the House with a six-page motion containing 25
allegations against Mwanawasa.

More details: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=35948

Public workers' strike begins

Zambia's public sector workers on Monday launched a three-day nationwide
strike to force the government to honour a wage increase agreement.

The unions ignored an appeal by President Levy Mwanawasa on Sunday, who
feared strike action would damage the economy and cripple the government.
"I am making a passionate appeal for you not to strike so that we can find
other ways of resolving this matter," Mwanawasa said.

Secretary-General of the Civil Servants Union of Zambia, Darrison Chaala,
told IRIN that the unions were prepared for a series of strikes until the
government bowed to their demands.

More details: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=35910


NAMIBIA: More people in need as drought worsens

Some 400,000 people may be in need of general food aid distributions in
drought-hit Namibia, the country's Emergency Management Unit (EMU) told
IRIN on Thursday.

Gabriel Kangowa, deputy director of the EMU, said that "this year's
drought is more severe than last year's" and the number of people in need
of aid had risen.

Last year around 345,000 Namibians required food aid, which the government
was able to provide without making an appeal for international assistance.

More details: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=35987

Human rights get a mixed score card

Namibia's National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) on Tuesday gave the
government a mixed report card, saying that while human rights violations
in the north of the country had stopped, the overall rights situation had
deteriorated over the last year.

The advocacy group said economic, social and cultural rights had worsened
due to HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. The NSHR noted that the 2003 UN
Development Programme (UNDP) Human Development findings showed Namibia had
slipped from 111 to 124 in the human development index (HDI).

More details: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=35941

Debate on land reform heats up

On Monday a senior official from the Namibian ministry of lands on Monday
denied that members of the country's elite had abused affirmative action
loans meant to benefit communal farmers.

Last week the opposition Congress of Democrats released the names of top
government officials and heads of parastatals who had allegedly used the
government's Affirmative Action Loan Scheme (AALS) for "self-enrichment".

More details: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=35912

SOUTH AFRICA: Mbeki agrees to send troops to Liberia

President Thabo Mbeki's decision to provide military support for
peacekeeping operations in Liberia is being seen as a reinforcement of
South Africa's strategic role on the continent.

President Mbeki's spokesman, Bheki Khumalo, confirmed to IRIN on Wednesday
that "we are sending troops to Liberia". He said the defence force was
"currently working on a cabinet document that will outline" details, such
as the numbers of personnel to be deployed in Liberia and the operational
timetable.

South Africa's increased political and military interventions in the
continent have also served to broaden the country's influence in Africa:
in recent times South Africa has brokered peace deals in Burundi and the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, backing these up with troop deployments
to support the processes.

More details: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=35960

Daunting challenge for AIDS drug rollout

After getting the long awaited go-ahead from cabinet to start a national
antiretoviral (ARV) programme, South Africa's health department is now
faced with the daunting challenge of drawing up a strategy for
distributing the anti-AIDS drugs to the millions of people who need them.

Senior health department officials met on Monday to discuss a rollout plan
of ARV drugs to public hospitals, health department spokesman Sibani
Mngadi told IRIN.

This meeting followed last week's instruction by the cabinet to the
department to urgently develop an operational plan for a national
treatment programme by 30 September 2003.

More details: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=35947

ZIMBABWE: Scarce, expensive agri-inputs threaten food security

A shortage of inputs and inflation is hurting prospects for an
agricultural recovery in Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe Farmer's Union told IRIN
on Thursday.

The country is once again badly affected by food insecurity as a result of
erratic weather, the effect of the government's fast-track land reform on
commercial agriculture and the impact of HIV/AIDS. Aid agencies estimate
some five million Zimbabweans will require food aid by January 2004.

More details: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=35991

Skills lost in "internal" brain drain

Chamunorwa Chirova is a new type of Zimbabwean entrepreneur - he makes his
money by illegally selling fuel on the thriving black market.

It was not a job he anticipated when he graduated eight years ago with an
engineering degree from the University of Zimbabwe. Until two years ago he
was working at a beverage firm, struggling along in the depressed formal
economy, when the economic crisis and rising cost of living made him
reassess his future.

More details: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=35966

Women raise their voices

As momentum gathers for renewed talks between Zimbabwe's rival political
parties, civil rights groups have highlighted the impact of the ongoing
political and economic crisis on the daily lives of women in the country.

Crisis in Zimbabwe (CZ), a consortium of NGOs, has called for the greater
participation of women in the proposed talks, arguing that any negotiated
settlement between the government and the main opposition Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) would lack legitimacy if women were excluded from
the process.

"Today women in Zimbabwe find themselves at the confluence of the
political, economic and HIV/AIDS crisis. It is imperative that any future
dialogue between the government and the MDC includes women as key
players," CZ spokeswoman Everjoice Win told IRIN.

More details: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=35963

Aid pipeline saved but "situation still alarming" - WFP

A US $28 million cash injection has rescued the World Food Programme's
(WFP) aid pipeline in Zimbabwe. The WPF said in a statement that the
donation from the European Commission (EC) "could not have come at a more
critical time".

"Without [the donation], food aid supplies for Zimbabwe would have run out
by the end of this month. This contribution will enable us to fast-track a
regional purchase of about 60,000 mt of maize," WFP Zimbabwe Country
Director, Kevin Farrell, was quoted as saying.

More details: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=35961


COMOROS: Inching towards resolution

A senior Comoran diplomat on Friday said talks aimed at settling the
ongoing constitutional crisis in the archipelago were promising, and it
was hoped that a resolution to the political impasse would be found by
Monday.

In her capacity as chairwoman of the African Union (AU) Executive Council
of Ministers, South Africa's foreign affairs minister, Nkosozana Dlamini
Zuma this week met with Comoros leaders in Pretoria. The meeting follows
last month's visit by an AU delegation to the Indian Ocean islands, which
aimed to address obstacles barring the way to free and fair parliamentary
elections.

More details: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=36016


ANGOLA: Bridge building project aims to increase access

The World Food Programme (WFP) this week warned that due to security
restrictions, the food agency was not able to access the large majority of
the southern Kuando Kubango province.

As a result, WFP said critical food shortages in areas south of Mavinga
continue to lead to new displacements of people [who have moved] to
Mavinga in search of food assistance.

Marcelo Spina-Hering, WFP spokesman in Luanda, told IRIN: "We still have
not reached a lot of parts in Kuando Kubango, areas that have not been
properly de-mined and assessed. It's one of the provinces - the others
being Bie, Huambo and Kuanza Sul - where access has been difficult." he
said.

More details:  http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=35935


BOTSWANA: Expanding ARV therapy

On Tuesday IRIN reported on the opening of a new HIV/AIDS care clinic in
north of the country which has helped extend the reach of the government's
national treatment and prevention programme.

The Infectious Diseases Care Clinic at Maun General Hospital was
officially handed over to the government last week by the African
Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnership (ACHAP), as part of its support to
Botswana's antiretroviral (ARV) drug programme.

The Maun clinic is also expected to play a key regional role in supporting
the government's prevention of mother-to-child transmission programmes,
provided through the public health service.

More details: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=35946


MALAWI: Promoting local democracy

On Wednesday IRIN reported on an initiative by the government to reinforce
the administrative capacities of District Assemblies.

A national decentralised governance programme was recently unveiled in
Mangochi district in the south of the country, where communities have
carried out a number of local development activities, a UN Development
Programme (UNDP) statement said.

"Sixty-five percent of Malawians face poverty, food insecurity, poor
health and a lack of productive assets. Decentralisation is a strategy to
address poverty," Essau Chiviya, UNDP's regional technical adviser for
decentralisation and local government told IRIN.

More details: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=35967


MOZAMBIQUE: Prison conditions improve, but not fast enough

Although the prison community in Mozambique is one of the smallest in
Africa, the numbers are growing and conditions are still dismal.

On Tuesday IRIN reported on efforts to improve the penal system under a
Ministry of Justice programme, supported by the UN Development Programme
(UNDP.

More details: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=35944


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

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