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 144
23 - 29 August 2003


CONTENTS:

ZIMBABWE: Economic woes worsen
SOUTHERN AFRICA: Regional crises top agenda 
ZAMBIA: Measles campaign a "spectacular success"
SWAZILAND: Celebrities back in the limelight for poll
MALAWI: Depreciating currency threatens food security
ANGOLA: UNITA raises security, election concerns
MOZAMBIQUE: CSB shortage puts pressure on food relief


ZIMBABWE: Economic woes worsen

The week in Zimbabwe ended with the country focussed on the inflationary
impacts already manifesting following the deregulation of the petroleum
oil industry. This followed Monday's lukewarm reception to the
government's new supplementary budget.

The deregulation has led to increased pump prices for petrol and diesel,
and news reports on Friday said commuter bus fares had risen in response.

An analyst told IRIN on Thursday that the deregulation of the petroleum
oil industry would see further inflationary pressure adding to the
financial travails of ordinary Zimbabweans.

According to the new policy, all registered oil companies will source
their own foreign currency, import petroleum products and sell directly to
the public.

However, fuel imports by the parastatal National Oil Company of Zimbabwe
would be distributed to government departments, institutions, public
transport operators and the agricultural sector at the state controlled
price of Zim $450 a litre for petrol and Zim $200 a litre for diesel.

The two-tier system means that private sector motorists would pay the new
pump prices for petrol of Zim $1,170 per litre and diesel at Zim $1,060
per litre announced by the oil companies yesterday.

More details: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=36254


Court date sets deadline for MDC-govt talks
 
IRIN reported on Tuesday that the opposition Movement for Democratic
Change had warned the government that time was running out for a
negotiated settlement to the country's political crisis.

MDC president Morgan Tsvangirai's spokesman, William Bango, told IRIN that
the opposition was making "overtures to [the ruling party] ZANU-PF in
order for them to see that we are serious about the search for a permanent
resolution to the Zimbabwe crisis".

However, he added "if they don't respond by the end of October, then it
will be much more difficult for the two parties to come together, because
we have a pending court challenge [of President Robert Mugabe's election
victory], and that hearing begins on 3 November".

More details: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=36199


WFP retains control of food distributions

The Zimbabwean government has given an assurance that the World Food
Programme (WFP) would remain in control of humanitarian food distribution,
despite a controversial new policy directive issued by the government this
month, UN Humanitarian Coordinator Victor Angelo told IRIN on Monday.

"We were told that we can proceed as we did last year ... We will be
implementing the [food distribution] programme this month with no
operational change at the ground level. The UN will keep monitoring the
situation on the ground," Angelo said.

The ministry of public service, labour and social welfare had issued a new
policy guideline altering the memorandum of understanding with WFP, which
authorised the agency and its partners to distribute food aid in the
country. The new directive allows WFP and its partners to deliver food to
distribution points, but the government would then be responsible for the
selection and physical distribution of the food to beneficiaries through
local government structures and village authorities. NGOs would perform
only a monitoring role.

"The [memorandum of understanding] signed with the UN system is still
valid ... The basis of the agreement with the government is that we
implement our programmes with total autonomy," Angelo stressed.

More details: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=36183


Cash crunch may hamper access to govt relief funds

IRIN reported on Monday that although supplies of basic commodities have
improved on both the parallel and formal markets, most urban-based
Zimbabweans cannot afford the cost of all their household food needs.

The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) said in its latest
report that "the majority of market-dependent households cannot afford to
meet all of their food needs, given their limited incomes and the
extremely high prices at which these commodities are trading. Price
controls have failed to arrest price increases and protect the poor from
the ever-escalating prices".

The availability of basic items such as bread, maize meal and maize grain
improved in most urban centres in August, but are sold for much more than
the government-stipulated price. In the case of maize meal, the price
differential is over 590 percent. As a result, "the cost of living for all
sections of the urban poor continues to increase, seriously compromising
food security for this group," FEWS NET said.

More details: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=36182


Supplementary budget draws criticism
 
The week began with the Zimbabwe government's supplementary budget being
declared a "damp squib" which was unlikely to resuscitate the country's
ailing economy.

Economist Dennis Nikisi, director of the Graduate School of Management at
the University of Zimbabwe, told IRIN on Monday that the Zim $700 billion
(about US $850 million) supplementary budget introduced on Friday was "a
self-serving budget - a damp squib which is not going to assist this
economy". The supplementary budget pushed the government's total budget
for the year to Zim $1.4 trillion.

Nikisi questioned where the government intended to get the Zim $700
billion from, as the economy continues to contract and inflation is
expected to hit 500 percent by the end of the year.

More details: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=36172


SOUTHERN AFRICA: ECHO increases humanitarian assistance

On Friday IRIN reported that the European Commission (EC) had added a
further Euro 25 million (about US $27 million) to its humanitarian aid
package for Southern Africa.

Countries in the region have been badly affected by a combination of
erratic weather, the impact of HIV/AIDS and the collapse of social
services. As a result, millions people are in need of food and other
humanitarian aid.

"The funds will help meet the food, water, sanitation and health needs of
vulnerable people in nine countries," and EC statement said. The money
would be channelled through the EC Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO), under
Commissioner Poul Nielson.

More details: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=36272


Mutual Defence Pact launched

IRIN reported on Wednesday that the Southern African Development
Community's (SADC) had launched a Mutual Defence Pact to promote regional
cooperation in politics, defence and security. The pact allows for
enforcement action to be taken "only as a last resort, and with the
authorisation of the UN Security Council".

The agreement, signed on Tuesday at the closing ceremony of the 2003 SADC
Summit in the Tanzanian commercial capital, Dar es Salaam, flows from the
establishment of SADC's Organ for Politics, Defence and Security, a body
intended to prevent conflicts and the breakdown of law and order, both
between and within member countries.

"This will be our way to show our commitment to, and application of, the
concept of African solutions to African problems," Tanzanian President
Benjamin Mkapa said, shortly after taking over the chairmanship of SADC.

More details: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=36230


SADC rallies around Zimbabwe

SADC countries closed their 23rd annual summit on Tuesday united in their
support for Zimbabwe, and clear in their call for sanctions on the country
to be lifted.

In the final communique, read at the closing ceremony in Dar es Salaam,
SADC said the region would continue to work with Zimbabwe to address the
political and economic situation and "encourage and sustain the political
developments that are taking place in the search for lasting solutions".

The region also committed itself to continue opposing sanctions imposed by
the Commonwealth, the European Union (EU) and the United States, as they
affected "not only ordinary Zimbabweans but also have profound social and
economic implications on the region as a whole".

However, while Tanzanian President and the new SADC chair, Benjamin Mkapa,
left little doubt over his opposition to sanctions on Zimbabwe and his
support for land redistribution, he was quick to stress that it should not
be "interpreted as [an apology] for arbitrary, illegal, unlegislated and
economically unproductive and unbalanced restitution".

More details: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=36210


ZAMBIA: Measles campaign a "spectacular success"
 
A measles vaccination campaign in Zambia has been hailed as a "spectacular
success" by the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) Representative, Dr Stella
Goings.

"We are hoping to be able to join other countries that have reduced
measles incidents to zero," Goings told IRIN on Wednesday. She said about
5 million children, between the ages of six months and 14 years, had been
vaccinated during the week-long campaign held in June.

Apart from saving the lives of Zambian children, the campaign also had an
"important economic benefit", Goings added. "I think it's important to
note that the average Zambian family spends Kwacha 35,000 to Kwacha 45,000
[about US $7.52 to US $9.67] for every episode of measles. And this is in
a country where about 80 percent of the population lives on less than US
$1 a day," she said.

More details: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=36235


SWAZILAND: Celebrities back in the limelight for parliamentary poll

IRIN discovered that California is not the only place facing an
unconventional election in October, as the nomination list of candidates
for Swaziland's upcoming parliamentary elections shows.

"California has Arnold Schwarzenegger, and we've got celebrity candidates
like radio and TV personalities, gospel singing stars and no less than two
former Miss Swazilands," political writer Timothy Simelane told IRIN. In a
conservative society where male elders are traditionally chosen for
positions of authority, this week an unprecedented number of teenagers and
women were selected by their communities to compete in the primaries for
the 55 seats in the House of Assembly.

Candidates, some of whom have been accused of being clueless about issues,
are trading on their fame to obtain a prestigious parliamentary seat, with
its good pay and other privileges. In a nation where political opposition
parties are banned by royal decree, candidates have no party platforms to
run on. They run as individuals, and name recognition helps.

More details: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=36246


Investors turn away over "rule of law" controversy

Meanwhile, efforts by the Swazi government to attract foreign direct
investment are being undermined by its own disregard for the "rule of
law", business leaders said this week.

"We are waiting for the return of the rule of law. Investors want to feel
comfortable, and that's the bottom line," said Paul Friedlander, chief
executive officer of the agricultural and retail conglomerate, Swaki.

The government has ignored high court and appeal court rulings it
disliked, and overturned rulings of the Industrial Court. Businessmen
interviewed by IRIN say they need an independent judicial system to
safeguard their property.

More details: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=36224


MALAWI: Depreciating currency threatens food security

The deteriorating macroeconomic situation in Malawi will have a negative
impact on household food security, IRIN reported this week. The latest
Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) report noted that the
local currency, the kwacha, depreciated at a faster rate in August than in
previous months - by around 15 percent from July's levels.

"The Malawi kwacha was trading at an average of about K105 per US $1 by
the third week of August," the report said. "This depreciation may result
in a hike in the price of inputs, which are already difficult for farmers
to afford, thereby affecting food production next season."

More details: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=36176


ANGOLA: UNITA raises security, election concerns

Angola's former rebel group UNITA has highlighted the holding of elections
and the security of its members and offices as major issues to be raised
with the government.

A communique issued by the party said it was deeply concerned by recent
acts of "vandalism carried out against party members and infrastructure in
several parts of the country". "These acts must be dealt with by the
judicial authorities in addition to ... political consultation [with the
ruling MPLA] to put a stop to all factors likely to undermine peace and
national reconciliation," the communique stated.

More details: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=36203


MOZAMBIQUE: CSB shortage puts pressure on food relief

IRIN reported on Thursday that a shortage of corn-soya blend (CSB) has
hampered efforts to provide aid to hungry Mozambicans, amid reports that
the number of people in need of relief food may well increase.

In its latest monthly situation report the Famine Early Warning Systems
Network (FEWS NET) said a supplementary feeding programme in
drought-affected districts in Gaza, Tete and Inhambane provinces was
unable to provide for all its intended beneficiaries because of a shortage
of CSB, an important nutritional commodity.

"Although the programme was designed to cover over 200,000 children and
pregnant and nursing women, it currently covers only 60 percent of these
people due to a lack of fortified CSB," the report found.

More details: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=36243


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

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