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 176
24 - 30 April 2004


CONTENTS:

ANGOLA: Still waiting for peace dividends
ZIMBABWE: Hundreds of thousands may be out of school
SWAZILAND: Govt attempts to revive cotton
NAMIBIA: Lack of funds deepens the plight of orphans
MALAWI: EU denies interfering in election
MADAGASCAR: Number of cyclone victims needing food aid likely to rise
COMOROS: Assoumani suffers setback in national assembly poll
BOTSWANA: Immunisation campaign to eradicate polio
ZAMBIA: Impact of floods greater than estimated
MOZAMBIQUE: System to monitor informal cross-border food trade


ANGOLA: Still waiting for peace dividends

Although it has been two years since the civil war ended, Angola's people
have yet to see the dividends of peace and have begun to express growing
frustration, says a new United Nations report.

In the quarterly analysis of the humanitarian situation in Angola, the UN
noted that "despite various breakthroughs at the central level - notably,
the adoption by the government of a Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper
(PRSP) and the constructive dialogue with the World Bank and IMF
[International Monetary Fund] - the transition [from war to recovery]
seems to be on hold".

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=40852


Government defends oil-backed loans

The government this week defended the controversial practice of securing
loans on the strength of its oil production.

Minister of Finance Jose Pedro de Morais responded to concerns raised by
the International Monetary Fund (IMF) last week, saying that oil "is the
only security we can give".

But Gavin Hayman, a campaigner with lobby group Global Witness, described
these loans as an "expensive and opaque way of financing the Angolan
government, where they mortgage a portion of the government's future oil
production for up-front cash. There is no guarantee that the proceeds will
be used to benefit the Angolan people, who actually own the oil".

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=40819


Greater transparency in oil revenues welcomed

Global Witness on Wednesday described Angola's willingness to share
information on the management of its oil revenue with the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) as "positive", but again called on the government to
adopt the Transparency in the Extractive Industry initiative (EITI).

The initiative, headed by Britain, calls for double-entry book-keeping,
where disclosure of oil companies' payments to the government would be
reconciled with what the authorities report as having been received, to
improve management and transparency, said Global Witness campaigner, Gavin
Hayman.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=40806


Unlicensed foreign trawlers deplete fish stocks

Lifting up a bedraggled tarpaulin on his old wooden boat, fisherman Manuel
Hanuti points to the day's meagre haul of a dozen red snapper and a few
sailfish.

With paltry catches like this, Hamuti said he would be lucky to make US
$100 this month and is seriously worried about his ability to support his
family. The livelihoods of traditional fishermen like Hamuti are under
threat as large unregulated foreign boats trawl the once-teeming waters
off Angola's coast, plundering fish stocks.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=40765


Critical funding shortfall cuts food aid and delivery

The repatriation of 145,000 refugees to Angola, as well as ongoing aid to
people resettled since the end of the civil war, may be jeopardised by a
critical funding shortfall for food relief.

The World Food Programme (WFP) supplies both returning refugees and
internally displaced persons (IDPs) with food rations until they are able
to sustain themselves. It is an intervention that humanitarian officials
have said is critical to rebuilding Angola after 30 years of civil war.

During April the WFP could only provide 50 percent of rations to returnees
(both IDPs and refugees) and its food-for-work beneficiaries. This
situation would persist through May, and the agency has forecast an even
more serious break in its food aid pipeline in June.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=40763


HRW calls for humane treatment of expelled DRC workers

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has added its voice to a growing chorus of
concern over the treatment of Congolese migrant workers in northern
Angola.

Since early April tens of thousands of migrant workers from the Democratic
Republic of Congo (DRC) have been expelled from the diamond-rich Angolan
border province of Lunda Norte, often with the use of excessive force,
according to HRW.

"Congolese migrants returning to the Democratic Republic of Congo describe
the abuses and public humiliation they have endured in Angolan towns, such
as Luremo and Cafunfo [in Lunda Norte], where Angolan soldiers searching
for diamonds have forced them to undergo public strip searches," the
international rights group said in a statement on Friday.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=40757


UNHCR hopes to repatriate 90,000 refugees this year

As the rainy season in Angola draws to a close, the UN's refugee agency is
preparing to repatriate 90,000 asylum seekers who fled to neighbouring
countries during the country's 27-year civil war.

Since the end of hostilities in April 2002, some 33,000 Angolans have
returned home under a UN-sponsored voluntary repatriation programme that
was temporarily halted in December last year after seasonal rains damaged
transport infrastructure.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=40756


ZIMBABWE: Hundreds of thousands may be out of school

About 800,000 Zimbabwean orphans and disadvantaged children who depend on
state assistance to pay school fees may be unable to enrol when the new
term begins next week, IRIN reported on Thursday.

Under the Basic Education Assistance Model (BEAM), the government had
allocated Zim $3.8 billion (about US $753,000) to pay the school fees of
orphans and disadvantaged children, but Lancelot Museka, the Public
Service, Labour and Social Welfare permanent secretary, announced this
week that the money had run out after just one term of the school year.

Zimbabwe's economic crisis has led to job losses, making it impossible for
growing numbers of parents to pay tuition fees. Unemployment now stands at
80 percent, and is rising as businesses continue to fold. For those still
employed in the formal sector, low wages in a hyperinflationary
environment have worsened a situation that is often already desperate.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=40832


Volunteer doctors and nurses provide health care

A number of initiatives aimed at extending medical services to the rural
poor have been launched by enterprising doctors in Zimbabwe, IRIN reported
on Tuesday.

Many Zimbabweans are finding it harder to pay for medical treatment as
inflation of around 600 percent translates into soaring fees for private
doctors and shortages of medicines in public hospitals. Private hospitals,
doctors and dentists increased their fees by between 50 percent and 100
percent at the beginning of April, hard on the heels of a similar price
hike three months ago.

General consultation fees have leaped to almost Zim $70,000 (about US
$13.80), with specialist doctors demanding Zim $150,000 (US $29.70).
Deposit fees at private hospitals, which offer better services than poorly
resourced state hospitals, now range from Zim $220,000 (US $43.50) to Zim
$1.6 million (US $317).

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=40774


SWAZILAND: Govt attempts to revive cotton

The Swazi government is attempting to revive the production of cotton
because it is a drought-resistant crop, senior officials told IRIN on
Thursday.

Tom Jele, head of the Swaziland Cotton Board, pointed out that the US
African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA) had created an impetus to
revive cotton production. He said AGOA, which allowed Swazi textiles,
among other exports, to enter the US market duty-free, stipulated that the
raw materials for products earmarked for export "should be sourced locally
or regionally, which will also help to reduce the industry's costs".

Under AGOA the US has allowed African countries to import raw materials
from non-AGOA countries, but this preferential status expires on 30
September.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=40828


Swazi orphans face education crisis

The government and social welfare NGOs are seeking ways to offset a
pending education crisis for orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) after
school heads resolved this week to bar those unable to pay fees, IRIN
reported on Thursday.

Education Minister Constance Simelane ordered school principals to admit
OVC in January, and promised to provide for the orphans' fees.

However, Swazi schools are set to reopen in less than two weeks and school
heads have noted that the promised funds have not been forthcoming.
"Parents struggle to pay their children's fees, and it is unfair for them
to assume the burden of orphans because government has not lived up to its
commitments," said the Swaziland School Head Teachers Association in a
statement.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=40827


Accelerating response to AIDS

Accelerating its response to the AIDS challenge, the Swazi government
announced on Wednesday it had selected preferred suppliers of
antiretroviral drugs, while the national AIDS funding agency said it had
applied for a US $48.5 million grant from the Global Fund.

"The nearly $50 million we have requested is for a five-year period, with
$7 million going toward our first-year projects, and the funds will enable
us to significantly step up interventions, particularly our programmes
directed toward youth, which are currently under-funded," National
Emergency Response Committee on HIV/AIDS (NERCHA) director Dr Derek Von
Wissell told IRIN.

Swaziland has one of the world's highest AIDS prevalence rates and the
Global Fund is expected to approve the fund application in June.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=40809


NAMIBIA: Lack of funds deepens the plight of orphans

The plight of orphans in Namibia is set to worsen after an announcement
this week that the authorities would be unable to disburse a monthly
social grant due to insufficient funds, IRIN reported on Thursday.

Minister of Women Affairs and Child Welfare Netumbo Ndaitwah told IRIN
that "there were too many orphans to be able to pay grants" this year.
"The 2001 National and Population Census showed that there about 115,000
orphans in the country. We suspect that this number has increased quite a
bit, but even if we work with the 2001 figure, we still do not have the
money to pay the monthly grants," Ndaitwah confirmed.

She noted that last year the government had provided US $1.5 million for
an orphans fund, but the "necessary mechanisms were not put in place" and
the fund had not become operational.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=40829


Rwandan refugees to assess conditions for repatriation

A group of Rwandan refugees in Namibia will embark on a "go and see"
mission to their home country to assess conditions for their proposed
voluntary repatriation, IRIN reported on Wednesday.

The visit is being organised to allay the concerns of the nearly 500
Rwandan refugees over their safety once they return. In April a group of
Rwandans fled Namibia's Osire refugee camp and told the local Namibian
newspaper that they did not want to be repatriated.

The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) spokesman in Namibia, Esegiel Xamseb, told
IRIN that a delegation of officials from the Rwandese government and
UNHCR's Great Lakes Coordinator Wairimu Kagaro had visited the Osire camp
on Wednesday and met with the remaining Rwandese refugees. "The refugees
were informed about the conditions in Rwanda and the political
developments there," Xamseb explained.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=40807


Refugees face ration cuts

The food aid pipeline for 14,000 refugees in Namibia will face a complete
break from June onwards, the World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Monday.

WFP Namibia programme head Abdirahman Meygag told IRIN the agency "only
has small quantities of food, enough only for May distributions" in the
main refugee camp at Osire and the Kassava transit centre. "In June there
will be no food to distribute to the 14,000 refugees. We are urgently
appealing to the international community to come forward [with aid],"
Meygag said.

The voluntary repatriation programme was suspended during the rainy season
and is scheduled to resume in May.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=40764


Chopper involved in relief efforts crashes

A government helicopter evacuating the last remaining people from a
village cut off by flood waters in Namibia's northeastern Caprivi region
crashed while taking off last week.

"Fortunately, no one was hurt," Ndeutapo Amagulu, the deputy permanent
secretary at the ministry of environment and tourism, told IRIN on Monday.

The helicopter was evacuating 19 people from a school in Intoba in the
Kabbe constituency, east of the provincial capital Katima Mulilo. It was
the only helicopter being used to transport passengers in the relief
operations.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=40760


MALAWI: EU denies interfering in election

The European Union (EU) election observer mission to Malawi has denied an
allegation by outgoing President Bakili Muluzi that foreign observers were
campaigning for the opposition ahead of the 18 May poll.

"We refute [the charge] that the observers are interfering with the
election," deputy head of the EU mission, Alistair Baird, told IRIN on
Tuesday. Muluzi had reportedly told a weekend rally in the northern town
of Mzuzu that he would expel international observers found to be partisan.

The 22-member EU team is the only foreign observer mission currently in
the country for the presidential and legislative poll. "We have
experienced observers [in the team], who have observed elections in a lot
of countries," noted Baird.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=40787


MADAGASCAR: Number of cyclone victims needing food aid likely to rise

The number of people needing food aid in Madagascar's cyclone-affected
regions is likely to rise as aid agencies start gaining access to areas
cut off since the heavy downpours, the World Food Programme (WFP) told
IRIN on Wednesday.

"The situation is still serious and needs are continuing, but until we
have a clearer picture of what the full extent of the cyclone has been on
agricultural production, it is difficult to say how many more people will
need food assistance," said WFP country representative Bodo Henze. After
initial assessments, WFP had geared itself to feed more than 100,000
people.

Cyclone Gafilo, which hit the giant Indian Ocean island twice last month,
left around 200 people dead and ruined almost 47,000 ha of crops. Malagasy
authorities have estimated the total economic impact at over US $250
million.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=40805


COMOROS: Assoumani suffers setback in national assembly poll

Federal President Azali Assoumani suffered a setback in parliamentary
elections held at the weekend when parties aligned to the archipelago's
three regional presidents gained the majority of seats in the national
assembly, IRIN reported on Wednesday.

Following runoff elections for the federal assembly on Sunday, supporters
of the presidents of the three semi-autonomous islands hold 12 of the 18
elected seats in parliament, against six for the federal president's
party.

In the first round of voting, on 18 April, Assoumani's party won two
seats, while eight other seats were split among opposition parties on the
three islands - Grande Comore, Moheli and Anjouan. No candidate won a
majority in the race for the remaining eight seats and a runoff was
scheduled.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=40804


BOTSWANA: Immunisation campaign to eradicate polio

Botswana's ministry of health has announced it will vaccinate an estimated
200,000 children in a national polio immunisation programme to be rolled
out in the next two weeks, IRIN reported on Thursday.

Dr Themba Moeti, the deputy director of health services, said the first
phase would run between 10 and 14 May, with a second round from 14 to 18
June.

The immunisation campaign follows a positive polio diagnosis of a
seven-year-old boy in the northern Ngamiland region three weeks ago. Moeti
said the programme was expected to target all children under five,
regardless of their previous immunisation status, and would include house
to house immunisation in high risk districts, with a number of fixed
immunisation posts also set up around the country.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=40830


Disabled cry foul over voter registration

The Botswana Council for the Disabled (BCD) has expressed concern that
thousands of disabled people will not be able to vote in general
elections, due later this year, because they were unable to register, IRIN
reported on Thursday.

Barry Eustice, BCD management advisor, said the disabled and the elderly
had been disenfranchised because of a lack of physical access to buildings
where the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) conducted voter
registration. The registration exercise ended last month.

"Thousands of disabled people were not able to register because the IEC
conducted the exercise mostly in classrooms which have prohibitive steps
and no access provisions for the disabled or wheelchair users. This also
created problems for the elderly, and the result was total discouragement
for people in this category," Eustice told IRIN.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=40826


ZAMBIA: Impact of floods greater than estimated

Humanitarian officials are concerned that more people may be affected by
flooding in western Zambia than was originally thought.

Robert Tabana, national humanitarian officer in the office of the UN
Resident Coordinator in Zambia, told IRIN that "it seems the number of
people affected was under-estimated".

The government and UN agencies had estimated that 21,200 people were
affected when the Zambezi burst its western banks after heavy downpours
earlier this year.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=40848


MOZAMBIQUE: System to monitor informal cross-border food trade

A low-cost system to monitor informal cross-border food trade is to become
operational in Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe in June.

The monitoring system, to be established by the Famine Early Warning
Systems Network (FEWS NET) and the World Food Programme (WFP), will help
donor agencies and analysts to determine how informal trade offsets local
food deficits.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=40847


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

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Copyright (c) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2004


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