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 180
5 - 11 June 2004


CONTENTS:

SOUTHERN AFRICA: Special envoy for humanitarian needs to visit region
ZIMBABWE: Communities lose out to encroaching game animals
ANGOLA: NGO aims to roll back illiteracy
LESOTHO: Crop forecast worse than previous poor harvest
MALAWI: MCP joins opposition election challenge
MOZAMBIQUE: Harvest better than previous three years
SOUTH AFRICA: Cremation the only option as cemetries fill
ZAMBIA: EU supports free education policy
NAMIBIA: Govt predicts improvement in harvest
BOTSWANA: Religious sects refuse polio vaccinations


SOUTHERN AFRICA: Special envoy for humanitarian needs to visit region

The UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Humanitarian Needs in 
Southern Africa, James Morris, is to return to the region on Tuesday to 
lead a mission aimed at taking stock of future humanitarian requirements, 
a UN press release said.

Morris will visit four countries - Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, and 
Namibia - affected by the "triple threat" of food insecurity, weakened 
capacity for governance and AIDS. The seven-day interagency mission will 
follow up on the findings of his previous visits in September 2002, 
January 2003, and March 2004.

A visit to Zimbabwe was scheduled to take place on Tuesday, but coincided 
with a cabinet meeting, and no government officials were likely to be 
available to meet with him, the press release noted. "An alternative 
schedule is being proposed but in the meantime, plans are proceeding for 
the special envoy to meet ambassadors and UN agencies in Harare," it 
added.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=41641


ZIMBABWE: Communities lose out to encroaching game animals

On Thursday IRIN focussed on the conflict between humans and animals in 
northwestern Zimbabwe.

The tourists come to Zimbabwe's vast Hwange National Park, view its rich 
collection of big game from the safety of vehicles with armed guards, and 
then leave. But communities living on the fringes of the park are forced 
to share their land with the encroaching wildlife, a proximity that leads 
to inevitable conflict between humans and animals.

The communities in this perennially dry region of northwestern Zimbabwe 
rely on the Gwayi river, as do thirsty animals who leave the game park 
looking for water.

"I cannot remember a time of peace between wild animals and people here. 
The animals regularly break out of the national park and come down the 
river in search of water. But from there they raid our fields and destroy 
crops. They destroy our riverside nutrition gardens. We are a poor people, 
but we are made even poorer by the animals whose presence does not benefit 
us in any way," said Sikhumbuzo Tshuma, a ward councillor in the Lubimbi 
area of Binga.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=41610


Local production of AIDS drugs begins

IRIN reported on Wednesday that access to anti-AIDS drugs is improving in 
Zimbabwe, due to recent initiatives to roll out antiretroviral (ARV) 
therapy and manufacture the medicines locally.

A Zimbabwean pharmaceutical company has started manufacturing generic 
antiretroviral (ARV) drugs in a bid to significantly reduce the cost of 
the medication for people living with HIV/AIDS.

Tobias Dzangare, chief executive of the local drug manufacturing company, 
Varichem, said his company would produce nine types of generic ARVs.

The generic drugs will cut the cost of ARVs, which are imported mainly 
from India. A monthly cocktail of ARVs currently costs Zim $600,000 (US 
$155), but local manufacture of generics is expected to bring down prices 
to between Zim $140,000 (US $27) and Zim $160,000 (US $30) a month.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=41587


Govt taps into remittances to ease forex shortages

Recent measures by Zimbabwe to attract much-needed foreign currency have 
paid off and the central bank announced earnings this week of Zim $520 
billion (about US $100 million), mainly from remittances sent by 
Zimbabweans living abroad.

Since the registration of 11 money transfer agencies (MTAs) five weeks 
ago, thousands of Zimbabweans, both locally and in the diaspora, have 
flocked to convert their foreign currency, IRIN reported on Wednesday.

"There is an improvement in foreign currency inflows into the country 
since the implementation of the new policy allowing citizens to use 
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe [RBZ] accredited money transfer agencies and the 
adoption of currency auction floor exchange rates," the RBZ said in a 
statement.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=41586


Govt moves to nationalise all productive land

Zimbabwe's controversial land reform programme took a significant turn 
this week when the government announced its intention to nationalise all 
productive farmland in the country, IRIN reported on Tuesday.

"In the end all land shall be state land and there will be no such thing 
called private land," the official Herald newspaper quoted Lands Minister 
John Nkomo as saying on Tuesday.

Nkomo said plans were already underway to abolish title deeds and replace 
them with 99-year leases. "We don't believe that land should be used for 
speculative reasons. Title deeds are no longer issues we can waste our 
time on because the 99-year leases will act as good enough collateral."

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=41476


Fears over winter wheat harvest

On Monday, IRIN reported that delays in disbursing a Zim $50 billion (US 
$9.4 million) loan facility to help farmers produce winter wheat may lead 
to a significant reduction in the harvest, according to the Zimbabwe 
Commercial Farmers Union (ZCFU).

The Agriculture Development Bank of Zimbabwe (ADB-Z) has yet to disburse 
the funds, three weeks after the official start of the cropping season. 
ZCFU director for marketing Andrew Jiri said the delay would result in a 
serious drop in the hectarage put under wheat.

"This delay is a huge setback for our members, who wanted to venture into 
wheat production this season. We have already submitted a list of farmers 
who want to access the loan facility, but the bank has not responded. The 
winter wheat programme is supposed to be in full swing, and this delay 
will certainly result in yet another shortfall in the cereal harvest," 
Jiri confirmed.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=41456


ANGOLA: NGO aims to roll back illiteracy

More than 70 percent of adults in Angola's capital, Luanda, are 
illiterate, according to Alfait, an NGO promoting adult literacy in the 
city, IRIN reported on Thursday.

"Adults did not have access to education, either because of the lack of 
schools or poverty, which forced them to drop out of school to earn a 
living at an early age," Luciano Chianeque, head of Alfait, told IRIN on 
Tuesday.

Alfait's literacy programme has been endorsed by the state's education 
department, which runs a much smaller project in Luanda due to a lack of 
funding.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=41588


ANGOLA-DRC: Forced expulsion of Congolese results in backlash

The food security situation is desperate for thousands of refugees 
returning to Angola's northern Malanje province, as their access to 
markets in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been 
blocked, IRIN was told on Monday.

The World Health Organisation recently reported that the situation had 
deteriorated to the extent where more than 25 people had died after they 
resorted to eating poisonous plants.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=41455


LESOTHO: Crop forecast worse than previous poor harvest

Lesotho is heading for its third consecutive year of food shortages, as 
preliminary results of the latest crop assessment forecast a harvest less 
than half of the previous year's.

On Tuesday the World Food Programme (WFP) deputy representative in 
Lesotho, Mads Lofvall, told IRIN the latest figures were indicating that 
"more longer term interventions are needed to address the underlying food 
security issues".

In its latest situation report, WFP pointed out that "preliminary results 
of a mid-season assessment by FAO [Food and Agriculture Organisation] and 
WFP in February/March indicated that maize, wheat and sorghum production 
this year is expected to be only about 41,000 mt, down by more than half 
from the already reduced harvest of 2003".

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=41479


MALAWI: MCP joins opposition election challenge

This week Malawi's main opposition group, the Malawi Congress Party (MCP),
threw its weight behind a legal challenge to last month's presidential
elections.

The MCP's move bolsters the opposition's case, which took a knock when 
Gwanda Chakuamba, head of the seven-party Mgwirizano coalition and a key 
opposition leader, signed a post-election cooperation agreement with the 
ruling United Democratic Front (UDF).

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=41570


IMF welcomes commitment to fiscal discipline

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has welcomed a commitment to fiscal 
discipline by Malawi's new President, Bingu wa Mutharika.

The IMF had a patchy relationship with the previous government over 
extra-budgetary spending not related to poverty alleviation.

An IMF staff team visited Malawi last week and said it had had "very
productive discussions" with wa Mutharika, Reserve Bank governor Dr Ellias
Ngalande, and the country's donor community.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=41454


MOZAMBIQUE: Harvest better than previous three years

Mozambique's food security prospects appear brighter, with national crop 
production expected to show an improvement on the previous three years, 
according to the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET).

However, FEWS NET has cautioned that some southern and central parts of
the country could still experience food deficits.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=41606


SOUTH AFRICA: Cremation the only option as cemetries fill

Increasing numbers of AIDS-related deaths are making it hard to find 
burial space in municipal cemeteries in the South African port city of 
Durban, IRIN reported on Thursday.

According to Thembinkosi Ngcobo, Head of Parks and Cemeteries in the city, 
only two of the 53 cemeteries in Durban, which have to cater to a 
population of 3.5 million, have space for fresh graves.

If the number of people dying every month remains unchanged, the available 
space will be exhausted within two years, Ngcobo said. If there is an 
increase in the mortality rate, as AIDS analysts predict, the two 
remaining graveyards in South Africa's third largest city will fill up 
much sooner.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=41609


Policy review to focus on African peacekeeping

A decision by South Africa's defence ministry to conduct a strategic 
review that includes the country's increasing engagement in peacekeeping 
operations on the continent has been welcomed by analysts.

IRIN reported on Thursday that South Africa currently contributes 1,460 
troops and military observers to United Nations peacekeeping operations, 
including missions in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Burundi, 
Eritrea and Ethiopia.

Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota told parliament that the country's 
previous defence review and a white paper on defence, introduced 10 years 
ago, would both be revisited.

Jakkie Cilliers, executive director of the Pretoria-based Institute for 
Security Studies (ISS), told IRIN: "Ten years down the line there is more 
clarity on the extent of South African engagement on the continent. The 
previous review and white paper did not really predict the extent of that 
demand, so this new review will focus more on the appropriate roles and 
mission of the Department of Defence [DOD]."

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=41604


ZAMBIA: EU supports free education policy

Zambia's ailing education system this week received a financial boost from 
the European Commission (EC) to the tune of =8010 million (US $12 
million), IRIN reported on Thursday.

The EC funds are expected to support the government's ongoing efforts to 
provide free basic education. President Levy Mwanawasa has made the 
campaign for universal primary education one of his government's 
priorities.

But the initiative, launched two years ago, has been hampered by a lack of 
funds.

"A steep decline in economic performance and an increase in poverty during 
the 1990s has reduced access to education," the EC said in statement on 
Wednesday. Enrolment rates in Grades 1 to 7 declined from 81.2 percent to 
65.6 percent between 1996 and 1999. The number of young girls in schools 
also fell over the same period.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=41608


Solar power improves everyday life

Several Zambian villages in remote parts of the country that have not been 
connected to the national power grid have benefited from an initiative to 
provide solar power to their communities, IRIN reported on Wednesday.

In the modest offices of Nyimba Energy Service Company (NESCO) in eastern 
Zambia, a sign reads: "Solar is good ... even in thatched houses, it will 
reach you wherever you are".

Supported by the Swedish International Development Agency, NESCO has 
pioneered a solar energy project that has transformed everyday life in the 
rural areas where it has been piloted. One such area is Nyimba, a remote 
district 320 kilometres east of the capital, Lusaka, where residents are 
no longer restricted to candles or paraffin lamps.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=41569


Congolese refugees would be welcomed

Zambia is to continue with its "open door policy" towards refugees fleeing 
renewed fighting in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo 
(DRC), a senior official said on Monday.

"So far there are no confirmed reports that there has been an influx of 
Congolese [into Zambia] since the renewed violence, but it is still too 
soon. On average we receive around 20 refugees a week from the DRC because 
of the general instability in that country. But, should we see larger 
numbers coming in, we will remain welcoming," the Zambian Ministry of Home 
Affairs Commissioner for Refugees, Jacob Mpepo, told IRIN.

Clashes between the national army and dissidents in the eastern DRC town 
of Bukavu since 26 May have claimed the lives of scores of Congolese, and 
sparked concerns that the fragile peace process was unravelling.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=41449


NAMIBIA: Govt predicts improvement in harvest

IRIN reported on Wednesday that Namibian authorities have predicted an 
improvement in total grain production during the 2003/04 harvest season, 
despite heavy rains which washed away crops in some parts of the country.

The latest report by the Namibia Early Warning and Food Information Unit 
(NEWFIU) has forecast total production of coarse grain at 124,000 mt, 36 
percent above last year's output.

The unit also noted that maize production was expected to reach around 
42,700 mt, about 31 percent higher than the relatively low level achieved 
in the previous year.

The UN Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) has attributed the 
improvement in yields to the "above average" rains during the second half 
of the rainy season.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=41585


FAO supports dairy farming

A 20-month US $323,000 project funded by the UN Food and Agriculture 
Organisation (FAO) aims to reduce high levels of poverty and food 
insecurity in northern Namibia, IRIN reported on Tuesday.

The FAO said poor farmers in northern Namibia would benefit from the 
effort to develop the country's dairy industry.

"The aim of the FAO project is to improve the income and livelihoods of 
livestock farmers in the northern region of Namibia, [where] agricultural 
productivity is low and unemployment is high, [and] appropriate farming 
methods as well as marketing infrastructure are needed," said an FAO 
statement.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=41478


BOTSWANA: Religious sects refuse polio vaccinations

As Botswana gears up for the second round of its national polio 
immunisation campaign, some religious groups are refusing to allow their 
children to be inoculated.

The new round of anti-polio vaccinations, targeting 200,000 children under 
five years of age, will run from 14 to 18 June and is the result of a 
confirmed case of the disease in Ngami District in northern Botswana last 
month. The last recorded case of polio occurred 13 years ago.

Some members of the Apostle Church of God, which is believed to have close 
to 50,000 followers across the country, have vowed not to allow health 
authorities to immunise their children on religious grounds, saying that 
their members use neither traditional nor modern medicine because they 
believe illness can only be healed by prayer.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=41639


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

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