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 230
7 - 13 May 2005


CONTENTS:

MALAWI: Need for food assistance rising after rains fail SOUTHERN
   AFRICA: Grim winter ahead, warns WFP
MADAGASCAR: WFP warns of weather-linked food insecurity
BOTSWANA: Bushmen case enters second round
LESOTHO: No clarity on when new municipal system will become operational
MOZAMBIQUE: Penal and courts system reform needed to improve human
   rights record
NAMIBIA: Threat of fine, prison sparks response from landowners
SWAZILAND: New role for men in HIV/AIDS fight
ZAMBIA: After the Angolan "guests" have gone
ZIMBABWE: Country's key livestock sector needs support, says expert


MALAWI: Need for food assistance rising after rains fail

Almost 500,000 mt of food is needed to assist up to two million 
Malawians facing food shortages this year, IRIN reported on Thursday.

Principal secretary for agriculture, Andrew Daudi, told IRIN plans were 
underway to spend over US $45 million to import 250,000 mt of relief 
maize, mainly from South Africa.

"If our request to the IMF (International Monetary Fund) for assistance 
is successful, we will be in a position to deal with the current 
shortages. But right now the situation is under control since the 
harvest period has just been completed and rural families have food," he 
said.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47083


US promises rewards for anti-corruption drive, greater fiscal restraint

The United States has urged Malawi to continue its anticorruption 
campaign and improve fiscal responsibility, so it can unlock development 
assistance from the US Millennium Challenge Account (MCA).

"If Malawi's performance in these areas improves, then Malawi could be 
considered for full participation in the MCA," US embassy spokesman 
Mayeso Chirwa told IRIN.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47081


Phasing out inputs programme will hurt poor - Oxfam

The government of Malawi plans to end its distribution of free seeds and 
fertiliser to the rural poor, Finance Minister Goodall Gondwe has said.

Instead, a facility to provide subsidised fertiliser to poor farmers 
will be included in the budget, to be presented in July, Gondwe told a 
meeting at Mzuzu in the north of the country.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47079


IMF to help with maize shortfall

Malawi has requested financial assistance from the international 
community to address an expected maize shortfall, according to the 
International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Following consultations in Lilongwe, the IMF said in a statement that it 
was "working with the Malawian government, international donors and the 
World Bank to identify ... resources" to fill the expected food gap.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47035


SOUTHERN AFRICA: Grim winter ahead, warns WFP

The World Food Programme (WFP) this week warned that vulnerable 
populations in Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Zambia and 
Zimbabwe face a "grim winter".

WFP spokesman Mike Huggins told IRIN that of the US $216 million appeal 
for its Protracted Relief and Recovery Operations (PRRO), aimed at 
supporting people affected by drought and floods in previous years, the 
agency had so far received just $57 million.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47006


MADAGASCAR: WFP warns of weather-linked food insecurity

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has warned of serious food insecurity 
in Madagascar as vulnerable populations get trapped between the impact 
of poor weather on their crops and the high cost of rice.

"We are particularly concerned about food shortages in the south of the 
country. A report recently released by the early warning system showed 
that about 2,830 mt of food will be needed to feed 105,000 people in the 
upcoming lean season (December 2005-April 2006)," WFP's communication 
officer, Stefania Trassari, told IRIN.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47014


BOTSWANA: Bushmen case enters second round

An application by 243 San Bushmen to overturn the Botswana government's 
decision to resettle them outside the Central Kalahari Game Reserve 
(CKGR), which they claim as their ancestral land, began its second round 
on Monday.

The case is being heard in the Lobatse High Court, 60 km south of the 
capital, Gaborone.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47008


LESOTHO: No clarity on when new municipal system will become operational

Although the ruling Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) has won the 
country's first ever municipal poll, there is still no clarity on when 
the new councils will become operational, IRIN reported on Wednesday.

"The more than 1,000 newly elected councillors will first have to 
undergo training for a month," said Moliehe Matabane, principal 
secretary of the local government department.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47040


MOZAMBIQUE: Penal and courts system reform needed to improve human 
rights record

Although the abuse of prisoners in Mozambique's jails has declined, 
human rights activists say much more needs to be done to reform the 
country's penal system.

Alice Mabota, president of the Human Rights League (LDH), acknowledged a 
drop in the number of reported cases of police brutality against 
prisoners, but added that there was still cause for concern.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47066


First 100 days of President Armando Guebuza

In his first 100 days as Mozambique's new president, Armando Guebuza has 
continued where he left off on the campaign trail - committing himself 
to action against corruption and bureaucratic inefficiency.

In his inaugural speech on 2 February, Guebuza said crime and corruption 
were "insidious enemies" that "present themselves as alternative means 
of reaching wealth". He promised that battling graft and wrongdoing 
would be "central" to his agenda.

Guebuza's populist efforts to shake up government, and his stated 
commitment to public service reform, are seen as a positive beginning.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47112


Concerns remain over govt funding of ex-president's retirement home

Despite a decision to slash funding for a luxury beachfront mansion for 
Mozambique's former president Joaquim Chissano, there are still 
complaints that any amount would be inappropriate, given the country's 
struggle against widespread poverty.

The government was initially expected to fork out around US $2.5 million 
to build the retirement house, but the finance ministry recently 
backtracked and announced that this would be cut by 60 percent, citing 
other government priorities.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47065


NAMIBIA: Threat of fine, prison sparks response from land owners

A recent newspaper advert exhorting the owners of farmland in Namibia to 
provide their details to the government or face a stiff fine, 
imprisonment or both, has brought a flood of responses.

The advert named the owners of about 1,000 farms who had not provided 
the Ministry of Land and Resettlement with their contact details, 
required for the valuation of commercial farmland for the purpose of tax 
assessments. The government aims to use the tax to fund its agrarian 
reform programme.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47038


SOUTH AFRICA: Govt deploys reservists to the DRC

South Africa has, for the first time, deployed a company of reservists 
outside the country to replace members of the regular force on a 
peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Analysts say the move could help support the overstretched South African 
National Defence Force (SANDF), which has more than 2,000 troops 
deployed in the DRC and Burundi.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47017


SWAZILAND: New role for men in HIV/AIDS fight

Health officials called it the largest gathering of males to ever attend 
an antenatal lecture in Swaziland, and a sign of the increasing 
participation of men in programmes aimed at mitigating the impact of 
HIV/AIDS.

About 200 men and 100 women from the Ngculwini area, in the central 
Manzini region, attended the launch on Sunday of the 'Happy Baby Healthy 
Family' initiative, aimed at preventing mother-to-child transmission of 
HIV.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47063


ZAMBIA: After the Angolan "guests" have gone

The repatriation of Angolans living in Zambian refugee camps by UNHCR, 
the UN refugee agency, draws to an end this year, and the local "hosts" 
are trying to come to terms with life after the "guests" have gone.

"I am not happy that they are going back - we have lived long with these 
colleagues of ours," commented Nelly Muhinyi, 62, a Zambian who farms 
near the Meheba refugee settlement in the northeastern part of the 
country.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47078


Final phase of repatriation flagged off

The UN's refugee agency, UNHCR, on Tuesday kicked off the final phase of 
its programme to repatriate Angolan refugees from Zambia, an official 
told IRIN.

The 75 Angolans who left the Meheba refugee settlement in northeastern 
Zambia for home are some of the remaining 34,500 that the agency intends 
repatriating by the end of October 2005, said UNHCR spokesman Kelvin 
Shimo.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47042


ZIMBABWE: Country's key livestock sector needs support, says expert

Zimbabwe's key livestock sector needs further assistance to fully 
realise its potential as a foreign currency earner and valuable food 
resource, says Dr Stuart Hargreaves, principal director of the 
Department of Livestock Veterinary Services.

The country's livestock sector had been decimated by "a major outbreak 
of foot-and-mouth disease and recurring drought" in recent years, and 
although the government had disbursed Zim $50 billion (US $8.1 million) 
to farmers in a bid to restock the national herd, this was "definitely 
not enough", he commented.


More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47064


Clergy defy sceptics - urge talks between govt and MDC

Human rights groups in Zimbabwe are sceptical that renewed efforts by 
the clergy will break the current political impasse between the ruling 
ZANU-PF party and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).

Albert Musarurwa, chairman of the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum, said 
on Tuesday that despite their "good intentions", it was unlikely that 
the clergy would be able to broker a deal between the two main political 
parties.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47037


Soccer diplomacy to help ease political rift

On a hot Sunday afternoon in a suburb of the Zimbabwean capital, Harare, 
two unlikely football teams run out onto a dusty pitch.

Like Sunday soccer everywhere, the players are mostly middle-aged, 
pot-bellied and, to be honest, pretty useless. But they are cheered on 
each week by an enthusiastic crowd that can number more than 2,000.

This is not your average boozers' league. The matches pit officials and 
supporters from the ruling ZANU-PF against the opposition Movement for 
Democratic Change (MDC) - with each team decked out in their party 
colours - a development unimaginable in the immediate aftermath of the 
controversial 31 March legislative election.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47016


Apostolic Faith churches act to prevent spread of HIV/AIDS

The leadership of Zimbabwe's Apostolic Faith (AF) movement, one of the 
most conservative churches in the country, have embraced a new creed - 
that of AIDS prevention.

AIDS activists have long complained that despite climbing HIV infection 
rates, church leaders have been reluctant to effect behaviour change 
among their members. Now AIDS NGOs have been invited to work with the 
movement to develop an anti-AIDS strategy for its three million 
followers.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47013


Taking the anti-AIDS message to the men

Bumbanani Mlotshwa is a regular in the crowded township pubs of 
Bulawayo, Zimbabwe's second city. Neither a boozer nor a hawker, he's on 
an altogether different mission.

Moving from table to table, Mlotshwa spreads the word to all who will 
listen: AIDS is real, it's transmitted through unprotected sex, and 
condoms can save lives. To help the message stick among the knots of 
mainly men knocking back their beers, he hands out pamphlets and free 
prophylactics.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47000


IRIN-SA
Tel: +27 11 895-1900
Fax: +27 11 784-6759
Email: IRIN-SA@irin.org.za

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Copyright (c) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 
2005


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