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SOUTHERN AFRICA
IRIN-SA Weekly Round-up 231
14 - 20 May 2005


CONTENTS:

ZIMBABWE: Govt devalues currency in bid to ease forex shortages
SOUTHERN AFRICA: Morris to highlight escalating need
SOUTH AFRICA: Controversial education bill raises temperatures
ANGOLA: Competition for resources brings rising political tension
NAMIBIA: Textile sector stumbles as foreign owners pull out
COMOROS: Remittances - funding luxuries rather than development
ZAMBIA: Community project mitigates impact of HIV/AIDS, job losses
SWAZILAND: Art for development sake
BOTSWANA: Unions to protest over alleged rights abuses
MOZAMBIQUE: Coping mechanisms wear thin as the drought drags on



ZIMBABWE: Govt devalues currency in bid to ease forex shortages

Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono announced the devaluation of the 
Zimbabwean dollar by 31 percent from Zim $6,200 to Zim $9,000 per US $1 
in his quarterly review of monetary policy on Thursday.

Zimbabwe's flourishing parallel market exchanges currency at rates of up 
to Zim $18,000 per US $1.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47203


Huge farming loan facility launched, but sceptics want to see the money

Analysts have welcomed the Zimbabwean government's announcement of loan 
facilities totalling over US $700 million for the agricultural sector, 
aimed at ensuring greater food security, but are questioning the 
sourcing of the funds.

"Zimbabwe has no money - we have no production," commented Dennis 
Nikisi, economics professor at the University of Zimbabwe.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47221


Remittances - govt hopes they can save economy

In a bid to boost foreign exchange reserves, the Zimbabwean government 
has attempted to persuade its citizens abroad to channel their 
remittances through formal transfer agencies.

It is estimated that over the past five years, more than three million 
Zimbabweans have left the country in search of greener pastures - mostly 
to the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, South Africa and 
Botswana - as the result of an economic crisis that has created record 
unemployment and inflation rates.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47164


Alleged mercenaries back in South Africa

Sixty-two alleged mercenaries, who were jailed by Zimbabwean authorities 
for violating immigration, aviation, security and firearms regulations, 
were deported to South Africa over the weekend, amid tight security.

They travelled to the border by road on Saturday, as Zimbabwean 
officials said flying them back could have posed a security risk.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47136


Country's airwaves still restricted, says media lobby group

A pioneering community radio station in Zimbabwe has been refused a 
licence by the country's broadcasting authority, but Bulawayo-based 
Radio Dialogue has vowed to continue its work.

The station was established in Zimbabwe's second city in 2001 but, 
without a licence, Radio Dialogue has been unable to transmit its 
programming.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47134


SOUTHERN AFRICA: Morris to highlight escalating need

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Special Envoy for Humanitarian Needs 
in Southern Africa, James Morris, will visit the region next week in a 
bid to raise awareness of escalating needs in countries facing another 
year of food shortages.

Morris will be accompanied by Ann Veneman, the executive director of the 
UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), on a two-day visit to Malawi, one of the 
countries "worst-affected by the regional dry spell, rising malnutrition 
rates, and HIV/AIDS," the World Food Programme (WFP) said in a 
statement.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47201


Boosting soil fertility key to food security

Declining food production in Southern Africa has shifted the region's 
focus to improving small-scale farmers' access to agricultural inputs 
like fertilisers.

"For each kilogramme of fertiliser applied per hectare, a minimum yield 
of more than 3 kg of grain can be produced. Our farmers are applying 16 
kg/ha, while the desirable level is 100 kg/ha," noted Samuel Muchena, 
head of the Zimbabwe-based African Centre for Fertiliser Development 
(ACFD).

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47200


The hidden costs of crime

The rise of transnational organised crime in Africa has scared off 
foreign investment and undermines economic progress across the 
continent, a new United Nations study has found.

In a report released on Tuesday, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime 
(UNODC) argued that despite the lack of credible or official data on 
crime, indicators suggest that Africa has a serious problem in 
maintaining law and order.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47180


SOUTH AFRICA: Controversial education bill raises temperatures

An ambitious government plan to shake up education in South Africa has 
set off a heated public debate, with some academics and opposition 
groups arguing the proposals will destroy the public school system.

Authorities have pointed out that the series of tough measures, which 
would transform how South African children are taught, are part of a 
broader effort aimed at addressing past inequalities in the education 
system.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47199


Gun amnesty hailed a success

South Africa's gun amnesty has been hailed a success, as more than 
25,000 illegal firearms have been handed over to police well before the 
cut-off date on 30 June.

Police Director Phuthi Setati said on Tuesday that the response to the 
amnesty, which was launched on 1 January and extended in March, "has 
been very good".

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47154


ANGOLA: Competition for resources brings rising political tension

Recent tensions between Angola's ruling MPLA party supporters and 
members of the opposition, UNITA, were more about competition for 
resources than political differences, a senior analyst said on Tuesday.

Martinho Chachiua, Angola programme officer at the Electoral Institute 
of Southern Africa, told IRIN that while the number of reports of 
violence between the country's two main parties had increased in recent 
months, the conflict centred around access to limited resources, such as 
water and fertile land.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47152


Marburg outbreak not under control

As the death toll from the Marburg virus in Angola creeps up to the 300 
mark, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has expressed concern at the 
current situation and is warning that the outbreak is not yet over.

Uige-based WHO spokesperson Aphaluck Bhatiasevi told IRIN on Monday that 
some recently identified cases of the killer disease, which first 
appeared in October 2004, had not been linked to earlier cases, raising 
fears that the epidemic was not yet under control.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47137


NAMIBIA: Textile sector stumbles as foreign owners pull out

Namibia's troubled textile industry was dealt a serious blow on Thursday 
when 1,600 workers were retrenched.

"It is a very sad day for me, because I do not know where to find a new 
job," said ex-Ramatex employee Hileni Haimbondi. "At least the 
[retrenchment] package includes a transport payment and a small bonus, 
because I worked there for two years", she told IRIN.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47202


COMOROS: Remittances - funding luxuries rather than development

Remittances from Comorans living abroad are seen as a lifeline for 
impoverished communities at home, where there is little hope that the 
government will be able to meet their daily needs.

With almost one-third of its population living outside the country - 
mainly in France - recent research has shown that, where the state has 
failed, contributions from the Comoran diaspora are playing a central 
role in providing basic services.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47163


ZAMBIA: Community project mitigates impact of HIV/AIDS, job losses

A community-based project is mitigating the combined impact of 
widespread job losses and the HIV/AIDS epidemic on a former mining 
community in the central town of Kabwe, about 150 km north of the 
capital, Lusaka.

The Chowa Railway Home-Based Care Project helps people living with 
HIV/AIDS adopt positive and healthy lifestyles in a township ravaged by 
the pandemic, while empowering the broader community.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47133


SWAZILAND: Art for development sake

Swazi theatre groups are increasingly finding themselves cast in a new 
role - promoting advocacy rather than art.

Theatrical troupes are regularly commissioned to write and perform 
dramas pushing developmental messages - from AIDS prevention to the 
rights of women and children - rather than the independent work of local 
play writers.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47179


BOTSWANA: Unions to protest over alleged rights abuses

The Botswana Federation of Trade Unions (BFTU) and the Public Service 
Workers Association (PWSA) are to embark on a series of demonstrations 
this weekend to press the government for labour legislation to protect 
workers from general victimisation, unfair dismissals and discrimination 
on the grounds of their HIV/AIDS status.

According to the unions, the demonstrations will begin on Saturday and 
end on 4 June, when a petition will be handed over to President Festus 
Mogae.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47222


MOZAMBIQUE: Coping mechanisms wear thin as the drought drags on

Traditional coping mechanisms are nearing exhaustion in Mozambique as 
drought-affected communities struggle with dwindling food production and 
the impact of HIV/AIDS on the agricultural labour force.

Preliminary figures estimate that more than 230,000 households in the 
southern and central regions of the country will face food shortages 
this season.

The UN Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) has pointed out that 
although the situation was cause for concern, the areas most affected 
were considered drought-prone, and therefore reports of food shortages 
are not "extraordinary".

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47220


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2005


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