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

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e-mail: irin-sa@irin.org.za


SOUTHERN AFRICA
IRIN-SA Weekly Round-Up 214
15 - 21 January 2005


CONTENTS:

SWAZILAND: Kingdom's fragile economy under threat
ZIMBABWE:South African 'quiet diplomacy' tested by recent events
BOTSWANA: Court case on San rights resumes
SOUTH AFRICA: Physical growth of black kids yet to catch up
ZAMBIA: Seed packs helping drought-affected farmers to recover
ANGOLA: Debate over the electoral process hotting up
MALAWI: Boost for HIV/AIDS treatment programmes
MOZAMBIQUE: Starting to save HIV-positive children



SWAZILAND: Kingdom's fragile economy under threat


Swaziland's economy faces a serious challenge now that it has to compete
with Asian giants like China for a share of clothing and textile exports
to the United States.

The World Trade Organisation's (WTO) elimination of quotas for clothing
and textile exports to the US on 1 January 2005, means Swaziland's
burgeoning garment industry is under threat.

Union leaders told IRIN on Wednesday that already one foreign-owned
factory had relocated its business, while two others had closed for the
December holiday period but had yet to reopen, as their export order
books were empty.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=45138


Increasing focus on paediatric care

A joint effort by local health authorities, aid agencies and a major
pharmaceutical company is expected to improve paediatric care in
Swaziland.

With four out of 10 pregnant women testing positive for HIV, adequate
healthcare for children has become a priority as the government grapples
with climbing infection rates.

The high cost of drugs and lack of trained medical staff were seen as
the main reasons for the ongoing neglect of child health in this tiny
landlocked country of just over a million people: Swaziland has just
four paediatricians.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=45117


Struggling municipalities thrown economic lifeline

Swazi municipalities struggling with dwindling resources have been
thrown a lifeline through a new policy that enables them to raise funds
independently of the national tax collection system.

Deteriorating social service delivery in Mbabane and Manzini, the
country's two major urban centres, has been linked to the sluggish
performance of the economy in recent years - the Central Bank noted a
downturn in gross domestic product (GDP) from 3.6 percent in 2002 to 2.5
in 2003.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=45089


ZIMBABWE: South African 'quiet diplomacy' tested by recent events

Recent events may test South African President Thabo Mbeki's 'quiet
diplomacy' approach towards neighbouring Zimbabwe, analysts have told
IRIN.

News of the arrest of an alleged South African intelligence agent in
Zimbabwe; more hard-line pronouncements from the United States regarding
Zimbabwe; and recent comments by South Africa's ruling African National
Congress (ANC), urging the opening of 'democratic space' in the country,
have all occurred in the space of three weeks.

These developments, analysts said, could change the dynamics of South
Africa's engagement with Zimbabwe's ruling ZANU-PF party over how best
to solve the ongoing political and economic crisis.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=45162


No word on whether MDC will drop poll boycott

Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said this
week that it is keeping its options open on its participation in the
March general elections.

"Our position still remains that we have suspended participating in any
elections until the Zimbabwean government adheres to the SADC [Southern
African Development Community] protocol governing democratic elections,"
the MDC secretary general, Welshman Ncube, told IRIN on Tuesday.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=45123


Call for independent review of voters' roll

Zimbabwean opposition parties and civic groups have warned that unless
the voters' roll is reviewed by an independent body, the credibility of
the March general elections could be called into question.

The voters' roll was opened for inspection on Monday until 30 January.
Zimbabwe has 5,658,637 eligible voters, according to the
registrar-general's office.

In an interview with IRIN, Lovemore Madhuku, chairman of the
pro-democracy NGO, National Constitutional Assembly, contended that the
roll would be no different from the one used in the 2002 presidential
elections, which were condemned as flawed by most western observers.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=45090


BOTSWANA: Court case on San rights resumes

The right to live and hunt as their forefathers did in the Central
Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) is the crux of an application by 243 San
Bushmen to overturn their relocation outside the game sanctuary by the
Botswana government.

The landmark case, which goes to the heart of minority rights in
Botswana, resumed on Monday after a two-month break at the High Court in
Lobatse, 60 km south of the capital, Gaborone.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=45136


Countering stigma isn't easy

When Tebogo Masilo obtained a bursary to study archaeology in the United
States he was overjoyed, but it didn't last long. As part of its
regulations, the government demands an HIV test.

"The results confirmed that I was positive and I did not get the
scholarship," Masilo, 24, recalled. "They could not make an investment
in me."

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=45095


SOUTH AFRICA: Physical growth of black kids yet to catch up

Despite socioeconomic improvements over the past decade, the growth and
development of black South African children continues to lag behind that
of their white peers, a recent study has found.

Research from Loughborough University in the United Kingdom looked at
data from more than 3,000 children born in Soweto and Johannesburg in
1990. While most (79 percent) of the children in the study were black,
12 percent were of mixed race, 6 percent were white and 3 percent were
Indian.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=45119


Western Cape appeals for drought emergency aid

South Africa's drought-affected Western Cape is to ask President Thabo
Mbeki to declare parts of the province disaster areas.

Taking this step would make available an additional R26 million (about
US $4.3 million) to buy feed for livestock and keep farm workers
employed, according to a statement released by the provincial cabinet on
Wednesday.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=45139


ZAMBIA: Seed packs helping drought-affected farmers to recover

A food assistance programme targeting rural households in Zambia is
helping drought-hit small-scale farmers get back on their feet.

The government is providing vulnerable but 'viable' households, having
at least one productive member, with planting packs that include seeds
for cereals and legumes as well as fertilisers.

The packs not only help feed that family, but also provide a source of
income, alleviating often dire poverty.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=45161


Cash transfers more beneficial for the poor

A pilot project in Zambia has shown that cash transfers to "critically
poor" or destitute households are more beneficial and effective than
material handouts.

Transfers made to more than 1,000 households in the Kalomo district of
Southern province during 2003/04 have not only enabled them to buy basic
necessities but also to invest in seed and livestock, according to Dr
Bernd Schubert, a consultant to the Social Safety Net Project initiated
by the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=45122


ANGOLA: Debate over the electoral process hotting up

As Angola gears up for its first national election in more than a
decade, parliament has begun the long process of reforming the electoral
laws.

With the first ballot since 1992 due to be held next year, 2005 is seen
as key to electoral preparations, with arguments over voter
registration, civil disarmament and the role of a national electoral
commission taking centre stage.

"We have presented our proposals, and the opposition [have presented]
theirs - this will be the first time parliament will start debating
these; then individual parliamentary commissions will start
discussions," a spokesman for the ruling MPLA party, Kwata Kanawa, told
IRIN.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=45133


MALAWI: Boost for HIV/AIDS treatment programmes

HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment programmes in Malawi have been boosted
by a new US $14 million grant from the Global Fund.

The National AIDS Commission (NAC) said the money is to be used to
purchase and distribute antiretroviral (ARV) drugs. "UNICEF [the United
Nations Children's Fund] is currently the procurement agent for the
Ministry of Health for health products under the Global Fund," the NAC
confirmed.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=45093


MOZAMBIQUE: Starting to save HIV-positive children

Albertina, a 34-year-old mother of three children, has just learnt she
is HIV positive. She appears to take it calmly and manages to remain
focused on her youngest son, Pedro, who is waiting to see the doctor at
the Paediatric Day Hospital in Maputo, the Mozambican capital.

Pedro is fortunate to be one of just 500 children who are on the
government's free treatment programme - an estimated 69,025 children
below the age of 14 need ARVs to help prolong their lives, according to
Dr Paula Vaz, who works at the hospital.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=45167


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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