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 234
4 - 10 June 2005


CONTENTS:

ZIMBABWE: Growing disillusionment with opposition, analysts
BOTSWANA: Civic, human rights bodies slam academic's deportation
SWAZILAND: New law allows ownership of businesses to be challenged
MADAGASCAR: Economy continues to grow
MOZAMBIQUE: Govt appeals for aid as food crisis looms
ANGOLA: Marburg 'worst is over', say health officials
SOUTHERN AFRICA: Region not expected to benefit from new US/UK food aid
   funding
MALAWI: Drought, HIV/AIDS weak economy undermine food security
ZAMBIA: Moves to stem the medical skills exodus
SOUTH AFRICA: Legacy of apartheid haunts vocational training


ZIMBABWE: Growing disillusionment with opposition, analysts

Bitter divisions in the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) 
and a lack of visible leadership on the part of its civil society 
partners are to blame for the failure of the recent stayaway in 
Zimbabwe, political analysts said on Friday.

The public largely ignored calls for a two-day work stoppage on Thursday 
and Friday by the 'Broad Alliance', a grouping of civil society groups 
and the MDC.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47602&


War vets threaten action against forced eviction

The Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association (ZNLWVA) has 
warned that its members will fight the security forces if the crackdown 
dubbed 'Operation Restore Order' is extended to farms.

Security Minister Didymus Mutasa reportedly said last week that the 
operation, which has led to the arrest of over 22,000 people and the 
displacement of several thousand, would proceed to the farms to deal 
with illegal settlers and owners of multiple farms.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47486


Mass action off to slow start

A two-day stayaway called by the opposition and civil society groups in 
Zimbabwe had a slow start, according to reports from the capital, 
Harare, and the second city, Bulawayo.

One person was arrested in Harare on Thursday for distributing fliers - 
part of the mass action campaign called by the Broad Alliance, which 
includes the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA), an NGO, the 
opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), and civil society 
groups.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47564


Security forces ready to "deal" with protests against evictions

Earlier in the week, Zimbabwean government had placed its security 
forces on high alert in the event of the mass stayaway to protest 
against the forced eviction of informal settlers in and around the 
capital, Harare.

A broad alliance, comprising the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions 
(ZCTU); the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA), a coalition of civil 
societies; the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change; and 
several other civic bodies had urged people to stay away from work on 
Thursday and Friday.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47497


Tension between farmers undermines productivity

Five years after Zimbabwe's land redistribution programme began, tension 
still characterises relationships between white and black farmers.

Although most of Zimbabwe's white commercial farmers were removed from 
their farms to make way for landless blacks during the government's 
fast-track land reform programme, a few have remained on their land.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47540


BOTSWANA: Civic, human rights bodies slam academic's deportation

Civic bodies and human rights groups in Botswana say the recent 
deportation of Australian-born academic Kenneth Good is a blot on the 
country's hard-won democracy.

Last Tuesday state security agents escorted Good out of the country to 
Johannesburg, South Africa, where he caught a plane back to Australia, 
leaving behind his 17-year-old daughter.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47517


Forum for improving labour relations proposed

Labour experts in Botswana have called for the urgent establishment of a 
tripartite forum comprising government, the private sector and trade 
unionists to address falling productivity and worsening labour 
relations.

In a paper presented to a labour relations workshop in the capital, 
Gaborone, researchers from the Botswana National Productivity Centre 
(BNPC) noted that national output was under threat because of frequent 
strike action, which it said was a result of the hostile relationship 
between government, employers and the labour movement.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47546


Analysts urge government to diversify economy

Financial analysts in Botswana have urged the government to pay more 
attention to declining agricultural production, noting that the current 
overreliance on diamonds could pose a threat to future economic growth.

The Botswana Institute of Development and Policy Analysis (BIDPA) warned 
that the government's monopoly of the beef and ostrich industries was 
responsible for declining output, and commented that in recent years the 
state-run Botswana Meat Commission (BMC) had failed to meet its annual 
export quota to the lucrative European Union (EU) market.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47565


SWAZILAND: New law allows ownership of businesses to be challenged

A new law passed by parliament gives Swazis the power to challenge 
foreign ownership of small and medium businesses.

"The policy gives the SME [Small and Medium Enterprise] unit director 
the power not to allow foreign investors to set up small businesses that 
could otherwise by run by local SMEs," Enterprise and Employment 
Minister Lutfo Dlamini noted.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47599


Rising house prices cause concern

Busa Tsabedze, 27, a junior executive with the Swaziland branch of a 
South African bank, and Moses Dube, 62, a retired factory foreman at the 
end of his career, have one thing in common: they cannot find an 
affordable house in an urban area.

Frustrated by their inability, they have resorted to building their own 
homes on the edge of town, despite the risk that city authorities could 
demolish the structures, which do not have approved plans or other 
municipal permits.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47490


Vending to survive

With two-thirds of Swazis living in chronic poverty, and unemployment 
beyond 40 percent, Swaziland may seem an unlikely destination for 
economic refugees, but 17-year-old Samito is emphatic that his future 
was bleaker in Mozambique.

Samito is one of several hundred unlicensed vendors in Swaziland's 
central commercial town of Manzini.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47555


MADAGASCAR: Economy continues to grow

Despite two major cyclones last year, Madagascar's economy has continued 
to grow on the strength of its tourism industry and exports, according 
to an International Monetary Fund (IMF) report.

However, inflation remained high, fuelled by a rise in the prices of 
petroleum products and rice, said the IMF's sixth review of economic 
performance in terms of the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility 
(PRGF).

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47538


Tapia forests and water supply projects get World Bank funding

Projects to conserve Madagascar's tapia forests and revive its wild 
silkworms have both won funding in the World Bank's 2005 Development 
Marketplace Competition.

Ny Tanintsika ('our land'), a Malagasy NGO working in land management 
and community development issues, is to receive about US $110,000 to 
reforest the Tapia woods, which cover roughly 50,000 ha in the Amoron'i 
Mania region of southeastern Madagascar. Tapia trees (Uapaca bojeri) are 
known locally for their edible fruit and as the habitat of the wild 
Malagasy silkworm.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47512


MOZAMBIQUE: Govt appeals for aid as food crisis looms

The government of Mozambique has appealed for food aid for around 
550,000 people after a prolonged dry spell caused widespread crop 
failures in the south and central parts of the country.

The World Food Programme (WFP) confirmed on Tuesday that it has been 
"officially" requested to assist Mozambicans in the provinces of 
Inhambane, Gaza, Maputo, Manica, Sofala, Zambezia and Tete.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47520


Better tax collection to boost revenue

A better tax collection system could lead to beefed-up revenues for 
Mozambique this year, according to an International Monetary Fund (IMF) 
report.

The fiscus is also expected to get a boost when the tax benefits for 
some large projects expire, said the IMF in its first review of 
Mozambique's economic performance in terms of the Poverty Reduction and 
Growth Facility (PRGF).

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47535


ANGOLA: Marburg: 'worst is over', say health officials

The world's deadliest outbreak of the Marburg virus seems to have peaked 
and the worst is over, according to international medical NGOs, the 
United Nations and the Angolan health department.

"There are still a few cases, but nothing compared to the peak of the 
emergency," said Pierre-Francois Pirlot, the UN Resident Representative 
in Angola.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47567


Limited progress in improving health delivery

Angola has made "limited progress" in improving the country's health 
network since the devastating 27-year civil war ended three years ago, 
according to a new report by the UK Department for International 
Development (DFID).

Progress in implementing new health sector projects funded by UN 
agencies and other donors has been affected by poor capacity, noted the 
report on a case study by researcher Suzanne Fustukian of DFID's Health 
Systems Resource Centre.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47511


SOUTHERN AFRICA: Region not expected to benefit from new US/UK food aid 
funding

Although the United States and the United Kingdom have announced 
substantial funding for food aid programmes in the Horn of Africa, 
appeals for assistance in Southern Africa remain largely underfunded.

A US press statement noted that on 7 June President George Bush 
announced an additional $674.4 million in emergency aid funding for 
Africa this year, while British Prime Minister Tony Blair simultaneously 
increased emergency aid to Africa to a total of $300 million.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47589


MALAWI: Drought, HIV/AIDS weak economy undermine food security

The impacts of drought, HIV/AIDS and a weak economy have combined to 
undermine already vulnerable households in Malawi's rural areas.

James Morris, the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Humanitarian 
Needs in Southern Africa, highlighted this 'triple threat' on a recent 
visit to the region that included a stop in Malawi, where he called for 
a renewed international response to the crisis.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47544


ZAMBIA: Moves to stem the medical skills exodus

A critical shortage of medical staff in Zambia is compromising the 
quality of public healthcare as doctors and nurses leave the country in 
search of more lucrative employment.

Zambia has about 10,000 registered nurses for a population of around 10 
million, according to statistics released by the health ministry in 
2004.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47521


SOUTH AFRICA: Legacy of apartheid haunts vocational training

The legacy of apartheid has continued to haunt the progress of providing 
skills in South Africa, according to a new Human Sciences Research 
Council report on 'Vocational Education and Training in Southern 
Africa'.

"Access to structured education and training is far greater for urban 
than rural populations. Too little of the [new educational] system 
reflects the needs and interests of the most disadvantaged members of 
South African society."

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47591


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