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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SOUTHERN AFRICA
IRIN-SA Weekly Round-Up 249
17 - 23 September 2005


CONTENTS:

ANGOLA: Legacy of war, failed harvests combine to erode security
MALAWI: Opposition leader's arrest "miscalculated", say analysts
ZIMBABWE: Succession issue fuelling attempts to bring polls in line,
   say analysts
SOUTH AFRICA: Time to reassess mediation in Africa, says analyst
SOUTHERN AFRICA: Child refugees suffer rejection and abuse
NAMIBIA: Second Caprivi treason trial starts
MOZAMBIQUE: Rights groups dismayed by dismissal of corruption fighter
SWAZILAND: March planned to protest new constitution


ANGOLA: Legacy of war, failed harvests combine to erode security

Another generation of Angolan children faces a precarious future as 
failed harvests and the legacy of 27 years of civil war combine to 
undermine food security in the country, the World Food Programme (WFP) 
warned on Monday.

A WFP food security and livelihoods assessement in the central highlands 
region of Angola found that 52 percent of children under the age of five 
suffered from stunting. An estimated 336,000 people were food insecure 
and chronically food deficient, while 512,000 were "highly vulnerable to 
food insecurity".

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=49134


MALAWI: Opposition leader's arrest "miscalculated", say analysts

Political analysts have described Malawian opposition leader Gwanda 
Chakuamba's arrest last week as a "miscalculation" that has made him an 
unworthy "martyr" in the cause of freedom of expression.

Chakuamba was arrested after being sacked from the cabinet two weeks 
ago, reportedly to pave the way for an Anti-Corruption Bureau 
investigation into allegations that he had bought a luxury car with 
World Bank funds.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=49131


ADMARC forced to ration maize as food crisis deepens

Malawi's state grain marketer, ADMARC, has been forced to ration maize 
sales in drought-hit parts of the country as the food security situation 
worsens, according to a new early warning report.

Rising demand for maize in the southern region has impacted on 
commercial market prices, leading to long queues for the subsidised 
grain available from ADMARC outlets, explained a report by the 
USAID-funded Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWS NET).

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=49192


ZIMBABWE: Succession issue fuelling attempts to bring polls in line, say 
analysts

A Zimbabwean government proposal to harmonise the date of presidential 
and parliamentary elections is motivated by the "unresolved" succession 
issue within the ruling ZANU-PF party, political analysts said on 
Tuesday.

Patrick Chinamasa, Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, 
told IRIN that a draft constitution amendment bill was being prepared 
before President Robert Mugabe's term expired in 2008 to ensure that 
presidential and parliamentary elections coincided.

Under existing legislation, presidential elections are held every six 
years, with legislative polls at five-year intervals. The next 
presidential election in Zimbabwe is due in 2008, while parliamentary 
polls should be held in 2010. Mugabe, 81, has been in power since 
Zimbabwe gained independence from Britain in 1980.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=49149


SOUTH AFRICA: Time to reassess mediation in Africa, says analyst

South Africa's attempts to solve the crisis in Cote d'Ivoire appear to 
be unravelling, which could leave President Thabo Mbeki with less of an 
appetite for engaging in conflict resolution in Africa, argues 
international affairs analyst John Stremlau.

Mbeki, who was given a mandate by the African Union (AU) to mediate 
between Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo, opposition political parties 
and rebel leaders controlling the northern half of the former French 
colony, may need to "reassess how much responsibility he can take for 
the continents problems".

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=49154


Serious concerns over detention conditions

Human rights activists in South Africa are hoping that a chiding by the 
UN over the poor state of detention facilities will prompt the 
authorities to take immediate steps to remedy deteriorating conditions 
in prisons, IRIN reported on Tuesday.

At the end of a two-week study the UN's Working Group chairwoman, Leila 
Zerrougui, noted that pretrial detention conditions fell far short of 
meeting the international standards South Africa has subscribed to, in 
particular the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=49151


SOUTHERN AFRICA: Child refugees suffer rejection and abuse

A startling new study on the experiences of refugee and returnee 
children living in Southern Africa has uncovered a litany of abuse, 
often leading to further alienation of the most vulnerable of population 
groups, IRIN reported on Thursday.

Research commissioned by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) 
between February and March 2005 in South Africa, Zambia and Angola found 
that refugee and returnee children in all three countries faced high 
levels of aggression, in particular sexual and gender-based violence.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=49194


NAMIBIA: Second Caprivi treason trial starts

IRIN reported on Thursday that the Namibian government's hopes for a 
quick trial of 12 alleged Caprivi separatists charged with treason were 
dashed this week in the Windhoek High Court.

The state instead found itself facing allegations of human rights 
violations and unlawful arrest; it also had to prove whether the court 
had the right to prosecute 11 of the accused, who claimed to have been 
unlawfully arrested.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=49191


Officials in trouble over wasted food aid as drought tightens grip

Five emergency management officials face disciplinary action for 
allowing 230 mt of food aid to rot in a military warehouse in Katima 
Mulilo, capital city of the drought-stricken northeastern Caprivi 
region.

The Namibian newspaper quoted Deputy Prime Minister Libertina Amathila 
as saying that she had instructed the Ministry of Regional and Local 
Government, Housing and Rural Development to begin disciplinary action 
against the five Caprivi Regional Emergency Management Unit (REMU) 
officials.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=49175


Eco-groups say uranium mine brings new hazards

Namibia has commissioned a second uranium mine despite strong opposition 
from human rights and environmental groups who fear it could pose an 
ecological hazard.

The Langer Heinrich Mine, 80 km east of the coastal town of Swakopmund 
in the protected Namib Naukluft Park, was officially opened last 
Thursday. Mines and Energy Minister Erkki Nghimtina described it as a 
marvellous example of "what government and the private sector must do to 
ensure sustainability in the mining sector".

More Details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=49155


MOZAMBIQUE: Rights groups dismayed by dismissal of corruption fighter

The surprise axing of the head of Mozambique's Anti-Corruption Unit, 
Isabel Rupia, has been sharply criticised by human rights groups as 
undermining the government's anti-graft message, IRIN reported on 
Wednesday.

"We need to know the reason why Isabel Rupia was removed - it is 
people's right to know. When they don't know, then it leads to 
speculation," said Carimo Abdul of the anti-corruption NGO, Etica 
Mozambique.

Government officials were unavailable for comment.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=49176


School-yard roundabouts pump water while children play

Some 40,000 Mozambican school children will benefit from "Play Pumps", 
an initiative launched this month by the World Food Programme (WFP), the 
Dutch logistics company TNT, and the United Nations Children's Fund 
(UNICEF).

The project is part of the 'Flourishing School' programme, which aims to 
provide potable water and sanitation to 60 rural schools. In the first 
phase, 30 play pumps will be installed in schools in Mozambique's 
southern provinces of Maputo, Gaza and Inhambane. In addition, 30 
conventional hand pumps will be installed in Manica and Sofala 
provinces. The roundabouts have already proved highly successful in 
rural schools in neighbouring South Africa and Swaziland.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=49133


SWAZILAND: March planned to protest new constitution

The Swazi government on Tuesday warned civil servants, trade unionists 
and church leaders that security forces would block a planned march to 
protest the new constitution.

Prime Minister Themba Dlamini questioned the mandate of pro-democracy 
activists to challenge the constitution promulgated by King Mswati III 
in July.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=49153


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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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