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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Fax: +27 11 880 1421
e-mail: irin-sa@irin.org.za


SOUTHERN AFRICA
IRIN-SA Weekly Round-Up 250
24 - 30 September 2005


CONTENTS:

MALAWI: Millions face hunger if food aid does not arrive
SOUTHERN AFRICA: Cross-border trade plays role in filling food gap
ZIMBABWE: Bailout talks to resume soon
SOUTH AFRICA: Govt, private sector to fast-track housing delivery
SWAZILAND: Poverty-stricken AIDS widows pin hopes on new constitution
NAMIBIA: $34m African Development Bank loan to create a 'Green
   Revolution'
ZAMBIA: Govt eases the way for more maize imports
SWAZILAND: Deteriorating living standards, poor economic growth


MALAWI: Millions face hunger if food aid does not arrive

A sharp increase in malnutrition rates and rapidly rising maize prices 
in Malawi could push the number of vulnerable people in need of food aid 
up to five million, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Friday.

Food experts had previously estimated the number of people facing food 
shortages during the 2005/06 marketing year (April/March) at around 4.2 
million, or 34 percent of the total population, but that figure was 
based on a maize price-band of 19-23 kwacha/kg.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=49320


Trade liberalisation has increased poverty levels, claims report

A new report says Malawi's trade liberalisation policies have adversely 
affected smallholder farmers and undermined the food security of the 
poor.

'Trade Liberalisation: A Poverty Trap for the Poor in Malawi' by the 
Malawi Economic Justice Network (MEJN), a local NGO, assessed the impact 
of various trade liberalisation policies on farmers growing tobacco, 
maize and cotton - the country's major crops.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=49318


Hunger-related deaths signal deteriorating situation

Twenty-nine children in southern Malawi died of hunger-related illnesses 
between January and September, the World Food Programme (WFP) confirmed 
this week.

That these deaths occurred ahead of the traditional 'lean season' 
between harvests underlined the urgent need for food aid in the country, 
WFP spokeswoman Antonella D'Aprile told IRIN. "We are not yet in the 
hungry season, which is usually between December and March, and it is 
very unfortunate that we have children dying," she noted.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=49249


US cash injection to fight corruption

The US Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) and the Malawi government 
have announced the launch of a US $20.92 million programme aimed at 
fighting corruption and spurring long-term economic growth and 
development in the southern African country.

MCC vice-president Charles Sethness and Malawi's finance minister, 
Goodall Gondwe, announced the signing of a Threshold Country Plan (TCP) 
in Washington on 23 September, according to a US government press 
release.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=49255


SOUTHERN AFRICA: Cross-border trade plays role in filling food gap

As Southern Africa heads towards the traditional lean season between 
harvests, informal cross-border trade in maize, rice and beans has 
started levelling off in the past few months.

The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWSNET) and World Food 
Programme (WFP) informal cross-border food trade report noted that "by 
August the ... monitoring system had captured close to 83,000 mt of 
trade in maize, rice and beans since the start of the 2005/06 marketing 
year in April".

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=49293


NGOs welcome debt deal with caution

The World Bank (WB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) have endorsed 
a deal to cancel $42.5 billion owed by 18 poor countries, but debt 
cancellation campaigners have criticised the list of beneficiaries as 
being "too small".

On Sunday the international financial institutions announced that they 
would back an agreement concluded by the Group of Eight (G8) 
industrialised nations at their July summit in Gleneagles, Scotland, to 
cancel the debt owed by an initial 18 countries, followed by a possible 
20 as they become eligible.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=49239


Mega-hydropower projects urged to meet demand

Southern Africa is looking to mega-hydropower projects to meet galloping 
regional demand, which could outstrip surplus generation capacity by 
2007.

Electricity needs in the 14-member Southern African Development 
Community (SADC) have grown by three percent each year over the past 
decade. Total installed capacity in the region is about 52,000 megawatt 
(MW); 40,000 MW - or 90 percent - is supplied by the South African 
utility, Eskom.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=49236


ZIMBABWE: Bailout talks to resume soon

Zimbabwean and South African officials are to meet in the next two weeks 
for further talks on the possibility of loan assistance, a government 
spokesman confirmed on Wednesday.

"Talks have been continuing, but the two sides have not met recently," 
South African treasury spokesman Logan Wort told IRIN.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=49275


Parallel fuel market thriving

Fuel supplies remain critical in Zimbabwe, forcing motorists, business 
and industry to rely on the parallel market if they want to stay mobile.

The government liberalised the fuel sector last year, allowing 
individuals and private companies with free funds to source their own 
petrol/diesel for sale, and in July this year, government announced the 
sale of fuel for hard foreign currency.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=49254


SOUTH AFRICA: Govt, private sector to fast-track housing delivery

The South African government and the private sector, including property 
developers and banks, have agreed to speed up housing delivery in a bid 
to address the massive backlog.

At a recent Housing Indaba (conference) in Cape Town, participants 
signed a social contract for rapid housing delivery, with the overall 
aim of boosting the supply of low-cost homes to tackle the country's 2.4 
million unit shortfall.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=49277


SWAZILAND: Poverty-stricken AIDS widows pin hopes on new constitution

A new association of widows in Swaziland hopes to raise greater 
awareness of the plight of women who have lost their husbands to AIDS.

"We grow in numbers daily - the epidemic is creating a nation of 
widows," said Lindiwe Vilakati, a member of Litsemba Lebafelokati 
(SiSwati for "Hope of the Widows") Association.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=49237


NAMIBIA: $34m African Development Bank loan to create a 'Green 
Revolution'

An African Development Bank (ADB) loan to the tune of US $34 million has 
given Namibia's 'Green Scheme Project' a major boost.

The ADB said the cash injection would provide a vital lifeline to the 
agricultural sector and assist in making the arid country "greener" 
through irrigation and crop development initiatives targeting the 70 
percent of the country that relies on agriculture.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=49276


ZAMBIA: Govt eases the way for more maize imports

The Zambian government has waived the 15 percent import duty on maize to 
mitigate the food deficit, an official confirmed on Friday.

"[The waiver] will allow the Millers Association of Zambia to buy 
150,000 mt of maize from South Africa, and the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) 
to import 50,000 mt of maize," Enock Katowezhi, a spokesman for the 
ministry of agriculture told IRIN.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=49315


SWAZILAND: Deteriorating living standards, poor economic growth

The welfare of the average Swazi continues to deteriorate due to the 
poor performance of the nation's economy, the Central Bank of Swaziland 
reported in its annual review.

"Official estimates put real GDP growth at 2.1 percent in 2004. Given 
the estimated population growth rate of 2.9 percent, the unimpressive 
economic growth implies a deterioration of the standard of living as 
measured by per capita income," the bank observed.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=49319


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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