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
1 - 7 October 2005


CONTENTS:

MALAWI: Irrigation brings hope to the drought-hit south
ZIMBABWE: Street vendors slip back quietly after urban clean-up
   campaign
ZAMBIA: Fuel crisis may stall food imports
SWAZILAND: Govt gears up to tackle water crisis
ANGOLA: Ongoing challenges facing almost 100,000 displaced
SOUTHERN AFRICA: South Africa boosts aid to region


MALAWI: Irrigation brings hope to the drought-hit south

In the arid landscape of Malawi's drought-hit southern Nsanje district 
there is a 12 ha lush-green field of maize that will be harvested by the 
end of November; it is perhaps the only food output in the district in 
many months.

The farm is part of a pilot irrigation scheme called Sapatongwe, watered 
by the perennial Shire river that flows through the drought-prone 
district for at least 200 km.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=49425


School-feeding programme helps the whole family

Mpudu Mulende scrapes every last bit of the nutritious soya porridge 
from his plate. There is no food at home, and this one meal a day he 
gets at school is all the six-year old can rely on.

His parents were lucky: his school is one of 249 in drought-hit southern 
Malawi that are part of a UN World Food Programme (WFP) initiative that 
keeps 200,000 children in class by feeding them.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=49407


Political crisis may jeopardise assistance, UK High Commissioner

The ongoing political crisis in Malawi has distracted government and 
caused parliament to lose focus amid a hunger crisis threatening more 
than four million people, and could also jeopardise foreign development 
assistance, according to British High Commissioner to Malawi David 
Pearey.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=49405


Hungry season arrives early for rural poor

In Malawi's drought-hit southern district of Bangwe, people begin 
queuing as early as 3.00 a.m. outside the depot of the state grain 
marketer Admarc for subsidised maize-meal.

The demand is such, after the worst harvest in a decade, that ADMARC has 
been forced to introduce rationing, IRIN reported on Tuesday.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=49364


ZIMBABWE: Street vendors slip back quietly after urban clean up campaign

Five months after the Zimbabwean government cleared the streets of urban 
centres across the country of vendors, beggars and street children, 
informal traders are trickling back but are forced to play hide-and-seek 
as police prowl the pavements on the lookout for illegal operators.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=49400


Drought tightens grip on already parched Matabeleland

Persistent water shortages in Zimbabwe's second city, Bulawayo, have 
forced local authorities to deploy bowsers in several high-density 
townships to ease the situation.

Water rationing has also intensified, with each household being allowed 
only 60 litres a day. An average bath takes 50 to 150 litres.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=49423


Cost of living soars for urban families

Galloping inflation is sapping the purchasing power of urban 
Zimbabweans, according to a new report by the country's consumer 
watchdog.

The Consumer Council of Zimbabwe (CCZ) said on Wednesday that basic 
expenditure for an urban family of six had shot up from about Zim $6.9 
million (US $265) in September to Zim $9.9 million (US $380) in October.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=49386


IMF, govt differ over economic outlook

In the absence of any bold changes in policy direction, Zimbabwe's 
economic outlook remains bleak, says the International Monetary Fund 
(IMF).

The executive board noted that the annual IMF staff report on Zimbabwe 
showed an ongoing socioeconomic decline that would have "particularly 
detrimental effects on the poorest segments of the population".

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=49381


Doubt over govt's ability to import sufficient maize as hunger figures 
rise

A senior food security expert in Zimbabwe on Wednesday said the 
government will have to work more closely with the international 
community if it hopes to feed millions of people facing shortages this 
year.

The EU official, who wished to remain anonymous, said that despite a 
"significant effort" by the government to import urgently needed maize 
in recent months, there remained "much uncertainty" over whether it 
would meet the country's requirements.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=49380


Government determined to keep city "clean"

The Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA) said on Tuesday that 
the arrest of thousands of informal traders over the past two weeks was 
likely to exacerbate the economic crisis in the capital city.

On Monday the official newspaper, The Herald, reported that around 
14,000 illegal vendors and foreign currency and fuel dealers had been 
arrested during a follow-up operation to the urban clean-up campaign 
earlier this year.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=49361


Rural areas feel bite of hunger ahead of lean season

Poor rural households in drought-ravaged southern Zimbabwe have 
exhausted their food stocks and are resorting to eating wild roots in a 
bid to stave off hunger, IRIN reported on Tuesday.

Erratic supplies by the state's Grain Marketing Board (GMB) and the lack 
of essential commodities in rural shops have combined to undermine food 
security in the semi-arid Matabeleland region, aid workers told IRIN.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=49360


Queuing becomes essential skill as shelves empty

Three hours of standing in a queue for maize-meal looked like it was 
about to pay off when the line suddenly disintegrated amid despairing 
groans and some furious name-calling - the supermarket had just run out 
of Zimbabwe's staple food.

Shoppers in Zimbabwe's second city, Bulawayo, are rationed to 10 kg of 
maize-meal per person, but finding it - and indeed most other basic 
essentials - on the shelves is no easy matter.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=49344


ZAMBIA: Fuel crisis may stall food imports

A fuel crisis in Zambia will hamper efforts to import maize to mitigate 
food shortages in the country, says Oxfam country programme manager Ric 
Goodman.

Faced with rising food prices and dwindling supplies of basic 
commodities, the Zambian government announced last week that it would 
waive the 15 percent import duty on commercial maize to encourage 
traders to import the staple food.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=49382


SWAZILAND: Govt gears up to tackle water crisis

Swaziland's Water Services Board is gearing up to truck six million 
litres of water to drought-stricken areas along the border with 
Mozambique as the country grapples with a serious water crisis, IRIN 
reported on Thursday.

"I urged government over two weeks ago to instruct the Disaster Task 
Force to treat the situation as an emergency," said Minister of 
Agriculture Mtiti Fakudze, who is also the parliamentary representative 
for the Dvokodvweni constituency in eastern Swaziland.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=49402


Govt vows to bring weekend bombers to justice

Investigations into a series of fire bombings in Swaziland at the 
weekend continued on Tuesday as authorities vowed to bring the 
perpetrators to justice.

The police have intimated that the People's United Democratic Movement 
(PUDEMO), a coalition of banned opposition parties, may be behind the 
incidents. PUDEMO has denied any involvement.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=49351


ANGOLA: Ongoing challenges facing almost 100,000 displaced

More than three years after the end of Angola's protracted civil 
conflict, almost 100,000 displaced people are still unable to return to 
their homes, according to a recent study.

Findings from a joint assessment carried out earlier this year by the 
United Nations and the government revealed that although some four 
million internally displaced persons (IDPs) have made their way home 
since April 2002, more than 91,000 remained in limbo, mainly in Cabinda, 
Huila, Kuando Kubango, Luanda and Moxico provinces.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=49379


SOUTHERN AFRICA: South Africa boosts aid to region

South Africa has announced a R140 million (US $22 million) donation to 
the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and the Food and Agriculture 
Organisation (FAO) to alleviate food shortages in Southern Africa.

The Department of Agriculture and Land Affairs said in a statement that 
the government had agreed "to provide humanitarian food aid assistance 
and to support the rehabilitation of agricultural production in seven 
countries in the region ... Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, 
Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe".

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=49342


IRIN-SA
Tel: +27 11 895-1900
Fax: +27 11 784-6759
Email: IRIN-SA@irin.org.za

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2005


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