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 245
20 - 26 August 2005


CONTENTS:

ZIMBABWE: Still waiting for a place to call home
MALAWI: Family's UK asylum bid slammed
BOTSWANA: Alleged crackdown on Bushmen denied
ZAMBIA: Villagers resort to wild fruits as lack of funds delays food
SOUTH AFRICA: Pro-poor campaign launched that challenges ANC's record
SOUTHERN AFRICA: Literacy conference focuses on critical thinking
SWAZILAND: Traditional chastity vow may have lowered teenage HIV rates


ZIMBABWE: Still waiting for a place to call home

Grubby-faced children play on a patch of ground beside a towering 
plastic water container marked "UNICEF", one of the few humanitarian 
organisations helping hundreds of displaced families at Hopely Farm as 
they wait for the government to deliver on promised plots of land.

IRIN reported on Thursday that the 967 families at Hopely Farm have 
lived in the open for more than a month, with little to protect 
themselves against the elements. They had occupied illegal shanties 
around the capital, Harare, which were torn down by the authorities in a 
campaign of urban renewal, begun on 19 May, that left more than 700,000 
people homeless.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=48770


Govt to help church aid get to Harare

After almost a month of delays in getting relief food to those affected 
by the crackdown on illegal settlements in Zimbabwe, the South African 
Council of Churches (SACC) has asked the South African government to 
intervene.

"The SACC has requested Rev Frank Chikane, director-general of the 
presidency, for help, and he assured us last night that the necessary 
documents will be processed soon," said Rev Ron Steele on behalf of the 
SACC on Tuesday.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=48706


Crucial IMF assessment will put membership in the balance

A meeting between Zimbabwe and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) 
this week could prove crucial to overcoming the country's deepening 
economic crisis, analysts said on Monday.

Although the authorities have downplayed the significance of the Fund's 
latest visit to Zimbabwe, calling it a "routine" assessment, economists 
have argued that it was probably one of the last opportunities Harare 
would have to convince the Fund not to expel it.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=48689


UN demands unfettered access to those in need

Unrestricted access to people affected by the Zimbabwe government's 
controversial urban cleanup campaign is crucial if humanitarian needs 
are to be addressed, says UN Resident Coordinator Dr Agostinho Zacarias.

He told IRIN that the UN country team hoped to sign a memorandum of 
understanding (MOU) with the government of Zimbabwe, to ensure that aid 
was distributed impartially and reached those left homeless and 
vulnerable by Operation Murambatsvina ('Drive out Filth').

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=48684


Trial of a High Court judge puts judiciary in spotlight

As the trial of a High Court judge arrested for allegedly obstructing 
the course of justice gets underway in Zimbabwe, law experts said the 
proceedings are likely to bring the independence of the judiciary under 
close scrutiny once more.

Judge Benjamin Paradza is facing charges brought against him by state 
prosecutors in 2003 of attempting to defeat the course of justice by 
telephoning fellow judges and asking them to release the passport of a 
business partner accused of murder. Paradza has denied the allegations, 
and last year stalled the proceedings of the inquiry by lodging a 
constitutional case in the Supreme Court.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=48711


MALAWI: Family's UK asylum bid slammed

An attempt by a Malawian family to fight their deportation from the 
United Kingdom (UK) by claiming they faced human rights abuses back home 
is hurting the prospects of genuine asylum seekers, say local activists.

The Kachepa family was set to be deported on Thursday, after British 
immigration officials rejected their claim that they faced persecution 
should they return to Malawi.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=48769


Mutharika offers talks to calm troubled political waters

Malawi's opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) has cautiously 
welcomed an informal offer by President Bingu wa Mutharika to begin 
cross-party talks aimed at easing political tensions, IRIN reported on 
Wednesday.

Mutharika reportedly said at the weekend that he was prepared to meet 
with former president Bakili Muluzi of the UDF and John Tembo, leader of 
the opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP), to find solutions to their 
political differences.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=48742


Outrage over lenient fine for trafficking boys

A Kwacha 24,000 (US $200) fine imposed on a man caught trying to smuggle 
children across the border into Zambia is causing outrage in Malawi.

The Zambian national, named as Masautso Banda, was arrested last Friday 
as he attempted to cross the border with 15 children in tow.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=48740


Crackdown on unregistered post-secondary education planned

Thousands of Malawian graduates may soon be stripped of their 
qualifications as the government moves ahead with a plan to crack down 
on unregistered learning centres.

Malawi has more than 20 illegal higher education institutions offering a 
myriad of post-secondary courses, including accountancy, hotel 
management and engineering.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=48710


BOTSWANA: Alleged crackdown on Bushmen denied

The government of Botswana has denied allegations that it is launching a 
'massive crackdown' on the Bushmen of the central Kalahari.

Government spokesman Jeff Ramsay dismissed claims by rights group 
Survival International (SI) that the administration was attempting to 
blockade the ancestral lands of the Bushmen.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=48708


ZAMBIA: Villagers resort to wild fruits as lack of funds delays food

Desperate villagers in Siavonga District in southern Zambia will have to 
wait up to three weeks before receiving much-needed government food aid, 
a senior official said on Thursday.

Earlier this week drought-hit villagers called on the authorities to 
speed up food distribution in the area, complaining that households had 
already resorted to eating wild fruits as maize shortages worsened.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=48766


Chiluba rejects British judge in civil case

Former Zambian president Frederick Chiluba faces a civil claim for at 
least US $23.3 million, which the government alleges he stole from state 
coffers while in power.

But the former Zambian premier has refused to submit himself to the 
court process that started in London at the beginning of the year. A 
source close to the case told IRIN on Tuesday that the Zambian 
attorney-general petitioned the London court because the assets being 
sought for repatriation were located in Europe.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=48715


SOUTH AFRICA: Pro-poor campaign launched that challenges ANC's record

A coalition of South African pressure groups on Monday launched a 
campaign against the loss of jobs and growing poverty in what is being 
perceived as a challenge to the government's development policies.

According to a senior Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) 
official, the initiative includes the South African Council of Churches 
and the AIDS lobby group, Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) among other 
prominent activist groups.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=48690


SOUTHERN AFRICA: Literacy conference focuses on critical thinking

Academics attending the 4th Pan-African 'Reading for All' Conference in 
Swaziland this week say greater effort is needed to improve critical 
thinking among students across the continent.

The theme of the biannual gathering is 'Literacy for Sustainable 
Development', and is sponsored by the International Reading Association 
(IRA).

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=48768


SWAZILAND: Traditional chastity vow may have lowered teenage HIV rates

As a generation of young Swazi women end a five-year vow of chastity in 
a traditional ceremony this week, health officials are debating the 
impact of the custom on reducing the risk of HIV infection.

"We have loads of anecdotal evidence that girls are using the 'sex ban' 
as a way to avoid unwanted intercourse with demanding boyfriends and 
even older men. That is proof enough that some good has occurred - no 
one expected the custom to eliminate premarital sex entirely," HIV/AIDS 
councillor Goodness Simelane told IRIN on Tuesday.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=48714


IRIN-SA
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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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