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 264
31 December 2005 - 6 January 2006


CONTENTS:

MALAWI: Number of affected people rising as rain continues
SWAZILAND: Senior PUDEMO official arrested for treason
ZIMBABWE: Children endure the hardships of prison life
SOUTHERN AFRICA: Heavy rainfall claims lives, leaves thousands homeless
ANGOLA: Top athlete appeals as WFP ops face closure


MALAWI: Number of affected people rising as rain continues

As rain continues to pound southern Malawi, local government officials 
appealed for relief assistance this week, including food aid for people 
made homeless by flooding.

Heavy rain since mid-December has caused flooding along at least six 
rivers - the Shire, Ruo, Nyamazire, Lalanje, Mwanza and Kombezi - in the 
southern districts of the country.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=50957


UDF willing to smoke peace pipe, with provisos

Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika's main rival, the United 
Democratic Front (UDF), has said it is willing to take up his offer to 
break the political impasse in the country provided he works on 
improving relations with parliament.

In his New Year's eve address last week, Mutharika said he was ready to 
talk to the opposition, provided "they withdraw the impeachment charges 
against me", which followed the president's anti-corruption campaign 
that netted former ruling party members.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=50941


Interview with WHO representative Dr Matshidiso Moeti

The government of President Bingu wa Mutharika has made strides in 
improving Malawi's health care system. IRIN spoke to World Health 
Organisation (WHO) representative Matshidiso Moeti about the remaining 
challenges.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=50944


Outgoing envoy urges leaders to talk

The outgoing British High Commissioner to Malawi, David Pearey, has 
urged the country's political leaders to end their differences for the 
good of the nation.

"At the risk of treading in areas of great sensitivity, I have to admit 
to a concern about the recent turn of political events. Your country, if 
I might say so, is facing a crisis. I do not just speak of a food 
crisis, though this is serious enough. I am referring more to a crisis 
of confidence as a consequence of years of under-achievement," he 
commented at a farewell function hosted by President Bingu wa Mutharika 
on Wednesday.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=50973



SWAZILAND: Senior PUDEMO official arrested for treason

A senior official of the People's United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO), a 
banned political party, was arrested on Thursday for treason on charges 
related to the petrol-bomb attacks on Swazi government targets last 
year.

Bonginkosi Dlamini, the PUDEMO secretary-general, will be tried with 13 
other party members in connection with nearly a dozen bombings in the 
latter half of 2005 that targeted the homes of police officers, 
government officials and government buildings, according to a police 
spokesman.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=50975


13 charged with high treason over bombings

If found guilty, 13 members of a banned political party may face the 
death penalty after being charged with high treason in connection with a 
string of fire bombings against government targets.

The latter half of 2005 saw nearly a dozen bombings that targeted the 
homes of police officers, government officials and government buildings. 
Damage was minimal and no injuries were sustained, and to date no one 
has claimed responsibility.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=50945


"Sewage sociology" finds condom use rising

Without a definitive survey it's hard to know the extent of condom use 
by Swazis, but one group claims to have proof that it's on the rise: the 
workers at Swaziland's newest sewage treatment plant.

"Condom use has gone up 50 percent this past year," boldly asserts 
Marvin Simelane, a worker at the new Ngwane Park sewage pumping facility 
outside the country's most populous urban centre, Manzini.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=50959


ZIMBABWE: Children endure the hardships of prison life

Annastasia, 12 months old, her hair plaited with red and white ribbons 
to match her flowery dress, conjures the ideal image of a cute toddler, 
a perfect contender for a baby pageant.

The only discordant note is her surroundings - four high white walls 
make up Annastasia's world, and she will only discover what lies beyond 
them in six months' time, when her grandmother fetches her to live with 
her four siblings.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=50960


Shortage of farm labour could impact on harvest

A shortage of farm workers as a result of low wages could impact on this 
year's harvest, warned the General Agricultural Plantation Workers' 
Union of Zimbabwe (GAPWUZ).

Despite heavy rains for almost a month, new farmers have complained that 
besides a scarcity of labour, shortages of fertiliser, fuel and seed 
could lead to a poor harvest.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=50958



SOUTHERN AFRICA: Heavy rainfall claims lives, leaves thousands homeless

Heavy rainfall and flooding in southern Africa over the past few days 
has claimed eight lives in Mozambique and left thousands homeless in 
Malawi.

"Incessant rainfall and lightning across the country claimed two lives 
in the central Sofala province, four in the northern Zambezia [province] 
and another two in the southern Gaza province in the past few days," a 
spokesman for Mozambique's National Institute for Disaster Management 
(INGC), Rogerio Manguele, told IRIN on Tuesday.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=50930


ANGOLA: Top athlete appeals as WFP ops face closure

World marathon record holder Paul Tergat has appealed to the 
international community to support the World Food Programme's (WFP) 
school feeding projects in Angola after the UN food agency said a cash 
shortage could force it to pull out of the country entirely by March.

Tergat, a double Olympic medallist and WFP ambassador, was a beneficiary 
of a similar school-feeding programme in the remote Kenyan village of 
Baringo when he was just seven years old. Speaking from experience, he 
said a hearty meal would entice kids back into the classroom and was 
vital to individual success and for the development of Angola as a 
whole.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=50932


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