Weekly Round-Up - IRINSA-279: 21-Apr-06
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 279
15 - 21 April 2006
CONTENTS:
COMOROS: Court decision may determine election result
ZIMBABWE: Little to celebrate as country turns 26
MALAWI: More clashes with vendors, 33 arrested
ANGOLA: China entrenches position in booming economy
NAMIBIA: Conservation gets funding boost
SOUTHERN AFRICA: Migrants find sex trade a dead end street
SWAZILAND: Comprehensive OVC policy unveiled
COMOROS: Court decision may determine election result
Results of the polls to select the final round of presidential
candidates, held this week, have been delayed after they were contested
by a favourite, Caabi Elyachroutu Mohamed. The first-round poll on 16
April, reserved for Anjouan's 117,000 voters, narrowed down 13
presidential hopefuls to three, which did not include Mohamed, who has
since contested the outcome in the constitutional court, citing
irregularities.
A 2001 power-sharing agreement, brokered by the African Union's
predecessor, the Organisation of African Unity, gave the individual
islands of Grande Comore, Anjouan and Moheli their own semi-autonomous
government and president, with a rotating presidency for the Union,
which now moves from Grand Comore to Anjouan.
The islands are expected to elect their president on 14 May from the top
three in the 16 April round of voting.
See related reports:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=52866
ZIMBABWE: Little to celebrate as country turns 26
As the country observed its 26th year of independence this week,
President Robert Mugabe assured Zimbabweans that the economy could grow
by one or two percent. A frail-looking Mugabe announced that the
government planned to stabilise the economy in the next six to nine
months "by focusing on food security and increased agricultural
production" and "foreign exchange generation", accompanied by
"aggressive marketing of Zimbabwe as a conducive investment
[destination]". Zimbabweans are suffering shortages of food, foreign
exchange and fuel, and an inflation rate in March of 913.6 percent.
Humanitarian sources told IRIN this week that the government had called
off a joint crop and food supply assessment mission with the UN's Food
and Agricultural Organisation. The decision was apparently related to a
UN World Health Organisation report, which said the country's women have
the shortest lifespan in the world. Agriculture Minister Joseph Made
told IRIN that the government was going to conduct crop and food supply
assessments on its own, without the involvement of local and
international NGOs.
Mugabe is projecting agro-led growth despite estimates that Zimbabwe
will again be unable to feed itself this year. The last two independent
surveys conducted by the US-funded Famine Early Warning Network and the
US Department of Agriculture forecast deficits, with maize production
estimated at between 700,000 mt and 900,000 mt, compared to a domestic
requirement of 1.4 million mt.
See related reports:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=52844
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=52840
MALAWI: More clashes with vendors, 33 arrested
The week was marred by clashes between the police and informal traders
protesting their removal from urban centres in Malawi. The police fired
teargas for the second time this week on Wednesday. Most shops in
Malawi's three main cities had stayed shut for two consecutive days in
anticipation of unrest. In the renewed violence on Wednesday, 33 vendors
were arrested. On Monday there were battles between the police and
street vendors in both Lilongwe, the capital, and Blantyre, the second
city, ahead of a Tuesday deadline for traders to vacate business
centres. The deadline had been extended from 15 April.
Full report:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=52862
ANGOLA: China entrenches position in booming economy
Angola has overtaken Saudi Arabia as China's main crude oil supplier. As
the second largest consumer of Angolan oil after the United States,
China has a significant stake in the Southern African country's economy,
where Chinese companies have been at the forefront of Angola's
reconstruction bonanza: a new airport is being built at Viana, just
outside the capital Luanda, one-third financed by the government, the
rest by Chinese interests; the war-damaged Benguela railway, which
stretches from the Democratic Republic of Congo to the coast, is being
rebuilt as part of a Chinese deal worth US $200-$300 million.
The Asian powerhouse has also procured lucrative contracts to rebuild
the nation's roads and a rejuvenated Angola Airlines is considering
opening a direct route to Beijing.
Full report:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=52814
NAMIBIA: Conservation gets funding boost
The Namibian government has secured US $12 million in donor support for
conservation efforts in four national parks over the next decade, which
will have an impact on rural poverty. The parks that stand to benefit
are the world-famous Etosha National Park in north-central Namibia, the
Ai Ais-Richtersveld Transfrontier Park along the Fish River Canyon near
the South African border, an area between the Skeleton Coast Park and
Etosha, which will be linked to the western boundaries of Etosha, and
the Sperrgebiet along the southern coastline.
Full report:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=52817
SOUTHERN AFRICA: Migrants find sex trade a dead end street
As the region's most developed country, South Africa draws thousands of
poor migrants every year. Many of them are lured in by false promises of
well-paid employment, education opportunities or marriage by human
traffickers, and then coerced into prostitution or other forms of bonded
labour. The International Organisation for Migration estimates that
approximately 1,000 women from Mozambique alone are trafficked into
South Africa every year. In this feature, IRIN takes a closer look at
the lives of the women taken into the country under false pretences.
Full report:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=52867
SWAZILAND: Comprehensive OVC policy unveiled
By 2010, Swaziland will have over 120,000 orphans, about one-sixth of
the mountain kingdom's population of just over a million. The Swazi
government has launched its first comprehensive policy to address the
health and education needs of its growing number of orphans and
vulnerable children. The policy will also coordinate the efforts of NGOs
and government agencies, to prioritise resources and prevent
duplication.
Full report:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=52865
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