Weekly Round-Up - IRINSA-287: 16-Jun-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 287
10 - 16 June 2006
CONTENTS:
ZIMBABWE:Govt launches another clean-up operation
NAMIBIA: Higher unemployment stats no surprise to analysts
BOTSWANA-ZIMBABWE: Cattle farmers say, 'Not in my backyard'
ZAMBIA: Govt under pressure to enact information law
ZIMBABWE:Govt launches another clean-up operation
As winter sets in, the Zimbabwean government has launched another
operation to purge the capital, Harare, of "illegal" homes and market
stalls in an effort to "clean" the city. The demolitions began at the
crack of dawn on Thursday, when truckloads of municipal police raided
the high-density suburb of Glen Norah in Harare and brought down
"illegal" structures with crowbars and set them alight. More than 400
people were affected, including school children.
See report:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=53995
Media bodies slam minister's threats
Media organisations and human rights activists in Zimbabwe have slammed
threats made against journalists by the minister of information,
Tichaona Jokonya. During a press conference earlier this week Jokonya
threatened "unpatriotic" journalists, labelling them traitors.
The media and activists responded by saying that patriotism was not
linked to a specific leadership or political party, and called for
greater press freedom. Four newspapers, including the country's biggest
daily, The Daily News, have been closed since 2003, and independent
radio stations have been kept off the air as a result of the restrictive
Broadcasting Services Act.
See report:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=53980
Prisoners forced to go without food
Zimbabwe's economic crisis is reaching into prisons cells, often forcing
inmates to go without food for days, the findings of two parliamentary
committees revealed.
A shortage of food and water, and poor sanitation and health services
were some of the problems in police cells and prisons across the
country. Some prisoners were relying on food brought by relatives.
According to official sources, Zimbabwe is holding at least 21,000
prisoners in a system designed to hold roughly 16,000 inmates.
See report:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=53885
Politics make strange churchfellows
Zimbabwean churches trying to address the worsening political and
economic crises are being thrust into the unfamiliar role of political
activism, and are perceived as split along party lines.
Church groups perceived to support President Robert Mugabe and those who
favour a faction of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, led
by Morgan Tsvangirai, have been attacking each other after cancellation
of the traditional National Day of Prayer observed by Zimbabweans of all
religious denominations. Insiders claimed the decision to cancel the
prayer day was spurred by a fear that the more radical, pro-opposition
Zimbabwe Christian Alliance would take over the show.
See report:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=53947
NAMIBIA: Higher unemployment stats no surprise to analysts
Namibia's announcement in parliament that the unemployment rate had
reached 36.7 percent hardly surprised analysts, who have long been
calling for policy reform and job creation.
The latest Namibia Labour Force Survey, conducted by the ministry of
labour and social welfare, told of rising unemployment - up more than
three percent since the previous survey in 2000. Analysts warned that
Namibia is doing poorly at creating new jobs, and this needs serious
attention from policy analysts and policymakers.
See report:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=53958
Polio vaccines arrive as death toll rises to 10
The death toll from the polio outbreak has risen to ten in the past two
weeks but the early arrival in Namibia of 2.5 million doses of vaccine
donated by the UN Children's Fund (Unicef) will give the immunisation
programme scheduled for 21 June a head start.
The vaccine will be sent to all 35 districts in Namibia and will also be
distributed to ports of entry, airlines and embassies.
See report:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=53909
BOTSWANA-ZIMBABWE: Cattle farmers say, 'Not in my backyard'
Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) and cattle rustling have left ranchers
along Botswana's border with Zimbabwe feeling less than neighbourly.
Farmers on the Botswana-Zimbabwe border have accused the government of
failing to provide adequate security and were demanding compensation
after years of mass cattle theft by their Zimbabwean neighbours. They
also blamed Zimbabwe for an outbreak of FMD in 2003, and said inadequate
fencing along the border allowed cattle to stray into Zimbabwe and made
driving stolen cattle across the border easier.
See report:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=53949
ZAMBIA: Govt under pressure to enact information law
Zambia's approaching general elections have increased pressure on the
government to enact the Freedom of Information bill that, if passed,
would compel public officials to release information being sought, and
enable a petitioner to go to court if they refused.
Parliamentarians, media practitioners and other interest groups have
warned that further delay would stifle media freedom to expose
shortcomings in government operations and the process of holding
democratic elections, scheduled for later this year.
See report:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=53906
IRIN-SA
Tel: +27 11 895-1900
Fax: +27 11 784-6759
Email: IRIN-SA@irin.org.za
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Appropriate Donations for International Disaster/Humanitarian Needs
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Center for International web: www.cidi.org
Disaster Information listserv: www.cidi.org/listsub.htm
guidelines: www.cidi.org/donate.htm
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Southern Africa www.cidi.org/humanitarian/irin/safrica