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
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SOUTHERN AFRICA
IRIN-SA Weekly Round-Up 268
28 January - 3 February 2006


CONTENTS:

ZIMBABWE: IMF position on Zimbabwe's future
MALAWI: Opposition parties criticise Mutharika's proposed crop tour
SOUTH AFRICA: Skills shortage hampers goal to halve poverty
ZAMBIA: IMF concerned over poverty
SWAZILAND: Constitution to become operational next week
NAMIBIA: Country declares food crisis
SOUTHERN AFRICA: One good harvest not enough to end humanitarian crises
BOTSWANA: Routine HIV testing not as straightforward as it sounds



ZIMBABWE: IMF position on Zimbabwe's future

A visiting International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation left Zimbabwe 
this week after reportedly urging the government to undertake major 
policy reforms to turn around the country's battered economy. The team's 
findings are expected to be submitted to the IMF executive board on 8 
March, which will decide the fund's future dealings with Zimbabwe. The 
country has been threatened with expulsion over non-payment of arrears 
owed to the IMF.

Zimbabwe's economy is in its sixth year of recession, with chronic 
shortages of food, foreign currency and fuel, triple-digit inflation and 
soaring unemployment. This week a new Zim $50,000 note was introduced to 
help ease a chronic shortage of money, but critics said the value had 
already been overtaken by inflation.

[See IRIN report: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=51491]


Meanwhile, the European Union this week extended its sanctions against 
Zimbabwe, which include an arms embargo and a visa ban. On Thursday 
Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic 
Change and eight other top party officials were deported from Zambia for 
violating that country's immigration laws.


MALAWI: Opposition parties criticise Mutharika's proposed crop tour

Opposition parties in Malawi are reportedly up in arms over President 
Bingu wa Mutharika's plans to assess the food security situation and the 
impact of a fertiliser subsidy programme. The parties have reportedly 
described the tour as an abuse of public funds.

Malawi is still recovering from last year's drought, the worst in a 
decade, which has left five million people in need of food aid. The 
European Union this week announced funding for a public works programme 
to help alleviate poverty and improve food security.

[See IRIN report: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=51486]


A survey in Malawi, commissioned by the UN Children's Fund and the NGO, 
ActionAid, has raised concern over the increased vulnerability of girls 
to sexual abuse - partly as a result of deepening poverty. The study, 
covering over a thousand school-age girls, found that more than half had 
experienced some form of sexual abuse in schools.

[See IRIN report: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=51488]


SOUTH AFRICA: Skills shortage hampers goal to halve poverty

In his state of the nation address on Friday, President Thabo Mbeki said 
South Africa's current skills shortage threatened the ability of the 
public and private sectors to meet the Accelerated and Shared Growth 
Initiative for SA (ASGISA) goal of halving poverty and unemployment by 
2014. Mbeki also underlined the need to raise government efficiency, and 
speed up land reform.

IRIN reported this week that unemployment would remain South Africa's 
greatest challenge in the decades ahead, according to a survey of 
business leaders and economists. Despite a growing economy, the experts 
said they were concerned with the phenomenon of jobless growth, which 
would not dent South Africa's unemployment rate of between 30 and 40 
percent.

[See IRIN report: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=51455]


More than a decade after the advent of democracy, South Africa has still 
one of the most unequal societies in the world, but a recent study 
reveals that public support for pro-poor policies is highly conditional.

[See IRIN report: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=51428]


ZAMBIA: IMF concerned over poverty

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) executive board this week 
expressed concern over widespread poverty in Zambia. In its otherwise 
complimentary assessment, the board said it was encouraged by the 
authorities' commitment to increase further spending on poverty-reducing 
programmes and implement a structural reform agenda aimed at increasing 
productivity and raising incomes.

Zambia's annual inflation rate has fallen to its lowest level in four 
years, partly as a result of a strengthening of the local currency, 
which has benefited from the write-off of foreign debt by the G8.

[See IRIN report: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=51456]

In what has been described as a policy u-turn, Zambian president Levy 
Mwanawasa declared that this year's general election will be held under 
the current constitution rather than a new document prepared by a 
Constituent Assembly as church and NGO activists have demanded. 
Mwanawasa has cited cost and lack of time to deliver a new constitution 
before the polls, but campainers have vowed to carry on the fight.

[See IRIN report http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=51528]

Zambian Home Affairs Secretary Peter Mumba reported that more than 100 
refugees from Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo had left their 
camps after the World Food Programme (WFP) halved their food rations 
last month. WFP needs US $8.5m to feed the 82,000 refugees living in 
refugee camps.


SWAZILAND: Constitution to become operational next week

King Mswati II has reportedly assured the country that the much-awaited 
constitution will become operational next week. However, it is still 
unclear whether the 1973 Proclamation prohibiting political activities 
and parties will be abolished when the constitution comes into force.

Meanwhile, bulldozers were set to move in this week to clear a string of 
informal urban settlements as the Swazi government and local authorities 
clamp down on unplanned housing.

[See IRIN report: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=51457]


NAMIBIA: Country declares food crisis

The World Food Programme (WFP) is to assist 111,000 orphans and 
vulnerable children in Namibia's northern provinces from April this 
year. The children benefiting from WFP's assistance have been made 
vulnerable by the impact of HIV/AIDS, many of them having to head 
households after being orphaned.

Meanwhile, another abysmally low final school examination pass rate has 
sparked calls for Namibia's education sector to be reformed. Of the 
13,850 students who sat the grade 12 school-leaving exams in 2005, only 
2,840 qualified for admittance to the University of Namibia and the 
Polytechnic of Namibia.

[See IRIN report: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=51508]


SOUTHERN AFRICA: One good harvest not enough to end humanitarian crises

The humanitarian and development challenges facing Southern Africa are 
not going to be countered by one good harvest, said James Morris, the UN 
Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Humanitarian Needs.

During his five-day visit to Mozambique, South Africa and Malawi, Morris 
said although recent good rainfall could mean better agricultural 
production in some countries, "many millions of people will face extreme 
difficulties even if there are better harvests this year".

[See IRIN report: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=51513]


BOTSWANA: Routine HIV testing not as straightforward as it sounds

Botswana's decision to introduce routine HIV testing in all its health 
facilities was driven by the growing realisation that plans to provide 
anti-AIDS medication were likely to fail unless more people were tested.

But activists have expressed concern that the policy could be eroding 
the patient's right to confidentiality, with the risk of informed 
consent being compromised.

[See IRIN report: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=51474]


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