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 269
4 - 10 February 2006


CONTENTS:

MOZAMBIQUE-SOUTH AFRICA: New investigation into Machel's death welcomed
SOUTHERN AFRICA: Arrival of bird flu sparks concern
MALAWI: Mutharika's former deputy to challenge his dismissal
ZIMBABWE: Mbeki breaks silence on "quiet diplomacy"
MOZAMBIQUE: Rising Zambezi inundates island villages
SOUTH AFRICA: Renewed focus on land reform
SWAZILAND: New constitution unclear on political parties
ZAMBIA: Donors urged to respond to refugee food crisis
COMOROS: AU pre-election mission reports back
MADAGASCAR: Framework to forestall emergencies planned
NAMIBIA: Pushing for alternative power sources



MOZAMBIQUE-SOUTH AFRICA: New investigation into Machel's death welcomed

South Africa's decision to reopen the investigation into the 1986 death 
of Samora Machel, Mozambique's first president, has been welcomed by the 
leader's compatriots.

During his state of the nation address last Friday, President Thabo 
Mbeki noted that this year would commemorate "the 20th anniversary of 
the violent death of President Samora Machel in our country in 1986, in 
a plane crash that still requires a satisfactory explanation".

The South African Minister for Safety and Security, Charles Nqakula, 
announced this week that "our law enforcement agencies are going to 
develop a strategy to deal with the matter". He noted that new 
information had come to light and was currently being evaluated.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=51656


SOUTHERN AFRICA: Arrival of bird flu sparks concern

The arrival of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus strain in Nigeria has 
sparked concern over levels of preparedness and capacity to deal with a 
potential outbreak throughout Southern Africa.

According to a statement by the South African Department of Agriculture, 
the country has banned poultry imports from Nigeria and all members of 
the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). It stressed that 
South Africa was internationally recognised as being "avian 
influenza-free" and has strict measures in place to maintain that 
status, so "the outbreak poses no real threat to the country".

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=51634


MALAWI: Mutharika's former deputy to challenge his dismissal

Malawi's former Vice President, Cassim Chilumpha, is to challenge his 
"dismissal", a spokesman for the United Democratic Front (UDF) told IRIN 
on Friday.

President Bingu wa Mutharika, accusing Chilumpha of insubordination, 
running a "parallel government" and failure to perform his duties, 
announced on Thursday that his deputy had resigned. Relations between 
Chilumpha, the only remaining UDF member of the cabinet, and Mutharika 
have been strained since last year. Mutharika stood for president on a 
UDF ticket but quit the party last year to form the Democratic 
Progressive Party (DPP).

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=51651


Malawi's opposition has accused Mutharika of using the Anti-Corruption 
Bureau (ACB) to "persecute" his opponents. Mutharika denied the 
accusations at a function on Sunday in the commercial capital, Blantyre, 
to mark the third National Anti-Corruption Day, saying his 
administration was not targeting the opposition. A number of senior 
United Democratic Front (UDF) officials have been arrested by the ACB 
since Mutharika came to power in May 2005 and declared war on 
corruption.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=51632


Meanwhile, a scarcity of maize, coupled with escalating demand, has 
brought skyrocketing prices to Malawi's two cities, Lilongwe and 
Blantyre, according to a new consumer survey. The situation is expected 
to improve in April when the first of the winter crops comes onto the 
market, said Joseph Kuppens, director of the faith-based NGO, Centre For 
Social Concern (CFSC), which conducted the survey.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=51583


ZIMBABWE: Mbeki breaks silence on "quiet diplomacy"

South African President Thabo Mbeki said his "quiet diplomacy" policy 
regarding Zimbabwe had almost achieved a political breakthrough. During 
an interview with the national broadcaster earlier this week, Mbeki said 
that in 2004 the ruling ZANU-PF and the opposition Movement for 
Democratic Change "were actually involved in negotiating a new 
constitution for Zimbabwe, and they did and they completed it".

"They had done the constitution; they gave me a copy initialled by 
everybody. Done! So, we thought the next step then must be to say, 
'where do we take this process?' But then, as I say, new problems arose 
among themselves. So we watch the situation and, to the extent that we 
can help in future, we will," Mbeki added. However, both sides have 
denied this.

The Commercial Farmers' Union has urged the Zimbabwe government to 
institute a moratorium on its fast-track land reform programme in a bid 
to revive the ailing agricultural sector and avert further food 
shortages.


MOZAMBIQUE: Rising Zambezi inundates island villages

Around 2,500 people who fled flooding on the islands of Nhanhe and 
Rezenda in the Zambezi river in central Mozambique are reported to be 
living in precarious conditions.

Chris McIvor, Programme Director of Save the Children (UK) in 
Mozambique, who is currently visiting the families relocated to Nyambalo 
and Baf villages, said there was an urgent need for more assistance to 
the communities, especially those relocated in Baf. "We are concerned 
about cholera, especially because there are already a number of cholera 
cases in the district," said McIvor. "If cholera takes hold here, it 
could spread very quickly among the families."

The villagers were forced to flee after the Zambezi, Mozambique's 
largest river, washed over the islands on 17 January.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=51620


SOUTH AFRICA: Renewed focus on land reform

Controversy around statements by the South African government that it is 
to review its willing-seller willing-buyer approach to land reform and 
use expropriation, where necessary, is due more to unclear communication 
than substantive change in state policy, an analyst told IRIN. Land 
reform was one of the main promises made by the African National 
Congress when it came to power in 1994, but it has proved a complex and 
slow moving process, and more than a decade after the first democratic 
elections the government has found itself unable to settle many 
outstanding claims.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=51612


As controversy over cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad continued to 
rage around the world, the South African government acknowledged the 
hurt caused to Muslims and warned against hate speech, but made a strong 
stand on the right to freedom of expression.

The cabinet said in a statement on Wednesday that South Africa "upholds 
the principle of freedom of speech". However, government spokesman Joel 
Netshitenzhe added that "we do appreciate that our constitution enjoins 
us, in exercising this right, to respect the sensitivities of 
individuals and communities, and to eschew actions that may be 
interpreted as hate speech".

The statement came after South African newspapers were barred by a High 
Court order at the weekend from publishing the cartoons, raising fears 
in media and legal circles that freedom of speech was being sacrificed 
for sectional interests. The country's largest newspaper, the Sunday 
Times, said it would challenge the court interdict as it had "pre-empted 
a decision the newspaper had not yet made".

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=51557


SWAZILAND: New constitution unclear on political parties

Swaziland's long-awaited new constitution came into effect on Wednesday, 
but analysts and political parties said it remained vague on the key 
issue of legalising political parties. "The constitution seems 
deliberately ambiguous on the issue - it could be read as an attempt to 
undermine any move to allow democracy to take root in the absolute 
monarchy," said Thabele Matlosa, director of research at the Electoral 
Institute of Southern Africa.

In his order bringing the new constitution into effect King Mswati did 
not mention the suspension of the 1973 decree promulgated by his father, 
King Sobhuza, which banned organised political opposition groups. The 
Swazi press made the assumption on Tuesday that the decree had been 
suspended, on the basis of comments made by the country's top 
traditional leader, Jim Gama, the governor of Ludzidzini Royal Village.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=51614


On the brink of its fifth consecutive harvest failure, concern is 
mounting in Swaziland as food shortages continue. "The World Food 
Programme (WFP) has moved from an emergency response to recovery, but 
there is still a huge demand for relief food distribution," Catherine 
Feeney, WFP's Deputy Country Director, told IRIN.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=51590


Petrol bombings of government targets in Swaziland continued unabated 
despite the arrest of 16 members of banned political organisations in 
connection with the attacks. At the weekend, two flats belonging to 
police officers at a police housing development in the capital, Mbabane, 
were fire bombed.

Two weeks ago, two Swazi high schools, including the Swazi National High 
School in Matsapha, an industrial area just outside Manzini, the 
country's commercial hub, were fire bombed but no injuries were 
reported. The alumni include some of King Mswati's brothers.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=51572


ZAMBIA: Donors urged to respond to refugee food crisis

Zambia has urged donors to help end a food crisis affecting refugees 
hosted by the country.

Foreign Affairs Minister Ronnie Shikapwasha told a meeting of donors on 
Wednesday that some 70,000 refugees were currently on half-rations and 
food stocks would run out by next month. The United States Agency for 
International Development (USAID) announced this week that it would 
donate an additional 2,000 mt of emergency food aid for refugees in 
Zambia.

The donation comes in response to an appeal by the World Food Programme 
(WFP), which supplies food to the refugees from Angola and the 
Democratic Republic of Congo, who live in camps and remote settlements 
in Zambia and rely on WFP for their basic food needs.

Meanwhile, the head of the country's labour movement said Zambia's debt 
write-off had not yet translated into benefits for ordinary workers. The 
International Monetary Fund (IMF) has agreed to write off the debts of 
19 of the world's poorest countries, including Zambia's of more than US 
$390 million. Zambia Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) president Leonard 
Hikaumba said the recently released national budget should have used the 
debt write-off to ease the tax burden on workers.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=51556


COMOROS: AU pre-election mission reports back

As the Comoros prepare for upcoming elections that will test their new 
power-sharing arrangement, South Africa is gearing up to do its part in 
ensuring the April elections are free and fair.

Following a one-week fact-finding mission to assess the archipelago's 
readiness and requirements for the elections, a South African technical 
delegation presented their findings to the African Union's (AU) Peace 
and Security Committee. "South Africa has an interest in the stability 
of the Comoros - it would do anything in its power and contribute all 
necessary resources - but under the AU flag, not unilaterally," Vincent 
Hlongwane, a South African Foreign Ministry spokesperson, told IRIN.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=51558


MADAGASCAR: Framework to forestall emergencies planned

In the remote coastal region of Vangaindrano, in southeastern 
Madagascar, roughly 20 percent of the area's 24,000 children are 
malnourished, and the government and humanitarian partners are trying to 
bring aid to a community weakened by a series of disasters that have 
exhausted their ability to cope.

An estimated 5,000 children and 4,500 pregnant or lactating women have 
been identified as malnourished. Since November 2005, when the 
government and humanitarian partners acknowledged the extent of the 
problem, 53 percent of the moderately or severely malnourished children 
have been treated.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=51563


NAMIBIA: Pushing for alternative power sources

Amid a looming energy crunch in Southern Africa, the Namibian government 
is pulling out all the stops to promote the use of renewable energies 
like wind and solar power.

Namibia is dependant on South Africa for about half of its average daily 
power consumption of 200 megawatts (MW). South Africa's power utility, 
Eskom, announced in 2004 that it would be unable to provide Namibia with 
a steady supply of electricity in the near future. Eskom's surplus 
electricity supply capacity is expected to run out by 2007, as power 
demands in South Africa were expected to increase by 1,200 MW per annum.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=51650


Namibia's Emergency Management Unit says it is geared to deal with 
possible floods in the eastern flood plains of Caprivi.

Although the Zambezi River is considerably lower than when it caused 
flooding in previous years, EMU Deputy Director Gabriel Kangowa told The 
Namibian newspaper this week that they were still on alert for flooding 
in March or April. Kangowa said the EMU had enlisted the aid of a United 
Nations official to tweak their contingency plan and ensure that the 
Caprivi Regional Emergency Management was properly prepared.

The Caprivi region, in the far north, was spared flooding last year, but 
thousands of residents had to be evacuated from their homes in the flood 
plains in 2003 and 2004.


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