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 290
1 - 7 July 2006


CONTENTS:

ZIMBABWE: The two-step between Mugabe and the opposition goes on
ANGOLA: Cholera every year if water and sanitation not improved
SOUTH AFRICA: No escape from "poverty trap"
MALAWI: Turning the future into charcoal
SWAZILAND: Old habits die hard
LESOTHO: Textiles no longer hanging by a thread


ZIMBABWE: The two-step between Mugabe and the opposition goes on

Yet another mediation effort has been launched to solve the political
and humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe but analysts and politicians told
IRIN there was little hope of success.

Benjamin Mkapa, a former Tanzanian head of state, has been asked by
regional leaders to help find a solution to the divide between
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and an opposition that rejects the
legitimacy of his government. Without a settlement, Zimbabwe's pariah
status in western capitals is likely to continue, and financial aid will
remain frozen.

More details
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54483


Opportunistic money is creating a new elite

Zimbabwe may have the fastest shrinking economy in the world, but a
small, well-connected elite appears immune to the hardships.

Government policies that have allowed the parallel market to thrive,
combined with corruption, have led to the skewed distribution of wealth.
This means that every evening long lines of people walk home from work
in the city centre because they cannot afford bus fares, while a
fortunate few cruise past them in expensive cars.

See report:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54449


Harare calling - broadcasters accuse govt of radio jamming

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called on the Zimbabwean
government to stop the alleged jamming of news broadcasts by radio
stations based in the United States and Britain.

In a statement this week, the CPJ accused the government of jamming
medium-wave signals by the Voice of America's (VOA) Studio 7, a
90-minute news programme broadcasting into Zimbabwe in English and local
languages, and the London-based SW Radio Africa. Home affairs minister
Kembo Mohadi denied the jamming allegation and the government claims it
faces western "sanctions" as punishment for its violent land
redistribution programme, launched in 2000.

See report:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54414


ANGOLA: Cholera every year if water and sanitation not improved

The cholera epidemic in Angola has peaked and new cases are on the
decline, but if water and sanitation issues are not addressed, aid
agencies expect to be back for another outbreak within a year.

"The government needs to improve water and sanitation - Angola has not
seen a cholera outbreak since 1995 and now we expect it to reappear
every year, becoming endemic," Karen Godley, the Medecins Sans
Frontieres (MSF)-Switzerland head of mission in Angola, told IRIN.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54476


SOUTH AFRICA: No escape from "poverty trap"

Hope that post-apartheid economic growth will translate into a better
life for the poor is dying in the expanding squatter camps that ring
Johannesburg, South Africa's bustling business centre.

A recent government discussion paper on social trends, 'A nation in the
making', acknowledged a vast underclass of the unemployed and
unemployable who are undocumented and unreached by government
programmes. Most of those who can earn a living in the squatter
settlement do so by collecting scrap metal or cardboard, piled into
trolleys, and pushed and pulled all the way to the dealers. The less
entrepreneurial forage in garbage dumps for food. The poignancy of
poverty in South Africa is that often the have-nots are within sight of
the haves.

See report:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54393


MALAWI: Turning the future into charcoal

Chopping down the forests for charcoal and fuel wood seems so
shortsighted, but until there are alternative sources of energy for
Malawi's rural poor, the destruction will continue.

Malawi loses about 50,000ha of indigenous forest every year - the
highest deforestation rate in the Southern African Development Community
(SADC) region. The government estimates that just 4 percent of the
population has access to electricity; over 93 percent depend on wood
fuel.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54481


SWAZILAND: Old habits die hard

A new constitution has granted Swazi women a degree of protection that
is shocking tradition-bound Swazi men.

Until the new constitution was signed into law by King Mswati III at the
beginning of the year, Swazi women were second-class citizens, unable to
own property in their own names or even open a bank account without the
assent of a male relative. The Swazi branch of the regional NGO, Women
in Law, has targeted half the country's 365 chiefdoms in a new education
campaign engaging residents in discussion during regular weekend
community meetings, driving the message home that on paper, at least,
women are now equal.

See report:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54366


LESOTHO: Textiles no longer hanging by a thread

Lesotho's single largest employer, the textile industry, has made a
remarkable comeback, setting an example for the region and giving
thousands back their jobs.

Lesotho was an early victim of cheap Chinese exports to the key US
market when the World Trade Organisation's 30-year old Multi-Fiber
Agreement (MFA) expired in 2005. The industry picked up significantly
after Lesotho established itself as a "destination of ethical choice"
and demand from the US and more recently from Europe increased. Jobs in
the industry have climbed from below 40,000 to around 47,000

See report:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54370


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