Weekly Round-Up - IRINSA-294: 11-Aug-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
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SOUTHERN AFRICA
IRIN-SA Weekly Round-Up 294
5 - 11 August 2006
CONTENTS
SOUTH AFRICA: Women's Day - balancing gains and fears
ZIMBABWE: Army enforces new monetary policy
MOZAMBIQUE: Turning war veterans into agents of peace
SOUTHERN AFRICA: Still gripped by poverty, AIDS, erratic weather - WFP
SOUTH AFRICA: Women's Day - balancing gains and fears
South Africa celebrated Women's Day this week Wednesday, marking 50
years since a historic march by 20,000 women against apartheid laws, but
the remarkable progress made in gender equality has failed to extinguish
a resilient culture of violence and abuse against women.
In a country where racial and sexual equality are enshrined in the
constitution, and women occupy premier positions in both government and
business, gains have yet to translate into improved living conditions
for all women. South Africa sadly boasts one of the highest rates of
rape in the world and changing South Africa's culture may prove more
difficult than amending its constitution.
See report: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55023
Human Rights Watch report slams govt
A telephone hotline for migrants to report a myriad of human rights
abuses by the South African police and employers is one of many
recommendations a human rights organisation has made to the government.
A 50-odd page human rights report by Human Rights Watch revealed that
migrants were especially vulnerable to abuse by various government
departments, particularly South Africa's home affairs department and the
police. The report recommended that the South African government enforce
compliance with its immigration and employment laws, and amend laws
where necessary.
See report: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55075
Media watchdogs growl at proposed legislation
Media watchdogs in South Africa are demanding changes to proposed
government legislation that could drastically curtail press freedoms and
force editors to submit entire newspapers to regulators before
publication.
If passed by parliament, the Film and Publication Amendment Bill 2006
would delete a clause that currently exempts print and broadcast news
media from the same type of pre-publication screening and scrutiny
applied to films, computer games and magazines. The bill has alarmed
media freedom organisations in a country that only recently shed
draconian apartheid-era laws that clamped strict regulations on the
press.
See report: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55072
ZIMBABWE: Army enforces new monetary policy
Zimbabwe's new monetary reforms have managed to anger everyone. Not only
the struggling poor and the middle class, but also the rich ruling
elite, who were caught off guard and are feeling the pinch most.
Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono's announcement last week that citizens
had three weeks to exchange old currency for new denominations had a
catch: individuals were only permitted to exchange Z$100 million
(US$1,000 at the official rate) each working day, which meant the most
any individual could exchange was Z$16 million (US$16,000) before the 21
August deadline. This time only President Robert Mugabe and security
ministers were forewarned of the currency reforms.
See report: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55022
An upside-down economy
Nearly 90 percent of Zimbabwe's currency is kept outside of the banking
system, which, analysts say, illustrates that the parallel market is the
driving force in the economy, while the formal sector withers.
Far-reaching currency reforms, instituted this month by Reserve Bank
governor Gideon Gono, were aimed at redressing the imbalance between the
two sectors and reining in hyperinflation, hovering around 1,000
percent.
See report: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55091
Post-devaluation price freeze order ignored
Zimbabwe business has shrugged off a directive by the government to
freeze prices and has done the reverse, increasing commodity prices
after the Zimbabwean dollar was devalued by 1,000 percent.
See report: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55052
MOZAMBIQUE: Turning war veterans into agents of peace
Nearly 14 years after Mozambique's civil war ended, bitterness and
resentment remain a common currency among veterans from both sides of
the conflict. For the majority of fighters the peace dividend was
unemployment.
The combination of disgruntled , idle ex-combatants that feel alienated
and marginalised and the continued existence of arms caches is a
concern, local NGO's warn.
See report: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55021
SOUTHERN AFRICA: Still gripped by poverty, AIDS, erratic weather - WFP
The costs of funerals and medicines are contributing to southern
Africa's dire food situation, with three million people facing
shortages, the World Food Programme (WFP) said.
Despite harvests improving in southern Africa, the effects of poverty
and erratic weather conditions were compounded by the most vulnerable
people having to battle HIV/AIDS, according to the WFP's latest national
food security and vulnerability report.
See report: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55043
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