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 352
24 - 30 November 2007


CONTENTS:

ZIMBABWE: Brinkmanship over constitutional talks
GLOBAL: Hoping for a deal on the road to Bali
ZIMBABWE: Expats keep families afloat
ZAMBIA: Prepare for floods now, urge aid agencies
SOUTH AFRICA: Social Grants - dependency or development?
ZIMBABWE: A shot in time - govt scores immunisation success
SOUTHERN AFRICA: Vouchers to help drought-hit farmers


ZIMBABWE: Brinkmanship over constitutional talks

Zimbabwe's main opposition, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), 
threatened to pull out of talks with the ruling ZANU-PF party over its 
refusal to give way on key demands for political reform.

Leading members of the main faction of a divided MDC met this week in 
South Africa to discuss a possible boycott of elections next March if 
laws limiting freedom of assembly and the independent media remain on 
the statute books, MDC treasurer Roy Bennett told IRIN.

Full report:
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75516


GLOBAL: Hoping for a deal on the road to Bali

The United Nations Climate Change Conference on the Indonesian island of 
Bali in December is not expected to achieve any dramatic breakthroughs 
on saving the planet from global warming, a senior official of the 
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) told IRIN. But it could 
well produce an important timeframe for cutting greenhouse gas 
emissions, predicted Rajendra Pachauri, the IPCC chair.

The Bali climate conference will look at a new deal to be put in place 
after 2012, when the first phase of the Kyoto Protocol (KP), a 
commitment made in 1997 by 36 industrialised countries to reduce 
greenhouse gas emissions by at least five percent against the baseline 
of 1990, expires.

Full report:
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75534


ZIMBABWE: Expats keep families afloat

The scale of migration to Britain by Zimbabweans escaping their 
country's economic and political woes has reached the point where, with 
typically wry humour, London is referred to as "Harare North".

An estimated three million Zimbabweans, a quarter of the total 
population, have packed their bags and left home. Most, typically the 
semi-skilled, have opted for neighbouring countries, but many others 
have chosen Britain's green, if damp, pastures.

Full report:
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75536


ZAMBIA: Prepare for floods now, urge aid agencies

Aid agencies have called on Zambia's government to step up disaster 
preparedness to deal with possible widespread flooding forecast by the 
meteorological department this rainy season.

"We need to start making all the necessary preparations to mitigate the 
impact of the expected floods," said Annie Ritavin, country programme 
officer for the UK-based development agency, Oxfam, in Zambia. "We are 
currently conducting an assessment exercise of the most prone areas to 
determine the possible humanitarian needs, as part of the concerted 
efforts on emergency preparedness at national level."

Full report:
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75555


SOUTH AFRICA: Social Grants - dependency or development?

As South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC) party gears up 
for its annual conference in little more than two weeks, many wonder if 
a possible change in leadership will signal an accompanying change in 
social policy, especially social grants - one of the most important and 
controversial weapons in the fight against poverty.

As of April 2007, more than eight million South African children under 
the age of 14 were benefiting from a R200 (US$30) monthly grant to 
caregivers earning less than R800 (US$115) per month, according to new 
research.

Full report:
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75572


ZIMBABWE: A shot in time - govt scores immunisation success

Zimbabwe's crumbling health sector has received a boost with the launch 
of a week-long campaign called Child Health Days (CHDs), delivering a 
polio vaccine, vitamin A supplementation and basic childhood 
immunisation to two million children.

"The majority of people that are going to benefit from such programmes 
are ordinary people who can no longer afford to pay the health fees," 
said Itai Rusike, Executive Director of the Community Working Group on 
Health, a network of civic and community-based organisations.

Full report:
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75579


SOUTHERN AFRICA: Vouchers to help drought-hit farmers

A voucher system to access agricultural inputs could put farmers in 
disaster-hit Mozambique, Swaziland and Lesotho on the road to recovery, 
according to a senior UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) 
official.

The vouchers - with cash values between US$15 and US$75, depending on 
the country - allowed farmers to purchase inputs at mobile trade fairs 
organised by the FAO. Previously, the FAO and other relief agencies 
provided a pre-selected combination of seeds and tools.

Full report:
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75584


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