U N I T E D N A T I O N S=20 Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs=20 Integrated Regional Information Network for Southern Africa
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SOUTHERN AFRICA: IRIN-SA Weekly Round-up 46 covering the period 13-19 November 1999
CONTENTS
ZIMBABWE/DRC: Military contingency plans ZIMBABWE: Nurses strike ends NAMIBIA: Focus on the upcoming Namibian elections ANGOLA: New landmine allegations ANGOLA: Kuito shelled ANGOLA: Army chief calls on UNITA to surrender ANGOLA: Botswana "alarmed" at UNITA arms procurement ANGOLA: New NGO seeks to raise awareness ANGOLA: Commonwealth leaders say they are worried about Angola MOZAMBIQUE: RENAMO bans paper from campaign LESOTHO: New elections delayed indefinitely SOUTH AFRICA: Focus on the narcotics trade SOUTH AFRICA/ EU: Trade row over labelling SOUTHERN AFRICA: Commonwealth summit comes to an end=20
ZIMBABWE/DRC: Military contingency plans
Contingency planning is underway in Zimbabwe to open a northern front in th= e Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in the event of the collapse of the Lusaka ceasefire agreement, security sources told IRIN this week.
Zimbabwean airforce and Special Air Service (SAS) teams in October reconnoitred the northern region for suitable sites for arms and fuel dumps that would be used in helicopter-borne assaults to leapfrog Zimbabwean forces up to the Congo river. The plan involved outflanking the Uganda-backed Mouvement de Liberation du Congo (MLC) rebels and establishin= g a frontline that would be held with the assistance of DRC troops.
"We are preparing for full peace, but we are also cognizant of the fact tha= t it might breakdown and options need to be given," a Zimbabwean government official told IRIN.=20
However, the South African daily 'The Star' reported this week that President Robert Mugabe has played an increasingly active diplomatic role i= n trying to ensure the August ceasefire sticks, to enable him to withdraw his troops before parliamentary elections in Zimbabwe next year. "The governmen= t would like the ceasefire in the DRC to hold, but to give a timeframe (for withdrawal) is being a bit creative," the Zimbabwean official said in reference to the newspaper report.
"We are getting mixed signals," a Harare-based security analyst said. "On the surface it appears that Mugabe is keen to end the war, but on the other hand the Zimbabwean and DRC armies have gone into business together and Zimbabwe seems there to stay."
Nurses strike ends
A nurses strike ended in Zimbabwe this week with the government agreeing to double the salaries of all health care workers, sources told IRIN. More tha= n half of the country's registered public health nurses went on strike last week after a deadlock in talks between the Zimbabwe Nurses Association (ZINA) and the government over the nurses' grading system according to whic= h salaries are set. According to media reports a junior nurse earns about US $1,400 a year.
NAMIBIA: Focus on the upcoming Namibian elections
As Namibia's 800,000 eligible voters prepare to elect a president and a 72-member national assembly on 30 November and 1 December, the newly-formed Congress of Democrats (CoD) hopes to put up a serious challenge to the ruling Southwest Africa Peoples Organisation (SWAPO) of President Sam Nujoma.
An official of the Directorate of Elections told IRIN this week that the Co= D was among nine parties which had registered to contest the third general elections since Nujoma led this nation of 1.6 million people to independenc= e from South Africa in 1990.
The key issues facing a growingly apathetic electorate range from the country's military intervention in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), secessionist tensions in a territory in the northeast called the Caprivi Strip, high unemployment and low job prospects, to concerns over the growin= g spread of HIV/AIDS.=20
In an interview with IRIN, the CoD president, Ben Ulenga, said: "SWAPO can wave its two-thirds majority goodbye because we have made inroads into thei= r strongholds." Ulenga, who was once a member of SWAPO's central committee an= d a deputy environment minister, resigned his diplomatic post in London last year as Namibian high commissioner after a constitutional change allowing Nujoma to serve a third presidential term. He formed the CoD in March.
Considered the most prominent presidential opponent, Ulenga, 47, hails from similar ethnic and social roots to Nujoma. A generation younger than Nujoma= , 70, he said his party has attracted mostly young people, who want alternative solutions to their unfulfilled expectations.
Nora Schimming-Chase, spokeswoman of CoD told IRIN that about 37 percent of its membership are former SWAPO members and another 30 percent from other parties, including the opposition Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA). According to Schimming-Chase, the battle for voter loyalty will be fought i= n the northern Ovambo ethnic heartland, which is not only the most heavily populated region of the country, but also considered SWAPO's traditional stronghold.
Analysts, however, say it is still early to tell what percentage of the vot= e the new party will gain. "It will only be after the elections that an assessment can be made of the CoD's impact on the political landscape," an analyst at the University of Namibia told IRIN. The main problem now, added the analyst, is the apparent voter apathy that has been noticed in the second elections in 1994.
For the full focus report go to http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN
ANGOLA: New landmine allegations
The number of landmine accidents continue to increase in Angola, with civilians bearing the brunt of the casualties, humanitarian and diplomatic sources told IRIN this week. The eastern province of Moxico appears to be the worst hit, with 29 victims in October, the largest toll of mine accidents in a single month so far this year. Most of the incidents occurre= d within a 25 km perimeter of Luena, the provincial capital.
Luanda has accused the UNITA rebel movement of re-mining large areas of the country as it retreats from a government army (FAA) offensive. "This has been a tactic of UNITA's for more than 30 years of war," a military source told IRIN. However, one mine specialist cautioned that the rise in mine accidents does not necessarily reflect a significant increase in new mine laying. He said with the heavy rains underway in Angola, old mines are bein= g washed into what were previously thought to be safe paths and fields.
He added that given the pressure on farmland by the displaced population around government-held cities, people are also more willing to take risks a= s they try and cultivate.
Kuito shelled
Meanwhile, despite the FAA's military successes in the former UNITA stronghold of the central highlands, the Bie provincial capital of Kuito wa= s shelled by UNITA on 9 November. The UN's World Food Programme was compelled to cancel flights for one day, the agency reported. The FAA source insisted= , however, that UNITA was on the retreat. He said the rebel movement firmly held only a small triangle of territory between Cuemba, Munhango and Luando on the borders of Bie, Malanje and Moxico provinces. "They still control th= e area but are not strong enough to conduct a spectacular attack," he added
Army chief calls on UNITA to surrender
Angola's army chief-of-staff General Joao de Matos at the weekend called on UNITA to lay down their arms and promised that defectors would be "welcome as brothers,". He described UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi as a "scourge" who has caused "a great deal of suffering." "I would like to appeal to all soldiers in the service of Savimbi to renounce war and join the Angolan people so that together we may resolutely build a new life," de Matos said. "I beg of you to come forward because you would be welcome as brothers who have freed themselves from Savimbi's oppression."
Botswana "alarmed" at UNITA arms procurement=20
And Botswana's acting foreign minister, Jacob Nkate, said his government wa= s alarmed at the extent to which the UNITA had been able to procure weapons. In a speech marking the 24th anniversary of Angola's independence, Nkate called on all parties to abide by UN sanctions against the rebel movement and said the UN Security Council had to "live up to its determination to stop human suffering in Angola".=20 =20 New NGO seeks to raise awareness
A group of South African-based Angolan exiles this week said it would campaign to raise public awareness of a crisis the world had all but "forgotten".
Joao Rocha, 31, coordinator of the newly formed NGO, Angola 2000, said in a= n interview with IRIN that there were over 10,000 Angolan exiles in South Africa alone, and more in neighbouring countries, who had no voice and "no-one to whom they can turn".=20
"As young Angolans, we are stuck with the stigma of war, and we feel that ordinary Angolans have no voice, that they are suffering silently inside their hearts," said Rocha, who is planning a public launch for the organisation next week at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) in the South African capital, Pretoria.
Angola 2000 is also campaigning to promote democracy, human rights, freedom of expression and justice: "People at home and abroad need a voice, and thi= s an issue Angolans themselves have to raise. We do not just want to criticise, we want to see how we can contribute to peace and reconstruction= =2E Too many people are still dying every day, despite the wealth of the countr= y and the welfare being pumped in."
He said the Angola 2000 had established ties with the Group for Reflection and Peace in the Angolan capital, Luanda, which was launched earlier this year on a manifesto calling for dialogue between the government and UNITA. Angola 2000 also planned to forge links with similar Angolan interest group= s at home and abroad.
Commonwealth leaders say they are worried about Angola
Meanwhile, Commonwealth leaders this week said that they were "gravely concerned over the continuing suffering of the people of Angola." In a fina= l communiqu=E9 after their conference in the South African city of Durban, th= ey "urged the international community to increase as a matter of urgency, humanitarian assistance, especially to displaced persons." The communiqu=E9 added that the leaders "recognising that UNITA is largely responsible for the breakdown of the peace process", called on the international community to fully support and respect the implementation of the United Nations Security Council Sanctions imposed on the rebel movement.
MOZAMBIQUE: RENAMO bans paper from campaign
Mozambique's RENAMO opposition party at the weekend called on the country's daily newspaper, 'Noticias' to stop coverage of the campaign of its leader, Afonso Dhlakama. RENAMO reportedly told the paper's editorial management that 'Noticias' is biased against it in favour of the ruling FRELIMO party, and accused its journalists of systematically understating the number of people attending Dhlakama's rallies. Meanwhile, FRELIMO reportedly warned a= t the weekend that RENAMO is causing disorder and violence in the current campaign to give itself an excuse to boycott the elections scheduled for 3-= 4 December.
LESOTHO: New elections delayed indefinitely
It would be impossible for Lesotho to hold elections by March next year, South African President Thabo Mbeki said this week. Addressing a news conference in Durban, Mbeki said that the deadline could not be met because the electoral system, security arrangements and "other issues" had not been finalised. Mbeki said that the government and political parties in Lesotho had agreed to the postponement. Lesotho politicians had originally agreed that elections would be held within 18 months from October 1998.
Mbeki said that he did not know when an election date would be set, but tha= t the Commonwealth Secretary-General would appoint a group of experts to look into the matter and finalise a date. Mbeki was appointed as the first chairman of the Commonwealth. He will hold the position until the next Commonwealth meeting in 2001.
SOUTH AFRICA: Focus on the narcotics trade
In the decade since the end of apartheid, narcotic use in South Africa has soared with the opening of the country's borders and the loosening of state controls, experts told IRIN this week. "The scale of the drug problem in South Africa's inner-cities is extremely serious," Antoinette Louw of the Institute for Security Studies' (ISS) crime and policing programme told IRIN. It is linked to a more general crime wave, urban decay, police corruption and the spread of HIV/AIDS. It effects not only the users and suppliers, but victimises ordinary people in the community, she added.
A UN Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention (UNODCCP) report on the drug trade in Africa released in March this year noted: "The size of the South African market, combined with the relatively high buying power of its citizens, ensures that a wider variety of drugs are available on its street= s than probably anywhere else in Africa."=20
Gary Lewis, a spokesman for UNODCCP in Pretoria, added that there was also an international dimension. South Africa's location on major trafficking routes, "its excellent transportation infrastructure, telecommunications, its developed banking services as well as its porous borders make the place an ideal transit country for illicit drug trafficking wanting to disguise its origins," he told IRIN.
Booming business
According to the UNODCCP report, drug profits in the Western Cape area alon= e in 1995 were estimated at between US $170-340 million. In 1996, one of the main gangs, 'The Firm', was believed to have a daily turnover of US $380,00= 0 from narcotics sales. The Cape is one of South Africa's most deprived regions, and the UNODCCP report draws a link between drug abuse and poverty= , and the social and economic strains related to the country's apartheid past= =2E
According to Ted Leggett at the University of Natal, who is preparing a study for the UNODCCP on the South African narcotics market, the high rates of crime associated with the booming drug business is "the development issu= e for South Africa", scaring away much-needed foreign investment and tourist dollars.=20
The full focus report can be found at http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN
SOUTH AFRICA/ EU: Trade row over labelling
The deadlock between South Africa and the European Union (EU) over the use of labelling on the wines and spirits emanating from South Africa has been referred to the chief negotiators of the two trading partners, an official of South Africa's trade and industry department told this week.
"The issue behind the dispute relates to the protection of intellectual property rights over the names that some EU countries want protected," the official said, adding that these include terms like "port", "sherry", "grappa", and "ouzo" that South Africa uses on some wines and spirits.
The official added, however, that this dispute will not affect the main trade, cooperation and development agreement (TCDA) that the two parties signed a month ago. "The EU should decide how we should proceed with the wines and spirits agreement," said the official, who hinted that South Africa is unlikely to agree to phase out the usage of the terms.
However, a representative of Stellenbosch Farmers Winery (SFW), which exports nearly 40 million litres of wine per annum to the EU market, told IRIN that this labelling dispute appears to be the EU's attempt at regainin= g the ground it lost in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) negotiations in Uruguay.=20
"The EU lost out on the use of trademarks and "traditional" expressions, which are used worldwide by other countries other than South Africa," Andre Steyn told IRIN. "The EU seems to want to set the stage on these trademark issues for the next round of WTO negotiations that start in Seattle, Washington, at the end of this month."=20
Steyn added that the EU has been shifting the goalposts in its dealings wit= h South Africa on the trademarks issue. "The EU initially wanted South Africa to phase out the use of terms "port" and "sherry", but they now have included what are called "traditional" expressions like "grappa" and "ouzo"= =2E
Steyn said if South Africa were to agree to phase out the usage of these terms on its wines and spirits over 12 years, this would harm the country's exports, because re-labelling the products would drive the consumers to switch to other brands. "This would have a negative impact on the wine and spirits industry, which could lead to massive job losses on the wine farms and distilleries in South Africa," Steyn said, adding that as a principle, South Africa's trade negotiators should resist the EU's moves.
In terms of the TCDA, South Africa and the EU will establish a free trade area under which trade between the union and South Africa will be liberalised over the next 12 years. The EU will grant duty-free status to 9= 5 percent of its imports from South Africa, while South Africa will cut its tariffs on 86 percent of its European imports.
SOUTHERN AFRICA: Commonwealth summit comes to an end
Commonwealth leaders wrapped up their summit in Durban, this week, reaffirming their commitment to democratic values and good governance.
In their 'Fancourt Declaration', the leaders said: "We believe that the spread of democratic freedom and good governance, and access to education, training and health care are key to the expansion of human capabilities, an= d to the banishment of ignorance and prejudice." They added: "Recognising tha= t good governance and economic progress are directly linked, we affirm our commitment to the pursuit of greater transparency, accountability, the rule of law and the elimination of corruption in all spheres of public life and in the private sector."
The declaration noted: "Good governance requires inclusive and participator= y processes at both national and international levels. We call on the global community to search for inclusive processes of multilateralism which give a more effective voice in the operations of international institutions in developing countries, and which recognise the particular vulnerabilities of small states." =20 In the 'Fancourt Declaration' Commonwealth leaders also called on delegates to the next round of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) negotiations in the United States city of Seattle to pursue a more developmental approach. "We urge the forthcoming ministerial meeting of WTO to launch the next round of global negotiations on trade to be one with a pronounced developmental dimension, with the aim of achieving better market access in agriculture, industrial products and services in a way that provides benefits to all members, particularly developing countries."
It said that although globalisation had created unprecedented opportunities for wealth creation, the benefits of globalisation has not been shared equitably. "Prosperity remains the preserve of the few. Despite the progres= s of the past fifty years, half the world's population lives on less than US $2 per day. Many millions lives in conditions of extreme deprivation," the declaration said.
New Zealand Foreign Minister, Don Mckinnon, was elected to take over as Secretary-General from Emeka Anyaoku.=20
Johannesburg, 19 November 1999 10:00 GMT
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