IRIN-SA Weekly Round-up 245 for 20 - 26 August 2005
CONTENTS:
ZIMBABWE: Still waiting for a place to call home
MALAWI: Family's UK asylum bid slammed
BOTSWANA: Alleged crackdown on Bushmen denied
ZAMBIA: Villagers resort to wild fruits as lack of funds delays food
SOUTH AFRICA: Pro-poor campaign launched that challenges ANC's record
SOUTHERN AFRICA: Literacy conference focuses on critical thinking
SWAZILAND: Traditional chastity vow may have lowered teenage HIV rates
ZIMBABWE: Still waiting for a place to call home
Grubby-faced children play on a patch of ground beside a towering plastic water container marked "UNICEF", one of the few humanitarian organisations helping hundreds of displaced families at Hopely Farm as they wait for the government to deliver on promised plots of land.
IRIN reported on Thursday that the 967 families at Hopely Farm have lived in the open for more than a month, with little to protect themselves against the elements. They had occupied illegal shanties around the capital, Harare, which were torn down by the authorities in a campaign of urban renewal, begun on 19 May, that left more than 700,000 people homeless.
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Govt to help church aid get to Harare
After almost a month of delays in getting relief food to those affected by the crackdown on illegal settlements in Zimbabwe, the South African Council of Churches (SACC) has asked the South African government to intervene.
"The SACC has requested Rev Frank Chikane, director-general of the presidency, for help, and he assured us last night that the necessary documents will be processed soon," said Rev Ron Steele on behalf of the SACC on Tuesday.
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Crucial IMF assessment will put membership in the balance
A meeting between Zimbabwe and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) this week could prove crucial to overcoming the country's deepening economic crisis, analysts said on Monday.
Although the authorities have downplayed the significance of the Fund's latest visit to Zimbabwe, calling it a "routine" assessment, economists have argued that it was probably one of the last opportunities Harare would have to convince the Fund not to expel it.
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UN demands unfettered access to those in need
Unrestricted access to people affected by the Zimbabwe government's controversial urban cleanup campaign is crucial if humanitarian needs are to be addressed, says UN Resident Coordinator Dr Agostinho Zacarias.
He told IRIN that the UN country team hoped to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the government of Zimbabwe, to ensure that aid was distributed impartially and reached those left homeless and vulnerable by Operation Murambatsvina ('Drive out Filth').
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Trial of a High Court judge puts judiciary in spotlight
As the trial of a High Court judge arrested for allegedly obstructing the course of justice gets underway in Zimbabwe, law experts said the proceedings are likely to bring the independence of the judiciary under close scrutiny once more.
Judge Benjamin Paradza is facing charges brought against him by state prosecutors in 2003 of attempting to defeat the course of justice by telephoning fellow judges and asking them to release the passport of a business partner accused of murder. Paradza has denied the allegations, and last year stalled the proceedings of the inquiry by lodging a constitutional case in the Supreme Court.
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MALAWI: Family's UK asylum bid slammed
An attempt by a Malawian family to fight their deportation from the United Kingdom (UK) by claiming they faced human rights abuses back home is hurting the prospects of genuine asylum seekers, say local activists.
The Kachepa family was set to be deported on Thursday, after British immigration officials rejected their claim that they faced persecution should they return to Malawi.
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Mutharika offers talks to calm troubled political waters
Malawi's opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) has cautiously welcomed an informal offer by President Bingu wa Mutharika to begin cross-party talks aimed at easing political tensions, IRIN reported on Wednesday.
Mutharika reportedly said at the weekend that he was prepared to meet with former president Bakili Muluzi of the UDF and John Tembo, leader of the opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP), to find solutions to their political differences.
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Outrage over lenient fine for trafficking boys
A Kwacha 24,000 (US $200) fine imposed on a man caught trying to smuggle children across the border into Zambia is causing outrage in Malawi.
The Zambian national, named as Masautso Banda, was arrested last Friday as he attempted to cross the border with 15 children in tow.
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Crackdown on unregistered post-secondary education planned
Thousands of Malawian graduates may soon be stripped of their qualifications as the government moves ahead with a plan to crack down on unregistered learning centres.
Malawi has more than 20 illegal higher education institutions offering a myriad of post-secondary courses, including accountancy, hotel management and engineering.
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BOTSWANA: Alleged crackdown on Bushmen denied
The government of Botswana has denied allegations that it is launching a 'massive crackdown' on the Bushmen of the central Kalahari.
Government spokesman Jeff Ramsay dismissed claims by rights group Survival International (SI) that the administration was attempting to blockade the ancestral lands of the Bushmen.
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ZAMBIA: Villagers resort to wild fruits as lack of funds delays food
Desperate villagers in Siavonga District in southern Zambia will have to wait up to three weeks before receiving much-needed government food aid, a senior official said on Thursday.
Earlier this week drought-hit villagers called on the authorities to speed up food distribution in the area, complaining that households had already resorted to eating wild fruits as maize shortages worsened.
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Chiluba rejects British judge in civil case
Former Zambian president Frederick Chiluba faces a civil claim for at least US $23.3 million, which the government alleges he stole from state coffers while in power.
But the former Zambian premier has refused to submit himself to the court process that started in London at the beginning of the year. A source close to the case told IRIN on Tuesday that the Zambian attorney-general petitioned the London court because the assets being sought for repatriation were located in Europe.
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SOUTH AFRICA: Pro-poor campaign launched that challenges ANC's record
A coalition of South African pressure groups on Monday launched a campaign against the loss of jobs and growing poverty in what is being perceived as a challenge to the government's development policies.
According to a senior Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) official, the initiative includes the South African Council of Churches and the AIDS lobby group, Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) among other prominent activist groups.
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SOUTHERN AFRICA: Literacy conference focuses on critical thinking
Academics attending the 4th Pan-African 'Reading for All' Conference in Swaziland this week say greater effort is needed to improve critical thinking among students across the continent.
The theme of the biannual gathering is 'Literacy for Sustainable Development', and is sponsored by the International Reading Association (IRA).
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SWAZILAND: Traditional chastity vow may have lowered teenage HIV rates
As a generation of young Swazi women end a five-year vow of chastity in a traditional ceremony this week, health officials are debating the impact of the custom on reducing the risk of HIV infection.
"We have loads of anecdotal evidence that girls are using the 'sex ban' as a way to avoid unwanted intercourse with demanding boyfriends and even older men. That is proof enough that some good has occurred - no one expected the custom to eliminate premarital sex entirely," HIV/AIDS councillor Goodness Simelane told IRIN on Tuesday.
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