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Sunday 25 December 2005


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IRIN-SA Weekly Round-up 240 for 16 - 22 July 2005

[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

CONTENTS:

ZIMBABWE: Stinging UN report condemns evictions
MALAWI: IMF welcomes budget approval
ZAMBIA: Urgent need to cover food gaps
SWAZILAND: NGOs want law to provide operational guidelines
SOUTHERN AFRICA: Spare the rod, create a human being
BOTSWANA: Hereros wait in vain for reparations
INDIAN OCEAN: Inter-island summit to strengthen ties and economies

ZIMBABWE: Stinging UN report condemns evictions

Despite a UN report condemning the Zimbabwean government's programme of forced evictions that has affected 700,000 people, Local Government and Housing Minister Ignatius Chombo has defended the operation.

Chombo, a key proponent of Operation Murambatsvina ('Clean Out Garbage'), told IRIN that the people evicted from their homes were in illegal settlements, "and I don't think the UN can sanction illegality".

The report by UN-HABITAT Executive Director Anna Tibaijuka called on the government to stop the demolitions of homes and markets, pay reparations to those who had lost housing and livelihoods and punish those who, "with indifference to human suffering" carried out the evictions, according to the UN news service.

Full report

Police forcibly remove homeless from church compounds

Zimbabwean police on Thursday forcibly removed hundreds of homeless people from churches in Bulawayo and banned religious groups from providing humanitarian assistance to those seeking shelter at Hellensvale, a transit camp north of Zimbabwe's second city.

The camp was set up as a temporary measure to house hundreds of desperate families who lost their homes in the government's crackdown on illegal settlements in urban areas.

Full report

Man-made tsunami engulfs urban poor

The physical evidence of the scale of destruction in Zimbabwe's informal settlements is plain to see: row upon row of what were once the homes of the urban poor demolished by government bulldozers or the bare hands of the residents on the orders of the police.

What is less clear are the numbers of people affected nationwide by Operation Murambatsvina ('Clean Out Garbage') - colloquially known more evocatively as "the tsunami".

Full report

Loan request gives SA leverage to press for change

Amid news reports that Zimbabwe is seeking a massive loan from South Africa to offset chronic food and fuel shortages, political analysts said it is an opportune time for President Thabo Mbeki to push for political dialogue in the troubled country.

Although South African treasury officials confirmed meeting with their Zimbabwean counterparts in Johannesburg on Friday, both parties were tight-lipped about the possible loan.

Full report

Training intensified to ease nurse shortage

The Zimbabwean government has stepped up efforts to train more primary healthcare workers amid growing concern over deteriorating healthcare delivery in rural areas.

According to the official Herald newspaper, rural hospitals and health centres urgently needed 3,337 nurses.

Full report

More fuel deregulation as shortages bite

Standing for hours by the roadside waiting for a bus, or stranded in a queue outside a petrol station that snakes for several blocks, Zimbabweans are increasingly used to a fuel crisis that has defied the government's efforts to resolve.

The latest stab at the problem was an announcement last week, further deregulating procurement and distribution and throwing the doors open to private business to import and sell fuel at a gazetted price - an admission that the forex-starved authorities have been unable to keep the pumps supplied.

Full report

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MALAWI: IMF welcomes budget approval

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has welcomed the parliamentary approval of Malawi's budget late last Friday.

"Successful implementation of a strong budget is critical to sustain the improvements in economic and fiscal policies during the last 12 months, as is continued donor support," said Thomas Baunsgaard, the IMF's resident representative.

Full report

Impeachment debate postponed till September

The debate on the controversial motion to allow MPs to impeach President Bingu wa Mutharika is likely to continue in September when parliament resumes, according to official sources.

Political bickering between Mutharika and his political rival, former president of the country and now chairman of the United Democratic Front (UDF), Bakili Muluzi, has been raging since last month, when the UDF proposed the motion because Mutharika had left the party after it sponsored him in the national elections.

Full report

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ZAMBIA: Urgent need to cover food gaps

Unless efforts are made to close the gaps in Zambia's maize-deficit areas, the price of mealie-meal will keep on rising, an economic and social justice advocacy group has warned.

More than 1.2 million Zambians were in need of food assistance, according to a Zambia Vulnerability Assessment Committee (VAC) report, and the country needed at least 118,000 mt of cereals to bridge the food gap.

Full report

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SWAZILAND: NGOs want law to provide operational guidelines

The lack of a national policy to guide the operations and provide legal parameters for the activities of the numerous NGOs working in Swaziland has raised some serious concerns among civic bodies.

Civil society groups say they have lobbied the government for the past 20 years to consider a draft NGO bill, but without much success.

Full report

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SOUTHERN AFRICA: Spare the rod, create a human being

Rapelang Segale will always bear a remainder of when, as a seven-year-old, she was hospitalised after a teacher assaulted her with a rubber hose. She had to undergo surgery to reset the bones in her left palm, after being lashed for misplacing her exercise book.

The incident took place two years ago, soon after Botswana decided to retain corporal punishment in its school system.

The majority of Southern African countries adhere to the line from Samuel Butler's poem, 'Hudibras', "... spare the rod, and spoil the child".

Full report

ACP sugar producers' concerns legitimate

The African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) sugar producers have legitimate concerns over the compensatory aid being offered by the European Union (EU) after its proposal to cut sugar prices, suggests a new research paper.

Previous experience of EU compensation when the prices of bananas, cocoa and rum were cut "have been unpleasant, so they have reason for concern", said Calvin Manduna, a researcher with the nonprofit Trade Law Centre for Southern Africa, who wrote the paper.

Full report

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BOTSWANA: Hereros wait in vain for reparations

For over 20 years descendants of the Herero, wearing traditional dress ironically modelled on German military uniforms of the early 20th century, have gathered in Botswana each July to pay homage to thousands of their people killed in neighbouring Namibia after an uprising against German settlers.

It is estimated that up to 65,000 Hereros, or 75 percent of the population, died when German forces under Lieutenant-General Lothar von Trotha tried to quell the rebellion. Historical evidence has revealed that others were forced into the desert to die of thirst and starvation, while settlers seized land and cattle.

Full report

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INDIAN OCEAN: Inter-island summit to strengthen ties and economies

A two-day inter-island summit in Madagascar is expected to further strengthen ties among five Indian Ocean countries in their battle against growing economic marginalisation.

Host President Marc Ravalomanana, presidents Azali Assoumani of the Comoros, James Michel of the Seychelles, and newly elected Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam of Mauritius are attending, with French President Jacques Chirac representing Reunion, a French overseas territory. At least 1,000 participants are expected at the meeting, which kicked off on Friday.

Full report

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[ENDS]

Theme(s)	Other

Other recent SOUTHERN AFRICA reports:

IRIN-SA Weekly Round-up 262 for 17-23 December 2005, 23/Dec/05

Volume of food aid causes transport bottleneck, 19/Dec/05

IRIN-SA Weekly Round-up 261 for 10-16 December 2005, 16/Dec/05

Renewed calls for culling in wildlife reserves raises alarm among conservation groups, 15/Dec/05

South Africa's fuel shortage hits neighbours, could affect humanitarian operations, 13/Dec/05

Other recent reports:

RWANDA: Body found in Brussels canal confirmed that of ex-minister's, 23/Dec/05

CENTRAL ASIA: Weekly news wrap, 23/Dec/05

WEST AFRICA: IRIN-WA Weekly Round-up 309 covering 17 - 23 December 2005, 23/Dec/05

CENTRAL ASIA: IRIN-Asia Weekly Round-up 51 covering the period 17 - 23 December 2005, 23/Dec/05

SOUTHERN AFRICA: IRIN-SA Weekly Round-up 262 for 17-23 December 2005, 23/Dec/05

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