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Sunday 18 December 2005


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IRIN-SA Weekly Round-up 243 for 6 - 12 August 2005

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

CONTENTS:

ZIMBABWE: Strong opposition to new education bill
SOUTHERN AFRICA: Annan appeals for urgent food aid
SWAZILAND: New measures to counter environmental degradation
SOUTH AFRICA: HIV/AIDS to take heavy toll of health workers
ANGOLA: UNITA accuses govt of campaigning prior to elections
MALAWI: IMF approves more than $55 million for poverty programmes
BOTSWANA: Government wants to brief UN Special Rapporteur on Bushmen
MADAGASCAR: Govt battles malnutrition
NAMIBIA: Human rights situation improved, says report

ZIMBABWE: Strong opposition to new education bill

Stakeholders and trade unions in Zimbabwe's education sector say proposals in the new Education Amendment Bill will cause a decline in standards, and signal the end of private schools.

Representatives from the Zimbabwe Teachers Association (ZIMTA), the Association of Trust Schools (ATS) and the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) presented their submissions to parliament's portfolio committee for education, which held a public hearing on the proposed amendments on Thursday.

Full report

Constitutional amendment to restrict travel

The Zimbabwean government has dug in its heels over proposed constitutional amendments and challenged its critics to take their concerns to parliament.

Human rights activists and lawyers have slammed the controversial Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment No.17 Bill of 2005, labelling it the latest in a long line of alterations to the constitution.

Full report

UN prepares appeal to assist victims of 'cleanup' operations

The United Nations would like to launch an appeal to assist victims of the Zimbabwe government's controversial cleanup campaign as soon as possible.

UN Resident Coordinator Dr Agostinho Zacarias told IRIN "we are hoping to make the appeal this week, and we are discussing this with the government".

Full report

New Bill will extend state control of education

Opposition parliamentarians and trade unionists in Zimbabwe are warning that a proposed Education Bill may be the first step in an attempt by the government to nationalise schools.

The recently introduced Education Act Amendment Bill, among other things, seeks to give the minister of education, sport and culture the power to determine school fees at private and state schools.

Full report

Chissano appointed special AU envoy on Zimbabwe

African Union (AU) chairman Olusegun Obasanjo has appointed former Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano as his "special representative" to Zimbabwe, according to official sources.

However, AU spokesman Adam Thiam was unable to provide details of Chissano's duties as a special envoy.

Full report

Church aid to leave for Harare soon

Two trucks carrying 37 mt of food aid and another laden with blankets for Zimbabweans affected by the government's controversial cleanup campaign were expected to leave South Africa for Harare soon, according to a South African Council of Churches (SACC) spokesman.

"We have finally got the necessary documents saying that the maize in the truck has not been genetically modified - so we hope to get the necessary clearance certificate from the Zimbabwean authorities," said Rev Ron Steele on behalf of the SACC.

Full report

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SOUTHERN AFRICA: Annan appeals for urgent food aid

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has appealed for urgent food aid to support more than 10 million vulnerable people in Southern Africa.

In a letter sent to at least 27 heads of states this week, Annan asked for 700,000 mt to 800,000 mt of food "to avert a catastrophe in a few months' time".

Full report

Report more positive about agricultural development in Southern Africa

Trends in the long-term prospects for agricultural development in most of Southern Africa are positive, with the exception of Zimbabwe, a new report has predicted.

"Most of Southern Africa, particularly the republic of South Africa, has implemented the kind of macroeconomic reforms" that had enabled governments to spend more on agricultural reforms and research, said Mark Rosegrant, division director of environment and production technology at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and lead author of the report.

Full report

Peacekeeper training centre reopens

The reopening of a regional training centre in Zimbabwe means Southern African countries will soon be able to contribute troops to United Nations and African Union peacekeeping missions.

Zimbabwe officially handed over the administration of the centre to the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) at the weekend, placing it under the Directorate of Politics, Defence and Security.

Full report

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SWAZILAND: New measures to counter environmental degradation

Swazi authorities face a tough challenge as the government steps up efforts to arrest environmental degradation.

More than 80 percent of the people are engaged in subsistence agriculture, in a country faced with growing environmental concerns, including deforestation, loss of biodiversity and soil erosion.

Full report

Traditional laws and customs to be codified

Women's rights groups in Swaziland have warned that moves to codify traditional laws and customs could undermine gender equality gains achieved in the recently promulgated constitution.

"We welcome the writing down of Swazi customs to avoid confusion, [but] we feel that if these become codes they will take precedence over gains made by women in the constitution in the field of equal rights," a source at the Swaziland branch of Women in Law in Southern Africa (WLSA) told IRIN.

Full report

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SOUTH AFRICA: HIV/AIDS to take heavy toll of health workers

The cost of health services in South Africa will increase sharply in the next few years as a result of HIV/AIDS, researchers have found.

By 2007, large numbers of HIV-positive South Africans would start falling ill from AIDS-related diseases, placing a heavy burden on the country's public healthcare sector, according to the Health Economics and HIV/AIDS Research Division (HEARD) of the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

Full report

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ANGOLA: UNITA accuses govt of campaigning prior to elections

Angola's main opposition party, UNITA, has accused the government of riding roughshod over electoral laws as the first post-war election approaches.

"The government is using its position of power to campaign, even though the campaign period has not officially started," said UNITA legal representative David Horacio. He confirmed on Wednesday that the party had asked the Supreme Court to rule on the constitutionality of government preparations for the national poll.

Full report

Crime rises as wealth gap widens

It's been more than a week since Raul Canha was forced from his car at gunpoint, but his hands still tremble as he recounts his ordeal in a quivering voice.

Canha, 26, was driving home in the Angolan capital, Luanda, at around 8 pm when he was surrounded by four youngsters - two with rifles slung over their shoulders and a third armed with a small pistol. They dragged him out of the car, jumped in and drove off. Although the vehicle was later recovered, it was stripped of its stereo, and his cash and identity documents were gone.

Canha's frightening experience is no longer out of the ordinary in the crowded capital. Observers say such incidents highlight the growing frustration with the widening gap between the haves and have-nots.

Full report

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MALAWI: IMF approves more than $55 million for poverty programmes

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved another three-year flow of funds to Malawi after improved economic performance.

Under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) the IMF board on Friday gave the nod to about US $55.9 million to support the government's economic reform and poverty alleviation programmes. The PRGF is the IMF's concessional loan facility for low-income countries.

Full report

Govt threatens to evict informal settlers

Malawian authorities have ordered residents of informal settlements in the capital city, Lilongwe, to vacate their homes by 18 August.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Surveys George Mkondiwa said in a statement that failure "to comply with the notice [to vacate illegally occupied land] will result in government being compelled to deal with the offenders in accordance with the laws of Malawi".

Over the years rental prices have increased in the city, and those who could not afford formal housing occupied undeveloped land in and around the capital.

Full report

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BOTSWANA: Government wants to brief UN Special Rapporteur on Bushmen

The government of Botswana says it has "no problem" with the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous People visiting the country for a briefing on the San Bushmen, who are contesting their relocation from the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR).

The San Bushmen were relocated to the New Xade and Kaudwane settlements outside the reserve after the government drew up controversial plans to set aside the CKGR for wildlife and tourism development. San rights groups have claimed the Bushmen were forcibly removed from their ancestral land to make way for diamond explorations in the CKGR.

Full report

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MADAGASCAR: Govt battles malnutrition

Almost a month ago, an emaciated Christian Rakotoniania and her two-year-old daughter were admitted to the government-run Intensive Nutritional and Rehabilitation Centre (CRENI) in the Malagasy capital, Antananarivo.

She has not only benefited from balanced meals provided three times a day, but also picked up tips on how to feed her family on a budget of less than one US dollar a day. Both Rakotoniania and her husband are unemployed.

"That is the tragedy of the situation - it is a vicious cycle - we send healthy mothers and children back into poverty where they barely manage to eat one proper meal a day," commented Dr Julia Rasoaharimalala, who heads the centre. "At times we are tempted to keep the mothers here longer so they can get stronger. However, we often have to send them back earlier because they have children to look after at home".

Full report

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NAMIBIA: Human rights situation improved, says report

The civil and political rights of citizens "improved remarkably" in the past twelve months, but economic, environmental and social rights deteriorated, the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) said in its annual report.

"There were less incidents of civil and political rights violations. Incidents of hate expression, name-calling ... also decreased exponentially towards the end of 2004," the report commented. Similarly, discrimination and the abuse of fundamental freedoms were also lower.

Full report

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[ENDS]

Theme(s)	Other

Other recent SOUTHERN AFRICA reports:

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

IRIN-SA Weekly Round-up 260 for 3-9 December 2005, 9/Dec/05

IRIN-SA Weekly Round-up 259 for 26 November - 2 December 2005, 2/Dec/05

Other recent reports:

HORN OF AFRICA: IRIN-HOA Weekly Round-up 305 for 10-16 December 2005, 17/Dec/05

MIDDLE EAST: Appeal to Arab world to give more to world’s poorest, 16/Dec/05

CENTRAL ASIA: Weekly news wrap, 16/Dec/05

ZIMBABWE: Health budget fails to address brain drain, 16/Dec/05

CENTRAL & EASTERN AFRICA: IRIN-CEA Weekly Round-up 309 10-16 December 2005, 16/Dec/05

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