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Tuesday 21 February 2006


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IRIN-SA Weekly Round-up 249 for 17-23 September 2005

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

CONTENTS:

ANGOLA: Legacy of war, failed harvests combine to erode security
MALAWI: Opposition leader's arrest "miscalculated", say analysts
ZIMBABWE: Succession issue fuelling attempts to bring polls in line, say analysts
SOUTH AFRICA: Time to reassess mediation in Africa, says analyst
SOUTHERN AFRICA: Child refugees suffer rejection and abuse
NAMIBIA: Second Caprivi treason trial starts
MOZAMBIQUE: Rights groups dismayed by dismissal of corruption fighter
SWAZILAND: March planned to protest new constitution

ANGOLA: Legacy of war, failed harvests combine to erode security

Another generation of Angolan children faces a precarious future as failed harvests and the legacy of 27 years of civil war combine to undermine food security in the country, the World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Monday.

A WFP food security and livelihoods assessement in the central highlands region of Angola found that 52 percent of children under the age of five suffered from stunting. An estimated 336,000 people were food insecure and chronically food deficient, while 512,000 were "highly vulnerable to food insecurity".

Full report

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MALAWI: Opposition leader's arrest "miscalculated", say analysts

Political analysts have described Malawian opposition leader Gwanda Chakuamba's arrest last week as a "miscalculation" that has made him an unworthy "martyr" in the cause of freedom of expression.

Chakuamba was arrested after being sacked from the cabinet two weeks ago, reportedly to pave the way for an Anti-Corruption Bureau investigation into allegations that he had bought a luxury car with World Bank funds.

Full report

ADMARC forced to ration maize as food crisis deepens

Malawi's state grain marketer, ADMARC, has been forced to ration maize sales in drought-hit parts of the country as the food security situation worsens, according to a new early warning report.

Rising demand for maize in the southern region has impacted on commercial market prices, leading to long queues for the subsidised grain available from ADMARC outlets, explained a report by the USAID-funded Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWS NET).

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ZIMBABWE: Succession issue fuelling attempts to bring polls in line, say analysts

A Zimbabwean government proposal to harmonise the date of presidential and parliamentary elections is motivated by the "unresolved" succession issue within the ruling ZANU-PF party, political analysts said on Tuesday.

Patrick Chinamasa, Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, told IRIN that a draft constitution amendment bill was being prepared before President Robert Mugabe's term expired in 2008 to ensure that presidential and parliamentary elections coincided.

Under existing legislation, presidential elections are held every six years, with legislative polls at five-year intervals. The next presidential election in Zimbabwe is due in 2008, while parliamentary polls should be held in 2010. Mugabe, 81, has been in power since Zimbabwe gained independence from Britain in 1980.

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SOUTH AFRICA: Time to reassess mediation in Africa, says analyst

South Africa's attempts to solve the crisis in Cote d'Ivoire appear to be unravelling, which could leave President Thabo Mbeki with less of an appetite for engaging in conflict resolution in Africa, argues international affairs analyst John Stremlau.

Mbeki, who was given a mandate by the African Union (AU) to mediate between Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo, opposition political parties and rebel leaders controlling the northern half of the former French colony, may need to "reassess how much responsibility he can take for the continents problems".

Full report

Serious concerns over detention conditions

Human rights activists in South Africa are hoping that a chiding by the UN over the poor state of detention facilities will prompt the authorities to take immediate steps to remedy deteriorating conditions in prisons, IRIN reported on Tuesday.

At the end of a two-week study the UN's Working Group chairwoman, Leila Zerrougui, noted that pretrial detention conditions fell far short of meeting the international standards South Africa has subscribed to, in particular the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

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SOUTHERN AFRICA: Child refugees suffer rejection and abuse

A startling new study on the experiences of refugee and returnee children living in Southern Africa has uncovered a litany of abuse, often leading to further alienation of the most vulnerable of population groups, IRIN reported on Thursday.

Research commissioned by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) between February and March 2005 in South Africa, Zambia and Angola found that refugee and returnee children in all three countries faced high levels of aggression, in particular sexual and gender-based violence.

Full report

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NAMIBIA: Second Caprivi treason trial starts

IRIN reported on Thursday that the Namibian government's hopes for a quick trial of 12 alleged Caprivi separatists charged with treason were dashed this week in the Windhoek High Court.

The state instead found itself facing allegations of human rights violations and unlawful arrest; it also had to prove whether the court had the right to prosecute 11 of the accused, who claimed to have been unlawfully arrested.

Full report

Officials in trouble over wasted food aid as drought tightens grip

Five emergency management officials face disciplinary action for allowing 230 mt of food aid to rot in a military warehouse in Katima Mulilo, capital city of the drought-stricken northeastern Caprivi region.

The Namibian newspaper quoted Deputy Prime Minister Libertina Amathila as saying that she had instructed the Ministry of Regional and Local Government, Housing and Rural Development to begin disciplinary action against the five Caprivi Regional Emergency Management Unit (REMU) officials.

Full report

Eco-groups say uranium mine brings new hazards

Namibia has commissioned a second uranium mine despite strong opposition from human rights and environmental groups who fear it could pose an ecological hazard.

The Langer Heinrich Mine, 80 km east of the coastal town of Swakopmund in the protected Namib Naukluft Park, was officially opened last Thursday. Mines and Energy Minister Erkki Nghimtina described it as a marvellous example of "what government and the private sector must do to ensure sustainability in the mining sector".

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MOZAMBIQUE: Rights groups dismayed by dismissal of corruption fighter

The surprise axing of the head of Mozambique's Anti-Corruption Unit, Isabel Rupia, has been sharply criticised by human rights groups as undermining the government's anti-graft message, IRIN reported on Wednesday.

"We need to know the reason why Isabel Rupia was removed - it is people's right to know. When they don't know, then it leads to speculation," said Carimo Abdul of the anti-corruption NGO, Etica Mozambique.

Government officials were unavailable for comment.

Full report

School-yard roundabouts pump water while children play

Some 40,000 Mozambican school children will benefit from "Play Pumps", an initiative launched this month by the World Food Programme (WFP), the Dutch logistics company TNT, and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

The project is part of the 'Flourishing School' programme, which aims to provide potable water and sanitation to 60 rural schools. In the first phase, 30 play pumps will be installed in schools in Mozambique's southern provinces of Maputo, Gaza and Inhambane. In addition, 30 conventional hand pumps will be installed in Manica and Sofala provinces. The roundabouts have already proved highly successful in rural schools in neighbouring South Africa and Swaziland.

Full report

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SWAZILAND: March planned to protest new constitution

The Swazi government on Tuesday warned civil servants, trade unionists and church leaders that security forces would block a planned march to protest the new constitution.

Prime Minister Themba Dlamini questioned the mandate of pro-democracy activists to challenge the constitution promulgated by King Mswati III in July.

Full report

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[ENDS]

Theme(s)	Other

Other recent SOUTHERN AFRICA reports:

Policy revised to shed light on urban refugee blind-spot, 17/Feb/06

IRIN-SA Weekly Round-up 270 for 11-17 February 2006, 17/Feb/06

Too white to be black - the challenge of albinism, 16/Feb/06

Remittances - curse or blessing?, 16/Feb/06

Conflict, development and natural disasters fuel internal displacement, 14/Feb/06

Other recent reports:

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: Donors pledge support for humanitarian crisis, 21/Feb/06

ANGOLA: Ready to play larger security role in Africa, 21/Feb/06

CENTRAL ASIA: Weekly news wrap, 17/Feb/06

SOUTHERN AFRICA: IRIN-SA Weekly Round-up 270 for 11-17 February 2006, 17/Feb/06

WEST AFRICA: IRIN-WA Weekly Round-up 317 covering 11-17 February 2006, 17/Feb/06

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