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Tuesday 21 February 2006


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IRIN-SA Weekly Round-up 250 for 24-30 September 2005

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

CONTENTS:

MALAWI: Millions face hunger if food aid does not arrive
SOUTHERN AFRICA: Cross-border trade plays role in filling food gap
ZIMBABWE: Bailout talks to resume soon
SOUTH AFRICA: Govt, private sector to fast-track housing delivery
SWAZILAND: Poverty-stricken AIDS widows pin hopes on new constitution
NAMIBIA: $34m African Development Bank loan to create a 'Green Revolution'
ZAMBIA: Govt eases the way for more maize imports
SWAZILAND: Deteriorating living standards, poor economic growth

MALAWI: Millions face hunger if food aid does not arrive

A sharp increase in malnutrition rates and rapidly rising maize prices in Malawi could push the number of vulnerable people in need of food aid up to five million, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Friday.

Food experts had previously estimated the number of people facing food shortages during the 2005/06 marketing year (April/March) at around 4.2 million, or 34 percent of the total population, but that figure was based on a maize price-band of 19-23 kwacha/kg.

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Trade liberalisation has increased poverty levels, claims report

A new report says Malawi's trade liberalisation policies have adversely affected smallholder farmers and undermined the food security of the poor.

'Trade Liberalisation: A Poverty Trap for the Poor in Malawi' by the Malawi Economic Justice Network (MEJN), a local NGO, assessed the impact of various trade liberalisation policies on farmers growing tobacco, maize and cotton - the country's major crops.

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Hunger-related deaths signal deteriorating situation

Twenty-nine children in southern Malawi died of hunger-related illnesses between January and September, the World Food Programme (WFP) confirmed this week.

That these deaths occurred ahead of the traditional 'lean season' between harvests underlined the urgent need for food aid in the country, WFP spokeswoman Antonella D'Aprile told IRIN. "We are not yet in the hungry season, which is usually between December and March, and it is very unfortunate that we have children dying," she noted.

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US cash injection to fight corruption

The US Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) and the Malawi government have announced the launch of a US $20.92 million programme aimed at fighting corruption and spurring long-term economic growth and development in the southern African country.

MCC vice-president Charles Sethness and Malawi's finance minister, Goodall Gondwe, announced the signing of a Threshold Country Plan (TCP) in Washington on 23 September, according to a US government press release.

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SOUTHERN AFRICA: Cross-border trade plays role in filling food gap

As Southern Africa heads towards the traditional lean season between harvests, informal cross-border trade in maize, rice and beans has started levelling off in the past few months.

The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWSNET) and World Food Programme (WFP) informal cross-border food trade report noted that "by August the ... monitoring system had captured close to 83,000 mt of trade in maize, rice and beans since the start of the 2005/06 marketing year in April".

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NGOs welcome debt deal with caution

The World Bank (WB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) have endorsed a deal to cancel $42.5 billion owed by 18 poor countries, but debt cancellation campaigners have criticised the list of beneficiaries as being "too small".

On Sunday the international financial institutions announced that they would back an agreement concluded by the Group of Eight (G8) industrialised nations at their July summit in Gleneagles, Scotland, to cancel the debt owed by an initial 18 countries, followed by a possible 20 as they become eligible.

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Mega-hydropower projects urged to meet demand

Southern Africa is looking to mega-hydropower projects to meet galloping regional demand, which could outstrip surplus generation capacity by 2007.

Electricity needs in the 14-member Southern African Development Community (SADC) have grown by three percent each year over the past decade. Total installed capacity in the region is about 52,000 megawatt (MW); 40,000 MW - or 90 percent - is supplied by the South African utility, Eskom.

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ZIMBABWE: Bailout talks to resume soon

Zimbabwean and South African officials are to meet in the next two weeks for further talks on the possibility of loan assistance, a government spokesman confirmed on Wednesday.

"Talks have been continuing, but the two sides have not met recently," South African treasury spokesman Logan Wort told IRIN.

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Parallel fuel market thriving

Fuel supplies remain critical in Zimbabwe, forcing motorists, business and industry to rely on the parallel market if they want to stay mobile.

The government liberalised the fuel sector last year, allowing individuals and private companies with free funds to source their own petrol/diesel for sale, and in July this year, government announced the sale of fuel for hard foreign currency.

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SOUTH AFRICA: Govt, private sector to fast-track housing delivery

The South African government and the private sector, including property developers and banks, have agreed to speed up housing delivery in a bid to address the massive backlog.

At a recent Housing Indaba (conference) in Cape Town, participants signed a social contract for rapid housing delivery, with the overall aim of boosting the supply of low-cost homes to tackle the country's 2.4 million unit shortfall.

Full report

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SWAZILAND: Poverty-stricken AIDS widows pin hopes on new constitution

A new association of widows in Swaziland hopes to raise greater awareness of the plight of women who have lost their husbands to AIDS.

"We grow in numbers daily - the epidemic is creating a nation of widows," said Lindiwe Vilakati, a member of Litsemba Lebafelokati (SiSwati for "Hope of the Widows") Association.

Full report

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NAMIBIA: $34m African Development Bank loan to create a 'Green Revolution'

An African Development Bank (ADB) loan to the tune of US $34 million has given Namibia's 'Green Scheme Project' a major boost.

The ADB said the cash injection would provide a vital lifeline to the agricultural sector and assist in making the arid country "greener" through irrigation and crop development initiatives targeting the 70 percent of the country that relies on agriculture.

Full report

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ZAMBIA: Govt eases the way for more maize imports

The Zambian government has waived the 15 percent import duty on maize to mitigate the food deficit, an official confirmed on Friday.

"[The waiver] will allow the Millers Association of Zambia to buy 150,000 mt of maize from South Africa, and the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) to import 50,000 mt of maize," Enock Katowezhi, a spokesman for the ministry of agriculture told IRIN.

Full report

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SWAZILAND: Deteriorating living standards, poor economic growth

The welfare of the average Swazi continues to deteriorate due to the poor performance of the nation's economy, the Central Bank of Swaziland reported in its annual review.

"Official estimates put real GDP growth at 2.1 percent in 2004. Given the estimated population growth rate of 2.9 percent, the unimpressive economic growth implies a deterioration of the standard of living as measured by per capita income," the bank observed.

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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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