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Tuesday 21 February 2006


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Regions

IRIN-CEA Weekly Round-up 310 17-23 December 2005

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

CONTENTS:

KENYA: Drought-related deaths in the northeast
TANZANIA: Kikwete sworn-in as 4th president
DRC: Supporters of constitution in strong position at polls
DRC: Dutch gov't pledges 8.5 million for humanitarian action
CONGO: EU, gov't sign US $73.8-million road building deal
BURUNDI: UN extends Mission but could end it in 2006
UGANDA: Britain cuts aid over concerns about democracy
RWANDA: Body in Brussels canal confirmed that of ex-minister's

KENYA: Drought-related deaths in the northeast

Several people have died of drought-related causes in Mandera District in Kenya's Northeastern Province, where a prolonged dry spell has led to high levels of malnutrition and livestock deaths, officials said on Thursday.

"The situation is getting worse. Several people have died not as a direct result of starvation but of complications related to malnutrition and the use of contaminated water," Paul Chemutut, the district officer in charge of Mandera, said.

About 70 percent of Mandera's 300,000 residents were in need of humanitarian assistance, he added. The arid district is largely inhabited by Somalis, most of whom are nomadic pastoralists.

Full report

[KENYA: Gov't appeals for food aid for people in arid areas]

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TANZANIA: Kikwete sworn-in as 4th president

Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, who won a landslide victory in last week�s presidential elections in Tanzania, was sworn-in on Wednesday before some 30,000 spectators at a colourful ceremony in the commercial capital of Dar es Salaam.

Kikwete, 55, pledged to deliver on his electoral promises. One of these was to root out poverty and speed up the economic reform programmes adopted by his predecessors.

According to official results announced Tuesday by the country�s electoral commission, Kikwete, of the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (the Revolutionary Party), scooped 9.1 million votes, and equivalent to 80.28 percent of 11.365 valid votes cast. Ibrahim Lipumba of Civic United Front emerged second with 1.3 million or 11.68 percent of the vote.

Full report

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DRC: Supporters of constitution in strong position at polls

Initial trends in the Democratic Republic of Congo's constitutional referendum show overwhelming support for the document, which, if approved, should clear the way for general elections in 2006.

By Wednesday 78.47 percent of the nation's 24 million registered voters had polled in favour of the draft constitution, with 21.03 percent opposing, said Apolinnaire Malumalu, chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission. Those preliminary results were based on a tally of 33.8 percent of votes counted in 12,200 of the nation�s 36,028 polling stations.

The electoral commission will announce the final results on Monday, after which they will have to be certified by the High Court.

Full report

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DRC: Dutch gov't pledges 8.5 million for humanitarian action

The Dutch government announced on Wednesday a grant of 8.5 million euro (about $10 million) to the 2006 Action Plan for the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Marie-Christine Lanser-Reuksen, a spokeswoman for Dutch Development Cooperation Minister Anges Van Ardeene, said on Thursday in The Hague that the grant was primarily aimed at benefiting women, children, the elderly and the sick. She said the money would also contribute to reducing food insecurity; would help fight poverty; provide safe drinking water; and support basic health facilities.

The plan is a coordination and fundraising instrument to meet priority humanitarian needs and to present "highly-focused targeted programmes" designed to stabilise hard-hit areas after the elections. Three broad lines of action fall under the plan: saving lives, building a protective environment for communities, and promoting stability.

The first line of action is to ensure the availability of an adequate and rapid emergency response and a capacity to protect, immediately, people at acute risk. The second action line provides an organising framework for protecting communities by safeguarding the ability of existing local structures and communities to function. The third line focuses on high-impact activities that promote stability during the post-electoral period when public expectations are high and government capacities are weak.

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CONGO: EU, gov't sign US $73.8-million road building deal

The European Union (EU) and the Congolese government signed a 40-billion-franc-CFA deal (US $73.85 million) on Monday to build a road linking the capital, Brazzaville, with the town of Kinkala in the Pool Department.

Construction of the 68-kilometre road is expected to begin in June 2006 and be completed in 24 months. The cost of the road is being borne entirely by the EU, which initially pledged the money in 2000. However, it withheld disbursement on several occasions due to armed banditry by ex-combatants in Pool. Infrastructure in the department was perhaps the most heavily damaged or destroyed by a series of wars from 1998.

Full report

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BURUNDI: UN extends Mission but could end it in 2006

The UN Security Council extended the mandate of the UN Mission in Burundi (ONUB) on Wednesday for six months until 1 July 2006, noting that the Mission could end thereafter.

"The withdrawal of the ONUB force could, at the request of the government, be completed in the second half of 2006," according to a statement on Council's resolution S/2005/810 issued by UN News.

Currently there are some 5,000 UN peacekeepers in Burundi. ONUB's downsizing is set to begin on Wednesday with the departure of 180 Mozambican soldiers. Contingents from other countries are set to begin departing in February 2006.

Full report

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UGANDA: Britain cuts aid over concerns about democracy

Britain is to cut 15 million pounds ($26.4 million) in direct aid to Uganda due to concerns about democracy in the East African country ahead of general elections in February 2006.

Announcing this on Tuesday, British Secretary for International Development Hilary Benn said he had also decided to postpone a decision on whether to provide a further five million pounds until after the elections. Benn said the money being withheld would now be channelled to the UN relief effort in northern Uganda, where a 19-year-old rebellion has displaced 1.7 million people.

Britain's announcement came a day after Sweden joined Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden who have already cut aid to Uganda amid questions about President Yoweri Museveni's commitment to democratic reforms.

Full report

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RWANDA: Body found in Brussels canal confirmed that of ex-minister's

Belgian authorities have positively identified a decomposing body discovered in a Brussels canal as that of former Rwandan Commerce Minister Juvenal Uwilingiyimana who was indicted by the UN International Criminal Tribunal for the Rwanda, his lawyer Sven Mary announced on Thursday.

"We haven�t received full information on the cause of the death," Mary said.

However, police in Brussels said suicide was the likely cause since the coroner had not found any wounds or signs of a struggle on the body occurring prior to death.

The tribunal, headquartered in the northern Tanzanian town of Arusha, said on Friday it had indicted Uwilingiyimana on 13 June, for crimes of conspiracy to commit genocide; direct and public incitement to commit genocide; genocide; and murder as a crime against humanity. The tribunal issued an international warrant of arrest for Uwilingiyimana on 13 August.

Uwiligiyimana, 54, was minister of commerce in the late 1980s and director of the Rwandan Office of Tourism and National Parks during the 1994 Rwandan genocide. In 1998, he was admitted into Belgium as a refugee.

Full report

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[ENDS]

�Theme(s)	Other

Other recent CENTRAL & EASTERN AFRICA reports:

Regional ministerial meeting opens, �20/Feb/06

IRIN-CEA Weekly Round-up 318 11-17 February 2006, �17/Feb/06

IRIN-CEA Weekly Round-up 317 4-10 February 2006, �10/Feb/06

IRIN-CEA Weekly Round-up 316 28 January - 3 February 2006, �3/Feb/06

Regional summit to be held after DRC polls, UN envoy says, �1/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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