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Tuesday 21 February 2006


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IRIN-SA Weekly Round-up 268 for 28 January - 3 February 2006

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

CONTENTS:

ZIMBABWE: IMF position on Zimbabwe's future
MALAWI: Opposition parties criticise Mutharika's proposed crop tour
SOUTH AFRICA: Skills shortage hampers goal to halve poverty
ZAMBIA: IMF concerned over poverty
SWAZILAND: Constitution to become operational next week
NAMIBIA: Country declares food crisis
SOUTHERN AFRICA: One good harvest not enough to end humanitarian crises
BOTSWANA: Routine HIV testing not as straightforward as it sounds

ZIMBABWE: IMF position on Zimbabwe's future

A visiting International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation left Zimbabwe this week after reportedly urging the government to undertake major policy reforms to turn around the country's battered economy. The team's findings are expected to be submitted to the IMF executive board on 8 March, which will decide the fund's future dealings with Zimbabwe. The country has been threatened with expulsion over non-payment of arrears owed to the IMF.

Zimbabwe's economy is in its sixth year of recession, with chronic shortages of food, foreign currency and fuel, triple-digit inflation and soaring unemployment. This week a new Zim $50,000 note was introduced to help ease a chronic shortage of money, but critics said the value had already been overtaken by inflation.

Full report

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Meanwhile, the European Union this week extended its sanctions against Zimbabwe, which include an arms embargo and a visa ban. On Thursday Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change and eight other top party officials were deported from Zambia for violating that country's immigration laws.

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MALAWI: Opposition parties criticise Mutharika's proposed crop tour

Opposition parties in Malawi are reportedly up in arms over President Bingu wa Mutharika's plans to assess the food security situation and the impact of a fertiliser subsidy programme. The parties have reportedly described the tour as an abuse of public funds.

Malawi is still recovering from last year's drought, the worst in a decade, which has left five million people in need of food aid. The European Union this week announced funding for a public works programme to help alleviate poverty and improve food security.

Full report

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A survey in Malawi, commissioned by the UN Children's Fund and the NGO, ActionAid, has raised concern over the increased vulnerability of girls to sexual abuse - partly as a result of deepening poverty. The study, covering over a thousand school-age girls, found that more than half had experienced some form of sexual abuse in schools.

Full report

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SOUTH AFRICA: Skills shortage hampers goal to halve poverty

In his state of the nation address on Friday, President Thabo Mbeki said South Africa's current skills shortage threatened the ability of the public and private sectors to meet the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for SA (ASGISA) goal of halving poverty and unemployment by 2014. Mbeki also underlined the need to raise government efficiency, and speed up land reform.

IRIN reported this week that unemployment would remain South Africa's greatest challenge in the decades ahead, according to a survey of business leaders and economists. Despite a growing economy, the experts said they were concerned with the phenomenon of jobless growth, which would not dent South Africa's unemployment rate of between 30 and 40 percent.

Full report

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More than a decade after the advent of democracy, South Africa has still one of the most unequal societies in the world, but a recent study reveals that public support for pro-poor policies is highly conditional.

Full report

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ZAMBIA: IMF concerned over poverty

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) executive board this week expressed concern over widespread poverty in Zambia. In its otherwise complimentary assessment, the board said it was encouraged by the authorities' commitment to increase further spending on poverty-reducing programmes and implement a structural reform agenda aimed at increasing productivity and raising incomes.

Zambia's annual inflation rate has fallen to its lowest level in four years, partly as a result of a strengthening of the local currency, which has benefited from the write-off of foreign debt by the G8.

Full report

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In what has been described as a policy u-turn, Zambian president Levy Mwanawasa declared that this year's general election will be held under the current constitution rather than a new document prepared by a Constituent Assembly as church and NGO activists have demanded. Mwanawasa has cited cost and lack of time to deliver a new constitution before the polls, but campainers have vowed to carry on the fight.

Full report

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Zambian Home Affairs Secretary Peter Mumba reported that more than 100 refugees from Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo had left their camps after the World Food Programme (WFP) halved their food rations last month. WFP needs US $8.5m to feed the 82,000 refugees living in refugee camps.

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SWAZILAND: Constitution to become operational next week

King Mswati II has reportedly assured the country that the much-awaited constitution will become operational next week. However, it is still unclear whether the 1973 Proclamation prohibiting political activities and parties will be abolished when the constitution comes into force.

Meanwhile, bulldozers were set to move in this week to clear a string of informal urban settlements as the Swazi government and local authorities clamp down on unplanned housing.

Full report

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NAMIBIA: Country declares food crisis

The World Food Programme (WFP) is to assist 111,000 orphans and vulnerable children in Namibia's northern provinces from April this year. The children benefiting from WFP's assistance have been made vulnerable by the impact of HIV/AIDS, many of them having to head households after being orphaned.

Meanwhile, another abysmally low final school examination pass rate has sparked calls for Namibia's education sector to be reformed. Of the 13,850 students who sat the grade 12 school-leaving exams in 2005, only 2,840 qualified for admittance to the University of Namibia and the Polytechnic of Namibia.

Full report

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SOUTHERN AFRICA: One good harvest not enough to end humanitarian crises

The humanitarian and development challenges facing Southern Africa are not going to be countered by one good harvest, said James Morris, the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Humanitarian Needs.

During his five-day visit to Mozambique, South Africa and Malawi, Morris said although recent good rainfall could mean better agricultural production in some countries, "many millions of people will face extreme difficulties even if there are better harvests this year".

Full report

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BOTSWANA: Routine HIV testing not as straightforward as it sounds

Botswana's decision to introduce routine HIV testing in all its health facilities was driven by the growing realisation that plans to provide anti-AIDS medication were likely to fail unless more people were tested.

But activists have expressed concern that the policy could be eroding the patient's right to confidentiality, with the risk of informed consent being compromised.

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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