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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 08-01-2001

PART #4/4 - From SOUTH AFRICA to ZIMBABWE

* South Africa. Government faces credibility crisis — A scandal over alleged kickbacks in a $5.5 billion arms deal has shaken the government just after President Thabo Mbeki called earlier this week for massive international investment in African countries committed to clean governance. The scandal, and the government’s perceived efforts to obstruct the investigation, threaten to damage the democracy and image of one of Africa’s most powerful countries, Mbeki’s opponents charge. In the past two weeks, the government blocked an independent investigation unit from participating in the probe, Mbeki gave a nationally televised tongue-lashing to the judge heading the unit and the ruling African National Congress muzzled one of its lawmakers who had pressed for a vigorous investigation. «We have damaged our international standing with the way we have handled this arms deal probe,» said opposition lawmaker Patricia de Lille, who has also pushed for an investigation. «It creates an impression that the president is not decisive on corruption.» De Lille said she has received threatening phone calls demanding she stop the investigation. The furore has hardly created the ideal backdrop for Mbeki’s vision of a rejuvenated Africa, with a new breed of leader creating a favourable climate for investors and private business. (CNN, 1 February 2001)

* South Africa. The courage of the young — South Africa’s youngest AIDS activist turned 12 on 4 February, but was too ill to attend his birthday party because the disease has left him unable to eat or speak. Nkosi Johnson championed the cause of young HIV and AIDS sufferers and spoke openly about the disease, which remains heavily stigmatized in South Africa even though about 10% of the country’s 45 million people are HIV-positive. Last July, he addressed the opening of the 13th International AIDS conference in Durban, where he appealed to people not to shun AIDS sufferers and pressed the government to provide anti-retroviral drugs to HIV-positive women who are pregnant. Nkosi, the longest-surviving child born with the disease in South Africa, collapsed in December with AIDS-related brain damage and viral infections. He was hospitalized, but doctors said they could do nothing more for him. He was not expected to live much longer and was taken home to be more comfortable. In January, he had several seizures and has not spoken since. Nkosi first made headlines in 1997 when parents of the school’s other pupils unsuccessfully tried to prevent his admission because of his HIV/AIDS status. (InfoBeat, USA, 5 February 2001)

* South Africa. Tourists as decoys to smuggle arms — Hundreds of backpackers who booked African adventure holidays through a London travel company in the late Eighties were unwitting decoys for an audacious arms-smuggling operation serving anti-apartheid activists. Along with their innocent cargo of camping gear and Lonely Planet guidebooks, hundreds of tourists who roughed it from Kenya to South Africa as clients of Africa Hinterland carried AK-47s, pistols, limpet mines, grenades and ammunition. Africa Hinterland, with an office in Greenwich High Road, south-east London, was a front company set up by the military wing of the African National Congress (ANC). The arms it transported -– 40 tons over seven years -– were concealed in the seats of a Bedford lorry. The details will be revealed on 3 February on South African television in a documentary called «The Secret Safari». African Hinterland went out of business, along with apartheid, after Nelson Mandela was released from jail in 1990. But the white Bedford, which was driven by British anti-apartheid activists, was put back on the road by the documentary-makers. (Independent, UK, 6 February 2001)

* South Africa. Archbishop becomes a Cardinal — On 28 January, the Pope announced that Archbishop Wilfred Fox Napier of Durban will become a Cardinal. On 21 February, the Archbishop of Durban, along with 43 others, will be made a Cardinal at a consistory in Rome. As president of the South African Episcopal Conference in the early 1990s, Archbishop Napier made a positive contribution to Nelson Mandela’s peaceful revolution, which brought an end to apartheid. He has been Archbishop of Durban since 1992. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 6 February 2001)

* Soudan/Tchad. Importants accords — Le 3 février, le Premier ministre tchadien, M. Nagoum Yamassoum, a achevé une visite d’une semaine au Soudan, à l’issue de laquelle les deux pays ont conclu d’importants accords en matière de commerce et de coopération. M. Yamassoum a déclaré que le Tchad et le Soudan sont déterminés à renforcer leur coopération politique et économique. Les deux parties ont également conclu, dans le domaine des échanges commerciaux, un accord prévoyant la libre circulation des biens pour l’échange de produits industriels et agricoles. (PANA, Sénégal,  4 février 2001)

* Sudan. Journalists imprisoned — Two journalists have been jailed for failing to pay fines ordered by a court for defaming the governor of Khartoum, their newspaper said on 4 February. A criminal court also ordered the left-leaning Al-Rai Al-Akhar daily to pay $390,000 — the highest fine ever in Sudan against a newspaper — for publishing the allegedly defamatory article, which appeared in August, the paper said. Al-Rai Al-Akhar is an independent daily. Amal Abbas, the paper’s editor, and Ibrahim Hassan, the author of the article, on 3 February began a three-month jail sentence for failing to pay a fine of $5,900 each. Both told the court they did not have the money, according to Al-Rai Al-Akhar. Defense attorneys on 4 February went to court to contest the ruling, said Shadia Sidahmed, a journalist at the paper. Last August, Al-Rai Al-Akhar published an article accusing Majzoub Khalifa, the governor of Khartoum, of corruption and nepotism, but the court said the accusations have not been substantiated. In the 3 February verdict, the court said the sentences were designed to «serve as a lesson for the press» to seek accuracy and verify stories before publishing them. In January, Abbas spent two days in jail for refusing to publish an apology for an article that accused some justice departments of being the «mafia of the public sector.» The justice minister intervened and released her. (InfoBeat, USA, 5 February 2001)

* Soudan. Politique esclavagiste du gouvernement — Selon l’association Christian Solidarity International, les forces armées ont capturé 72 femmes et enfants le 21 janvier, et ont tué 53 civils lors de raids sur des villages du Sud-Soudan. Le 26 janvier, le ministre des Affaires étrangères a affirmé que «les enlèvements seraient poursuivis aussi longtemps que la guerre continuera». (La Croix, France, 6 février 2001)

* Sudan. Minister meets with Bishops — «The Catholic Church has a long tradition of dialogue and we will benefit from this experience», said the Federal Minister of Social Planning, Dr. Kutbi Al-Mahdi, during his meeting with three Catholic Bishops on 7 February. Speaking with Dr. Kutbi, the president of the Sudan Catholic Bishops’ Conference, Archbishop Paolino Lukudu Loro, said that as religious leaders, the bishops had come «to wish you God’s blessings in the first place». He also said that during their recent plenary assembly, the bishops had felt that their 1995 position paper entitled: «A Position Paper of the Catholic Church on “The Miscellaneous Amendment Organization of Voluntary Work Act 1994"», which they had submitted to the Ministry, has not been followed. Archbishop Lukudu also mentioned that Church personnel had experienced a lot of hurdles in regard to the granting of visas, especially for expatriate personnel. He also said the Church finds it difficult to import Mass Wine and that there were difficulties, s far as Christians are concerned, in holding Sudan School Certificate Examinations on Easter Sunday. (Dominic Ladu, Sudan, 8 February 2001)

* Tanzanie. Leader de l’opposition libéré — Le président du Front civique uni (CUF), Ibrahim Lipumba, arrêté le week-end dernier, a été libéré sous caution après quatre jours de détention, a-t-on appris le 1er février à Dar es-Salaam. Accusé d’avoir organisé une réunion déclarée illégale, M. Lipumba a déclaré que sa prochaine démarche serait de remettre de l’ordre dans son parti après les heurts entre ses partisans et la police, qui ont fait de nombreuses victimes. Neuf autres membres du CUF ont également été relâchés sous caution, six autres sont toujours en détention. (PANA, Sénégal,  1er février 2001)

* Tanzania. Crisis on the islands — 31 January: The European Union condemns the excessive use of force by the police on Zanzibar and Pemba islands, following opposition-led demonstrations protesting the results of last October’s election. 1 February: Visitors planning to head to Zanzibar have been asked to avoid all holiday and non-essential travel to the scenic islands. «We advise against all holiday and other non-essential travel to Zanzibar, including Pemba Island, the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office has said. Visitors and residents already on the islands have also been urged to exercise extreme caution and stay clear of any political rallies and demonstrations. The prime minister of Tanzania, Frederick Sumaye, has defended the policing of demonstrations in the Zanzibar archipelago at the weekend in which more than thirty people were killed. Mr Sumaye said that the police response to what was not a peaceful demonstration had been appropriate and had been taken to prevent worse bloodshed. He said not many more than twenty-two people died in clashes between police and supporters of opposition parties protesting against the conduct of elections last year. Meanwhile, the Tanzanian foreign minister Jakaya Kikwete has said the country will take tough action against any group which attempted to use what he described as terrorism against the government and its embassies abroad.Tanzanian embassies in Sweden and India are reported to have received letters which threatened a campaign against Tanzanian interests abroad — principally its embassies — from a group called the Zanzibar Liberation Front. 3 February: Tanzania’s President Mkapa offers talks to end Zanzibar’s political crisis but he rejects opposition demands for a rerun of disputed elections there. 6 February: At least 14 Zanzibar opposition MPs have arrived in Kenya to escape violence on the islands. 7 February: The opposition Civic United Front hold a peaceful rally on the mainland. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 8 February 2001)

* Togo. Bribery claim is «utterly ridiculous» — In a Press Release (7 February), Amnesty International described allegations that it had accepted a bribe as «utterly ridiculous and deeply insulting to the victims of Togolese terror». The organization’s General-Secretary, Pierre Sane, branded Togo’s Interior Minister, General Sizing Walla, who made the acusation yesterday, a «desperate man employing the tactics of a desperate government». General Walla claimed that Amnesty International had received a US $500,000 payment from Togolese opposition leader, Gilchrist Olympio, in return for writing a report that was critical of human rights standards in Togo. (Amnesty International, 7 February 2001)

* Tunisie. Le frère de Ben Brick — Jalel Zoghlami, qui vient de lancer le mensuel l’Arc de la dignité à Tunis, a été agressé en pleine rue, le 3 février, par cinq hommes armés de barres de fer. Des attaques comparables avaient déjà eu lieu en Tunisie, notamment contre un homme d’affaires, Riadh Ben Fadel, grièvement blessé en mai 2000 après avoir publié une tribune appelant le président Ben Ali à ne pas briguer de troisième mandat. Dans le journal de Zoghlami, l’éditorial abordait le même thème; “Ben Ali, treize ans, basta”. Ce débat autour du troisième mandat, qui nécessiterait une réforme constitutionnelle, est visiblement la ligne rouge à ne pas franchir pour le régime. Zoghlami a entamé une grève de la faim pour que son mensuel soit légalisé. Son frère, le journaliste Taoufik Ben Brick, avait suivi l’an dernier un mouvement semblable, provoquant une prise de conscience internationale sur le régime. - Le 6 février, des policiers ont placé l’appartement de M. Zoghlami sous état de siège. Omar Mestiri, du Comité national pour les libertés en Tunisie (non reconnu), qui venait lui rendre visite, a été roué de coups. (D’après Libération, France, 5-8 février 2001)

* Uganda. UN worries about diamond exports — The United Nations has put Uganda on a watchlist of countries that export diamonds but have no known diamond production. A panel of experts will examine the relationship between diamond exports and military procurements. A final report by an expert panel on the illegal exploitation of natural resources and other forms of wealth, will be ready in March 2001. The report comes amidst growing concern in the UN and various organisations, of Uganda’s involvement in commercial transactions of this nature. The Ugandan government says it is not particularly worried about being placed on the UN‘s «watchlist». The Minister of State in charge of the presidency says it is not a big deal. «Uganda has a liberal economy where both foreigners and local traders freely deal here. If they deal in diamonds then it is part of a liberalised economy». (Crespo Sebunya, ANB-BIA, Uganda, 2 February 2001)

* Uganda. Towards the elections — 22 January: Cardinal Wamala says the Catholic Church will not back any candidate in the 6 March presidential elections. (New Vision). 26 January: President Museveni has warned Ugandans who are resorting to violence and intimidation in the presidential election campaigns, that: «It is an offence to threaten violence, obstruct traffic». (New Vision). 5 February: Supporters of a leading challenger to president Museveni are claiming they are the targets of a deliberate intimidation campaign. On 4 February, three followers of presidential hopeful, Colonel Kizza Besigye, were killed as a truck drove into a crowd waiting for a campaign rally. New Vision publishes an opinion poll that gives Museveni 54% of voters, compared to 37% for Besigye. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 6 February 2001)

* Ouganda. Violences à la campagne électorale — Le dimanche 4 février, trois personnes ont été tuées et trente autres blessées, quand un véhicule a foncé sur la foule réunie pour accueillir l’un des candidats aux élections présidentielles du mois prochain. Un pick-up a foncé de façon apparemment délibérée sur un groupe de partisans du candidat Kizza Besigye, à Namanve (environ 8 km à l’est de Kampala). Les occupants du véhicule avaient eu une altercation avec des partisans de M. Besigye sur la raison pour laquelle ceux-ci le préféraient à l’actuel président Yoweri Museveni. M. Besigye, officier en retraite et ancien ministre, est le principal adversaire de Museveni aux présidentielles du 6 mars. La campagne électorale a été émaillée de violences, opposant le plus souvent les partisans de M. Besigye à ceux du président Museveni. (La Libre Belgique, 6 février 2001)

* Zambia-Congo (RDC). JMC is broke — The Joint Military Commission (JMC) for the supervision of the Congo RDC cease-fire agreement is broke, making it difficulty to supervise practically the actual implementation of the fragile peace deal. The newly appointed chairman of the Commission, Brigadier General Njuki Mwanika, said on 1 February, that the JMC, which has its headquarters in Lusaka, was finding it difficult to start operations on the ground because of lack of finances. General Mwanika, said that during his one-year (renewable) term as head of the JMC, he would ensure that the implementation of the Lusaka Cease-fire Agreement takes off. Gen. Mwanika, who was quick to defend the JMC‘s relevance, has as priority, to ensure the disarmament of the parties involved in Congo’s conflict, takes place. He said the JMC is expected to facilitate an enabling environment before the United Nations Observer Mission for the Congo (MONUC)’s 5,000-strong peace keeping force enters that troubled nation. The General said that as soon as circumstances allow, the JMC will relocate to Kinshasa or any other convenient place in Congo.». (Gideon Thole, ANB-BIA, Zambia, 1 February 2001)

* Zambie. Sondage sur le 3e mandat de Chiluba — Les résultats du sondage et de l’étude nationale (basés sur les réponses d’environ 8.500 personnes), réalisés pour déterminer si le président en exercice Frédérick Chiluba devrait postuler ou non un troisième mandat, ont révélé que 54% y sont favorables et 46% contre. Ceux qui y sont opposés sont principalement des autorités religeuses, des hommes d’affaires et des enseignants. Ils ont notamment souligné que cela constituerait un précédent néfaste si la Constitution était amendée pour répondre à des intérêts individuels; d’autres ont aussi évoqué les mauvais résultats énonomiques du gouvernement de M. Chiluba. Les personnes favorables au projet étaient essentiellement des commerçants, des opérateurs du secteur informel et des leaders traditionnels. Ceux-ci ont prétendu que le président Chiluba avait besoin de temps supplémentaire pour achever ses projets de développement; d’autres ont affirmé qu’il n’existe pas de leader alternatif performant. Le sondage, le premier réalisé dans le pays, a soulevé une controverse à propos de la motivation du sponsor, dont le nom n’a pas été divulgué. (D’après PANA, Sénégal,  1er février 2001)

* Zambie. Traité commercial de la SADC — La Zambie a finalement ratifié le traité commercial de la Communauté pour le développement de l’Afrique australe (SADC) qui entrera en vigueur le 5 mars prochain, a annoncé le 2 février le ministre zambien du Commerce et de l’Industrie, M. David Mpamba. S’exprimant devant le Parlement, M. Mpamba a indiqué que la ratification de ce protocole permettra à la Zambie d’augmenter ses exportations de plus de $100 millions par an, en raison de l’accès préférentiel au marché sud-africain. Le traité commercial a fait l’objet d’intenses négociations, afin de lui garantir une mise en oeuvre souple et une application optimale, a-t-il ajouté. Il devait entrer en vigueur le 25 janvier 2000, à la suite de sa ratification par deux tiers des Etats membres, mais son application a été reportée en raison des négociations toujours en cours. La Zambie est le troisième pays à ratifier ce traité après l’Afrique du Sud et l’île Maurice. (PANA, Sénégal,  3 février 2001)

* Zambia. Nuns criticise government inaction — Catholic nuns in the Zambia Association of Sisterhoods (ZSA) and the (Catholic) Religious Superiors Conference of Zambia — which unites the leaders of Catholic orders of nuns —have issued a pastoral statement criticising the Zambian government for the nation’s falling education standards and poor health care in public hospitals and other institutions. Together the two organisations represent about 1000 nuns across Zambia engaged in missionary work and care for the poor. The Catholic nuns also claimed that the government was not seriously committed to reducing Zambia’s widespread poverty. «Poverty and hunger are growing; the majority of our people live on one meal or less a day, and salaries of workers are not paid for months.» (ENI, Zambia, 3 January 2001)

* Zimbabwe. The independent Press under attack — Readers will recall that on 28 January, four powerful explosions in the industrial area of Southerton, shattered the Daily News printing presses worth some US $1 million. This is not the first time the Daily News has come under attack because in April 2000, the Daily News offices in town were bombed but there were no injuries. The fact is, and this must be emphasised, there has of late been a sustained attack on the independent Press, particularly the Daily News, for exposing corruption in government circles. Zimbabwe’s independent Press has been in the forefront of questioning Zimbabwe’s involvement in the Congo RDC war, as well as attacking the government’s fast-track land resettlement programme. The bombing of the Daily News came at a time when the government had publicly threatened to «deal with the paper». The day before the bombing, the ruling ZANU-PF met with the war veterans to decide how they were going to deal with the Daily News. The Minister of State responsible for Information, Jonathan Moyo, was quoted as saying that the state would silence the Daily News because it posed a security risk to the nation. Moyo was also given space in the state-controlled Herald to attack both the Daily News and Trevor Ncube who is the editor-in-chief of the Zimbabwe Standard and the Zimbabwe Independent newspapers. A week before the bombing of the Daily News, war veterans had mounted roadblocks in Mkutoko, Marondera Murewa and other areas, where they searched cars and buses for copes of the Daily News and other independent publications. Those found with copies were harassed and had their copies taken and burnt. (Editor’s update: 3 February — Hundreds of police have stopped a planned protest march by journalists in Harare 6 February — Military analysts say they have identified the type of bomb used to destroy the Daily News’ printing press. Government investigators havekept a close grip on their findings so far). (Percy Makombe, ANB-BIA, Zimbabwe, 31 January 2001)

* Zimbabwe. Top judge resigns under pressure — The Zimbabwean government has announced that the country’s chief justice is to retire a year early. The justice minister, Patrick Chinamasa, said that Chief Justice Anthony Gubbay’s decision had come after a thirty-minute meeting with him. The BBC Correspondent in Harare says that although Mr Gubbay has made no public comment, it’s almost certain the decision to retire early was forced upon him. Senior legal sources who asked not to be named, told The Times that the Manchester-born judge had been forced to resign after Mr Mugabe refused to provide judges with protection from mobs of lawless so-called war veterans. In recent months, the government has criticised the senior judiciary, and its supporters have threatened judges with physical harm. Following a series of court rulings last year against the government’s controversial land reforms, Mr Chinamasa accused the chief justice — who is white — of serving the interests of Zimbabwe’s white minority. A new Chief Justice has not yet been appointed but speculation is rife that High Court Judge Godfrey Chidyausiku is pencilled to take over. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 3 February 2001)

* Zimbabwe. Putting price controls across economy — Zimbabwe is gearing up for the imposition of price controls “on all commodities, goods and services, produced wholly or substantially” within the country. Price and wage restraint is part of a social contract the government hopes will be adopted by labour unions and employers. It is part of a new populist strategy it hopes will enable President Robert Mugabe to win the next presidential election, scheduled for April next year. Some aspects of the plan are already in place and others are taking shape. Interest rates have been so set that the yield on money market instruments is at least 45 percentage points below the inflation rate of 55 per cent. Bank lending rates are also hugely negative and the government is trying to finance its growing domestic debt by issuing five-year government loan stock at an interest rate of about 25 per cent - or less than half the inflation rate. The plan includes doubling minimum pay for urban employees to about Z$6,300 a month, while imposing price controls on basic items. These include the staple food, maize meal, cooking oil, bread, flour, milk, meat and paraffin. Bus fares, rents and water charges are also listed for a form of «price restraint». Despite these populist measures, the trade unions have rejected the contract, while employers make little secret of their opposition to a plan they say cannot work. The government’s part of the bargain is to cut inflation to 40 per cent within the time-frame of the accord to cut the budget deficit from 23 per cent of gross domestic product last year to 3 per cent by 2003 and to «continually introduce tax incentives especially for exports and boost disposable incomes». The government also promises to continue to manage the exchange rate and «maintain purchasing power parity with our trading partners». (Financial Times, UK, 6 February 2001)

* Zimbabwe. Démission du président de la Cour suprême — 2 février. Le président de la Cour suprême du Zimbabwe, M. Anthony Gubbay, a démissionné au milieu d’une tension croissante entre le pouvoir judiciaire et le gouvernement à propos des décisions de justice sur la réforme agraire. M. Gubbay, aux commandes du système judiciaire depuis dix ans, s’est retiré après une réunion avec le ministre de la Justice. Les autorités l’ont accusé avec véhémence de prendre des décisions allant à l’encontre des intérêts nationaux. A maintes reprises il avait déclaré illégaux les projets du gouvernement de confisquer une partie des fermes des Blancs pour les distribuer aux paysans noirs sans terres. La tension entre le pouvoir judiciaire et le gouvernement était encore montée d’un cran le 30 janvier, après que la Cour suprême eut annulé un décret du président Mugabe déclarant illégales les pétitions déposées par l’opposition contre les résultats des élections législatives de juin dernier. - Le 3 février, pour la deuxième journée, la police était fortement présente dans les rues de Harare pour empêcher toute manifestation des partisans de l’opposition. La veille, la police avait dû disperser les jeunes du principal parti d’opposition, le Mouvement pour le changement démocratique (MDC), qui tentaient de manifester contre l’anarchie dans le pays. Huit personnes ont été arrêtées. Le gouvernement a placé les forces de sécurité en état d’alerte total, déclarant avoir éventé un complot de ce parti d’opposition pour renverser le président Mugabe. - Le 6 février, le vice-président et deux autres membres du MDC ont été arrêtés pour “incitation à la violence”. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 7 février 2001)

* Zimbabwe. Internal concerns — War veterans: The so-called war-veterans may be turning into a force answerable only to its increasingly extremist leaders. One analyst has said: «The vets have been allowed, quite literally, to get away with murder since they were unleashed on the population befor June’s elections. The government is now worried they can no longer be controlled». Arrests: Three leaders of Zimbabwe’s main opposition party were arrested on 5 February for allegedly making inflammatory statements during political rallies at the weekend. Fuel: Fuel queues that started reappearing at the weekend, threatened to get worse as some garages in Harare ran dry without any indication when the next supplies would arrive, the state-owned Herald newspaper reported on 6 February. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 7 February 2001)