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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 11-10-2001

PART #4/4 - From RWANDA  to  ZIMBABWE

* Rwanda/France. Le cas de l’abbé Wenceslas — Le 9 octobre, deux juges d’instruction français ont écrit au ministre de la Justice du Rwanda pour s’étonner du manque de collaboration des autorités judiciaires locales à leur enquête sur un religieux rwandais poursuivi en France pour génocide. Une information judiciaire a été ouverte à Paris en janvier 1999 contre l’abbé Wenceslas Munyeshyaka, accusé d’avoir encouragé les massacres en 1994. Les deux commissions rogatoires internationales (septembre et octobre 2000) des juges français, dans lesquelles ils sollicitaient l’audition de témoins rwandais, sont restées sans réponse de la part du ministère de la Justice. Les juges demandent donc au ministre rwandais de la Justice, au cas où son pays serait “favorable à l’exécution de ces commissions rogatoires internationales”, de bien vouloir leur “communiquer le nom et les coordonnées du juge d’instruction désigné par les autorités judiciaires du Rwanda” qui procédera aux auditions des témoins. (AP, 9 octobre 2001)

* Rwanda. Population to be 16 million by 2020 — Rwanda’s population — set to double to 16 million by 2020 at its current growth rate of 3.2 percent per annum — will present a major challenge to the government, Finance and Economic Planning Minister Donald Kaberuka has said.The government, he said, needed to raise the gross domestic product from the current US $290 to $900 by 2020 if it is to cope with the increase in people. «This is an ambitious agenda requiring a growth of 7 percent to 8 percent per annum, implying fairly high rates of savings in the coming years,» he told a conference reviewing the country’s poverty reduction strategies. (IRIN, 10 October 2001)

* Rwanda. Volontaire italien assassiné — Un volontaire italien, Giuliano Berizzi, a été assassiné le 6 octobre à Kigali, selon l’agence Misna. Cet assassinat provoque l’émoi de la communauté salésienne, à laquelle la victime était liée. Elle craint que le volontaire n’ait été tué à cause de sa collaboration avec les missionnaires locaux. (La Croix, France, 10 octobre 2001)

* Somalia. Somalis protest over bank notes — Violent demonstrations in the Somali capital Mogadishu over the refusal of businesses to accept old bank notes has left one person dead and several others injured.  The protest which involved tens of thousands of people including women and children, began about 0900 and then gained momentum as the morning wore on. Businesses argue that the notes are old, worn out and worth very little. But the government of President Abdulkassim Salat Hassan has ordered shopkeepers to accept the notes as legal tender. The president said: «I have ordered the police and the appropriate courts to take the necessary measures against those who try to destabilise the country by not accepting these notes.» The smallest denomination businesses will take is the 1,000 Somali shilling note, worth less than five US cents. During the demonstration, hundreds of shops and restaurants on the main Soddonkah road closed as the demonstrators threw stones at the buildings. Traffic came to a halt after several buses and cars had their windshields smashed. The angry people said the refusal of shops to accept the 500 Somali shilling note had led to inflation and high prices. The price of a cup of tea has doubled virtually overnight. A few days ago it cost 500 shillings, now it is 1,000. (BBC News, UK, 9 October 2001)

* South Africa/Mozambique. World’s biggest elephant move starts — The world’s biggest elephant relocation programme began on 4 October with the transport of the first of more than 1,000 elephants from South Africa to Mozambique. Scientists working in South Africa’s Kruger National Park said its 9,000 elephants are all it can take. They are moving elephants over the border into Mozambique, where elephants were poached almost to extinction during the civil war. The scheme is being overseen by former South African President Nelson Mandela and is part of a wider plan to establish the world’s largest nature reserve. The elephants are tranquillised before being loaded with cranes into trucks and taken across the border. Border fences are being dismantled to restore traditional seasonal migration routes for wild animals across what will be the Gaza/Kruger/Gonarezhou Transfrontier Conservation Area. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 4 October 2001)

* South Africa. Seeking observer status in Islamic Conference — South Africa is seeking membership of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), the country’s ministry of foreign affairs said on 4 October. Aziz Pahad, the deputy minister of foreign affairs, said South Africa wished to have observer status membership of the OIC to «lift the curtain of ignorance» between his country and the Islamic and Arab worlds. About 1.4 per cent of South Africa’s 40m population are Muslim; 75 per cent are estimated to be Christian. The OIC has 57 member states, including South Africa’s neighbour Mozambique and northern and western African states with large Muslim populations. The organisation has three observer states;  Bosnia and Herzogovina, Thailand and the Central African Republic. A spokesman for the Jeddah-based OIC said observer status allowed a country to participate but not vote at its meetings. He said observer status was a route to full membership «after a while». Mr Pahad said South Africa was investigating what kind of membership it could qualify for under the organisation’s rules. One reason for South Africa wishing to join the OIC is to monitor positions taken by the 25 African countries among its membership and to promote the goals of the New Africa Initiative, a development and governance plan launched by President Thabo Mbeki. Another is access to the Islamic Development Bank. «We don’t have specific needs now but it would help the New Africa Initiative. We want to commit these very rich countries to take an interest in our continent,» he said. While intended to bolster diplomatic and economic relations with the Arab world, membership of the OIC would also signal South Africa’s support for the plight of the Palestinian people. The OIC, founded by Saudi Arabia in 1969, works to safeguard Muslim holy places and support the struggle of the Palestinians to liberate the occupied territories. It also promotes Islamic solidarity among member states, economic development and the well-being of the world’s 650m Muslims. (Financial Times, UK, 5 October 2001)

* Afrique du Sud. Pour des cadres africains — Un projet dénommé Desmond Tutu Leadership Academy vient de voir le jour en Afrique du Sud. Le programme, qui vise la formation de leaders africains, est une initiative de l’ancien archevêque anglican de Johannesburg, Mgr Desmond Tutu. “Ceux que nous devons former de toute urgence, ce sont les groupes désavantagés historiquement, comme les femmes et les réfugiés”, a indiqué Mme Zola Makosana, une des responsables du programme. Le président sud-africain Thabo Mbeki partage la vision du projet et a été au premier plan du programme. (DIA, Kinshasa, 8 octobre 2001)

* South Africa. African firm wins Aids drug permit — Pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline is to allow low-cost, generic versions of three of its anti-Aids drugs to be manufactured by a South African drugs company. Aspen Pharmacare has been given the patents to generically produce and supply anti-retroviral drugs to the government health service and to non-profit making anti-Aids charities. Under the agreement, the South African company is not allowed to profit from the sale of the drugs, AZT, 3TC and Combivir, or export them to any other African country. An estimated 4.7 million South Africans are HIV-positive, about 11% of the population. Africa has been hardest hit by HIV, with an estimated 25 million infected people, equivalent to two-thirds of the world’s  cases, UN figures claim. The concession by GlaxoSmithKline comes six month after the firm and 38 other drugs companies dropped legal action to stop South Africa from producing or importing cheap medicines. But there had been little progress since in improving the availability of the drugs to Africans. Under the Aspen deal, the British pharmaceutical company will waive royalties. The South Africa generic manufacturer would be expected to pay a 30% fee on sales to non-governmental agencies. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 8 October 2001)

* Afrique du Sud. Recensement — Le 10 octobre, commence en Afrique du Sud le deuxième recensement de l’ère post-apartheid. Cette tâche gigantesque devrait contribuer à mesurer les changements intervenus en cinq ans. Jusqu’au 31 octobre, 81.000 agents recenseurs vont visiter plus de 10 millions de foyers. Les résultats devraient n’être connus qu’après dix-huit mois. (La Croix, France, 10 octobre 2001)

* South Africa. ANC dismisses land squatters as crooks — On 9 October, South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) dismissed a land invasion on the outskirts of Johannesburg that ended in the eviction of 2,000 squatters as the work of crooks and foreigners. Sankie Mthembi-Mahanyele, the minister of housing, said the land occupation at Bredell where people bought a plot of land for R25 ($2.70) in July was a cynical act of political opportunism. She said a survey of the land invaders had revealed they were political opportunists, crooks, people who had already been granted state-housing subsidies, small-business people and foreigners. The Bredell land invasion raised the spectre of Zimbabwe-style lawlessness around the issue of land in South Africa. The government, fearful that comparison with Zimbabwe might dent investor sentiment, was granted an eviction order to demolish the 1,300 shacks on the property. Of the squatters at Bredell, 56 people are being given shelter by a nearby Lutheran church under an agreement to head off violent clashes with the police. Although Bredell highlighted land hunger in South Africa’s urban areas and the housing backlog, the ANC believes the invasion was organised by the rival Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) rather than being an upsurge of frustration among the landless. Illegal occupation of land by large numbers of people has, however, taken place in the Western Cape, KwaZulu Natal and Gauteng, where the waiting list for housing is the longest. (Financial Times, UK, 10 October 2001)

* South Africa. Probe into arms deals — The Scorpions, South Africa’s elite investigative unit, has raided business premises of defence companies in France, Mauritius and Durban in search of  documents that might shed light on alleged corruption in a R43bn ($4.6bn) arms deal, Percy Sonn, the unit’s head, said on 10 October. The Scorpions searched the business premises of Thales International, Thomson-CSF, African Defence Systems (ADS) and Futuristic Business Solutions on 9 October. In Durban, investigators raided the offices of Nkobi Holdings, chaired by Schabir Shaik, whose brother headed the South African defence department’s acquisitions and procurement programme. ADS, a subsidiary of Thales, won a E152m ($140m) contract to supply combat computer systems to the South African navy as part of the arms package agreed in 1999. «There were loose leads in matters related to the arms procurement deal, which we believe we could tie up if we could find some other documentary or other evidence,» said Mr Sonn. «I believe there is political will from countries that trade with us to assist us in addressing all questions of financial impropriety, especially when their companies are making lots of money out of us. It [corruption] destabilises them too.» Two more raids are to be conducted in South Africa in the coming days. While the investigation of the arms deal is expected to be completed by the end of the month, court proceedings against individuals charged with corruption have already begun. Michael Woerfel, the managing director of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space company (EADS), was granted R10,000 bail at a hearing at the Commercial Crimes Court in Pretoria on 10 October. (Financial Times, UK, 11 October 2001)

* Sudan. Sudan bombing disrupts aid supplies — The World Food Programme, says two days of intense aerial bombing in southern Sudan have disrupted the distribution of urgently needed relief food. The UN agency said that on 5-6 October a total of thirty bombs were dropped on and around a village Mangayath in Bahr el-Ghazal province, where a team was handing out food to about 20,000 people displaced by recent fighting in the rebel-held area. There are no details of any casualties. The WFP did not say who was responsible for the air raids but correspondents say government forces fighting the rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Army frequently bomb rebel-held areas. A government spokesman, Abelrahman Hamza, was quoted by the Associated Press as saying there were no military operations in the area. (BBC News, UK, 8 October 2001)

* Soudan. Bombardements — Le 9 octobre, les Etats-Unis ont condamné les bombardements menés au Soudan par les forces gouvernementales, qui ont entraîné l’interruption d’opérations humanitaires, tout en réaffirmant leur satisfaction pour la coopération de Khartoum dans la lutte antiterroriste. Selon l’ONG Christian Solidarity  International, les bombes lâchées le dimanche 7 octobre par un avion gouvernemental dans le sud du pays ont “manqué de peu l’église catholique du lieu qui était alors remplie de fidèles”. (Le Monde, France, 11 octobre 2001)

* Tanzania. Tanzanian parties sign accord — 9 October: The ruling party in Tanzania has announced that it is to sign an accord with the main opposition party in the semi-autonomous region of Zanzibar on 10 October to end a dispute over last year’s general election in Zanzibar. The governing Chama Cha Mapinduzi or the CCM, and the opposition Civic United Front are sending 150 delegates between them to the accord-signing ceremony at Zanzibar’s state house. The CMM said the Tanzanian President, Benjamin Mkapa, and the president of Zanzibar, Amani Karami, would be at the function. The Civic United Front had refused to accept the outcome of the ballot alleging electoral fraud. Last January, more than 30 opposition supporters were killed during clashes with the Tanzania security forces. 10 October: The peace accord is signed in Zanzibar. The ruling CCM and the opposition CUF agree on the need to investigate the killings of more than 30 opposition supporters in January this year. They will also hold discussions on establishing a unity government, and by-elections will be held in vacant seats. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 10 October 2001)

* Tanzanie. Vers la fin de la crise à Zanzibar — Le Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM, au pouvoir en Tanzanie) et le Front civique uni (CUF) se sont engagés, le 5 octobre, à mettre fin à la crise politique sur l’île fédérée de Zanzibar. Dans un accord signé à Dar es-Salaam, les deux partis ont annoncé la mise au point d’une approche sur plusieurs fronts en vue de stopper la crise déclenchée par les élections de 1995 et de 2000. L’accord implique notamment la promotion des droits humains, la bonne gouvernance, la réforme du système judiciaire et la normalisation de la vie politique sur l’île. Les deux partis ont convenu de chercher un consensus. - Le 10 octobre, lors d’une cérémonie à laquelle assitaient les leaders des 12 partis politiques officiels du pays, le CCM et le CUF ont signé un pacte de réconciliation mettant fin à une hostilité de longue date. Le président Mkapa et son homologue de Zanzibar, Amani Abeid Karume, ont promis de faire respecter l’Etat de droit et de permettre à la démocratie de prospérer et de survivre. (D’après PANA, Sénégal, 6-10 octobre 2001)

* Tanzania. Government plans increased access to primary education — Vice-President Ali Muhammad Shein said on 9 October the government was planning to enrol in  school by January 2003 approximately half of Tanzania’s estimated three million children currently not receiving education. So far, the government has budgeted for 14,000 additional classrooms, which are about 62 percent of the required number, plus an intake of 9,000 teachers for next year, while aiming for 67,000 by the end of the programme. (IRIN, 10 October 2001)

* Togo. Elections remises — La Commission électorale nationale indépendante (CENI) a déclaré caduques les dates des 14 et 28 octobre 2001, initialement retenues pour les électons législatives anticipées. Dans un communiqué publié le 4 octobre, le président de la commission a indiqué que le calendrier électoral ne pouvait être respecté et que la CENI proposerait de nouvelles dates “dès que les difficultés seraient réglées”. Une mission d’experts des Nations unies avait récemment estimé que la tenue de ces élections aux dates prévues était irréaliste et qu’un délai de quatre mois était nécessaire pour l’organisation du scrutin. (PANA, Sénégal, 5 octobre 2001)

* Tunisie. L’opposition perd un siège — Le Rassemblement constitutionnel démocratique (RCD, au pouvoir) a raflé la totalité des sept sièges parlementaires mis en jeu lors des élections partielles qui se sont déroulées le dimanche 7 octobre en Tunisie. L’opposition qui comptait 34 sièges en perd un au bénéfice du parti au pouvoir qui en comptait déjà 148. - D’autre part, le lundi, le chef de l’Etat a procédé à un léger remaniement de son gouvernement, marqué notamment par le départ de Mme Faiza Kefi qui, selon des informations officieuses, serait pressentie pour occuper le poste d’ambassadeur de Tunisie à Paris. (PANA, Sénégal, 8 octobre 2001)

* Uganda. Reform agenda — A $13m project that allows far-reaching reforms in Uganda’s financial system is in the offing. Government officials say a four- year Financial Sector Strengthening Project, financed by the World Bank, will split Uganda’s commercial banking sector into two — catering for the rural and urban areas. The project, to be supervised by Dr Louise Kasekende, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank, will also embark on a legal review which will allow the opening up of the Pension Scheme, presently dominated by the National Social Security Fund, and will support the establishment of a secondary treasury bills market. The Project got off the ground following a joint visit by a World Bank and International Monetary Fund team in July 2001, led by Anthony Tompson. The Project is due for re-appraisal on 22 January 2002. This particular project marks the second phase of financial reforms, following the completion of an $90m eight-year reform programme that began in 1992. The reform programme improved the regulatory environment of financial institutions, and the privatization  of weak financial institutions. A government report published in April 2001, lists 17 commercial banks, 35 village banks, 450 cooperatives savings societies in the country. However, the World Bank says large numbers of the peoples don’t have access to banking services. (Crespo Sebunya, ANB-BIA, Uganda, 2 October 2001)

* Uganda. Draft law threatens civil society groups — A proposed law, which allows for the suspension of NGOs in Uganda that do not conform to nay government policy or plan, «threatens the legitimate activities of civil society», warns Human Rights Watch. The proposed legislation gives government officials wide-ranging powers to shut down and interfere with NGOs. (HRW,  USA, 9 October 2001)

* Zimbabwe. Judge condemns Zimbabwe «terror» — A former Zimbabwe High Court judge has accused the government of promoting a campaign of terror and said increasing lawlessness forced him to quit. Justice Michael Gillespie outlined reasons for his resignation in a review of a criminal case published in Harare on 6 October, weeks after he left the capital to live in England. In his review of a light sentence handed down to two men convicted of extortion during a wave of so-called company invasions by militant supporters of President Robert Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party, Mr Gillespie accused the government of intimidating the judiciary and putting its supporters above the law. The company invasions followed the widescale and often violent occupation of white-owned farms by ZANU-PF supporters in support of Mr Mugabe’s land redistribution programme. Mr Gillespie said the men had extorted money from a Harare company in the name of the ZANU-PF, a party which he said was «believed to be controlling similar acts of violence and intimidation throughout the country». The two men, Mr Gillespie said, «are among those who have sought to take advantage of the increasing breakdown of the rule of law engineered by the executive». (BBC News, UK, 6 October 2001)

* Zimbabwe. Contrôle des prix — Le 10 octobre, le Zimbabwe, confronté à une grave crise économique, a rétabli le contrôle des prix sur les produits de base qui n’ont cessé de grimper ces derniers mois, une tentative d’apaiser le mécontentement de la population à l’approche de l’élection présidentielle de 2002. Dans un décret publié au Journal officiel, le gouvernement demande aux producteurs et revendeurs de revenir aux prix qui étaient en vigueur au mois d’août. Cette mesure s’applique à toute une série de produits: maïs, pain, sucre, huile de cuisine, boeuf, poulet, porc, lait, savon et lessive. Si elle n’est pas accompagnée d’aides  de l’Etat, les milieux d’affaires craignent que cette décision n’entraîne à terme la fermeture de plusieurs entreprises et ne provoque des pénuries dans les magasins, aggravant ainsi la situation économique déjà déplorable du pays. Le contrôle des prix avait été abandonné en 1991. (AFP, France, 10 octobre 2001)

* Zimbabwe. Food prices slashed — The government has ordered widespread price controls to cut the cost of basic foods by about a third. The controls come as the country suffers with soaring inflation, rising poverty and a crumbling economy. The price of many basic foodstuffs, including maize, bread, sugar, cooking oil, beef, chicken and pork, will revert to August levels when prices were about one-third cheaper. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 10 October 2001)