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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 29-11-2001

PART #4/4 - From SOUTH AFRICA to  ZIMBABWE

* South Africa. Requesting help in hosting Earth Summit — The South African government will ask companies to help foot the bill for the United Nations Earth Summit, to be held in Johannesburg next year, Valli Moosa, the minister of environment, said on 27 November. Mr Moosa said hosting the World Summit on Sustainable Development would cost about $55m. He warned the international community that the South African taxpayer could only be expected to pay for less than half of this amount. The summit was previously held in Rio de Janeiro. South Africa has invested heavily in conference infrastructure over the past five years as a means to boost tourism and promote the country on the international stage. It has built the International Conference Centre in Durban and another facility in Johannesburg. A conference centre in Cape Town is also under consideration. But the country has struggled to find the resources for large inter-governmental conferences. The Earth Summit will cost five times more than the UN Conference Against Racism in Durban. The government had difficulty raising the funds for the Durban conference and is still finalising the cost. (Financial Times, UK, 28 November 2001)

* Afrique du Sud. Mbeki dénonce les erreurs du Zimbabwe — Le président sud-africain Thabo Mbeki a dénoncé, le 27 novembre, les “mauvaises politiques économiques menées depuis deux décennies” au Zimbabwe, à l’origine selon lui de sa crise actuelle. Ces propos constituent l’une des plus vives critiques publiques du président sud-africain à l’encontre des autorités du Zimbabwe. (La Libre Belgique, 29 novembre 2001)

* South Africa. Joe Modise — Johannes (Joe) Modise died on 26 November 2001 at his home in Pretoria, aged 72. He trod a familiar career path in the African National Congress (ANC), from low-paid truck driver to liberation activist to high-ranking leader. As the ANC‘s military commander, Joe Modise presided over the setting up of detention camps in Tanzania, and the Quattro camp in Angola, where suspected informers and dissidents were incarcerated. When the ANC came into office in 1994, President Nelson Mandela appointed him Minister of Defence. As minister, he presided over the initially bumpy, but eventually successful integration of the Umkhonto we Sizwe (Spear of the Nation, or MK), the ANC‘s armed wing with the apartheid army, along with various black ex-homeland guerrilla formations. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 29 November 2001)

* South Africa/Belgium. SAB soars on merger report — South African Breweries (SAB), the world’s fifth-largest brewer, saw it stock soar after the FT said Interbrew was preparing an acquisition. Interbrew, the brewer of Stella Artois, said on 28 November it had undertaken a preliminary study of SAB that may or may not lead to a takeover. The Belgian brewer said no approach had been made. The acquisition would create the world’s second-largest brewer, the Financial Times said, citing documents that indicated an all-stock offer could be made by December 3 at a price of about $5.6 billion. SABwas valued at about $4.8 billion at the close of London trading on 27 November. The company’s stock rose more than 9 percent to 483 pence in midday London trading on 28 November. Interbrew’s stock dropped 5.1 percent to 27.90 on concerns it may overpay for SAB and could be forced to issue shares to pay for any acquisition. «There is fear of overpayment,» Gerard Rijk, beverages analyst at ING Barings, told Reuters. SAB would have a price tag of $5.5 billion to $6 billion but Interbrew does not have enough cash and would need to carry out a new share issue or a share exchange, diluting the value of its existing stock, Rijk said. Interbrew is still involved in a wrangle with British competition authorities over its $3.3 billion acquisition of Bass Brewers and has been told to sell the Carling brand in Britain. It recently bought German brewer Beck’s. (CNN, USA, 29 November 2001)

* Sudan. Nuba welcomes food aid — A United Nations-brokered four week ceasefire has allowed much-needed emergency supplies to get through to Sudan’s Nuba mountains. Until last week, they had been cut off by the 18-year civil war between the Khartoum government and the southern SPLA rebels. Hundreds of men, women and children waited patiently for their share of the food aid to be doled out by officials. Some had travelled for days to get to the distribution point. Many looked gaunt and exhausted. One woman told me children were dying in her village because there was not enough food for them. The widespread hunger in the Nuba mountains is man-made. The Nuba mountains have some of the most fertile lands in Sudan. In better years a food surplus is produced here. But a major government offensive earlier this year drove farmers from their fields and thousands from their homes. It was the  latest blow to a people whose unique heritage, a mixture of over 50 different tribal groups, has been under threat in recent years. Murder, abduction and rape are widespread, as the government attempts to exert its control over this remote area. Some have described the wholesale assault on the Nubians as nothing less than genocide.The airdrop by the World Food Programme offers a glimmer of hope to this beleaguered people. (BBC News, UK, 23 November 2001)

* Soudan. Cessez-le-feu dans les zones pétrolifères? — Le gouvernement soudanais serait sur le point de proposer un cessez-le-feu dans les zones proches des monts Nouba, rapportent des sources journalistiques internationales, qui précisent que l’initiative est le résultat d’un accord convenu entre le président soudanais et l’envoyé spécial des Etats-Unis, John Danforth. L’offensive diplomatique entend ramener la paix dans la zone pétrolifère de l’Etat de Ouahda, dans le Sud-Soudan, où interviennent de nombreuses entreprises pétrolières. Toutefois, selon des sources au Sud-Soudan, l’acceptation d’un tel cessez-le-feu par le SPLA (armée de libération populaire du Soudan) s’avérera fort difficile. D’après les observateurs, les recettes provenant de l’exploitation du pétrole sont investies par Khartoum dans son arsenal militaire. (MISNA, Italie, 27 novembre 2001)

* Tanzania. Boosting the tourism industry — The 11 September bombing of the World Trade Centre in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, have effected Tanzania’s tourism industry. Tanzania’s efforts to boost the industry had attained significant successes. Receipts from tourism had started increasing, employment opportunities, either directly or indirectly had also increased. In recent years, the tourism industry accounted for about 16% of the GDP, and nearly 25% of total export earnings. But now, what’s happening? Local tour operators, travel agents and others connected with the industry say the consequences of 11 September have started to bite hard. The poor performance has been blamed on two things: the bombings in the USA and concentration and dependence on the western market for tourism growth. Those working in Tanzania’s tourism industry now say the government should start wooing tourists from the Far East, such as from China and Japan, among others and efforts should be made to improve Tanzania’s infrastructure and international access. (Perege Gumbo, ANB-BIA, Tanzania, 7 November 2001)

* Tanzania. $3bn debt relief — After four years of effort, Tanzania has finally won $3bn in debt relief from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. The agreement by the Bank and Fund makes Tanzania the fourth country of a list of more than 36 to have got to this point. The relief means that by  next fiscal year Dar es Salaam should see its interest payments fall to $116m a year from $193m in 1999-2000. By 2010, the Bank said, the debt repayment should be down to an average of $87m a year. (BBC News, UK, 28 November 2001)

* Uganda. Reform Agenda. — The World Bank has drafted a $125m blueprint for 18 war ridden districts in Northern and Eastern Uganda to allow them catch up with the rest of the country, Government officials say. The Northern Uganda Social Action Fund (NUSAF) is a five-year programme, to rehabilitate infrastructures, stimulate economic activity and strengthen the on-going peace process. It targets 2.5m people i.e. 30% of the northern population. USAF will work with NGOs, Community Service Organisations, traditional rulers and the local government. (Crespo Sebunya, ANB-BIA, Uganda, 21 November 2001)

* Ouganda. Prêtre soudanais assassiné — L’abbé Peter Obore, prêtre soudanais du diocèse de Torit, a été assassiné le 24 novembre par des rebelles de “l’armée de résistance du Seigneur” (LRA) sur la route de Atiak à Bibia. Il voyageait en fourgonnette avec d’autres personnes. On ne sait pas ce que sont devenus les autres passagers. Le véhicule a été incendié. Le prêtre sera enterré dans son village natal dans le comté de Torit, a fait savoir son évêque, Mgr Paride Taban. Les rebelles du LRA sont responsables de toute une série d’assassinats et d’enlèvements. (Fides, Rome, 26 novembre 2001)

* Uganda. Sudanese priest killed by LRA rebels — A Sudanese priest was killed on 24 November by rebels of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in northern Uganda. According to MISNA sources, Father Peter Obore of the Catholic diocese of Torit, parish priest of Loa/Nimule (South Sudan), was killed in an ambush along the road from Atiak to Bibia (Gulu district), on return in his vehicle to Nimule, after attending a Seminar in the Ugandan capital, Kampala. There are no details concerning the fate of the other passengers in his vehicle. On receiving the news, Torit Bishop Paride Taban immediately made arrangements for the transfer of the priest’s body to Ikotos. The funeral will be held at his home village of Tirangore in Torit County. Fr. Obore was ordained priest in 1987 by Bishop Taban. He was the third Catholic priest to be killed by armed men along the Ugandan border. The other two were Fr. Saturnino Ohure, assassinated 22 January 1967 and Fr. Leopoldo Anywar, killed 9 November 1968. The latest LRA rebel attack against Catholic church personnel occurred in September, when a Catholic Relief Service vehicle was ambushed and five people killed. (MISNA, Italy, 26 November 2001)

* Ouganda. Les Turkana retournent au Kenya — Les pasteurs Turkana quittent le Karamoja  (nord-est de l’Ouganda) pour retourner au Kenya. Selon des sources locales, 60.000 têtes de bétail ont traversé la frontière ces derniers jours. Les Turkana ont décidé d’abandonner l’Ouganda où, pendant une trentaine d’années, ils ont fait paître leurs animaux, pour fuir le programme de désarmement décidé par le gouvernement de Kampala. La mesure entrera en vigueur à partir du 2 décembre et concernera tout le Karamoja, où circulent quelque 100.000 armes légères. De cette façon, les Turkana conserveront leur armement. (Misna, Italie, 29 novembre 2001)

* Zambia. Presidential candidates — Zambians are expected to go to the polls this year, but the government has not yet announced the date of elections. Major opposition parties has described the government stance as a political gimmick. Whilst many Zambians are speculating when the elections will be held, the government has started campaigning by distributing fertiliser to small-scale farmers. It has also released Kwacha 6 billion to pay the defunct Zambia Airways employees. The following candidates are presently listed as vying for the presidency. They are: Levy Mwanawasa; General Christon Tembo; Brig.Gen. Godfrey Miyanda; Michael Sata; Ben Mwila; Anderson Mazoka; Dr. Nevers Mumba. The Electoral Commission has completed compiling the voters’ register, and voters are collecting their voters’ cards. (Justin Mupundu, ANB-BIA, Zambia, 19 November 2001

* Zambie. Elections le 27 décembre — Après plusieurs mois d’incertitude, le président Chiluba a finalement annoncé la date des élections générales; elles auront lieu le 27 décembre prochain. Les électeurs seront appelés à choisir leur chef d’Etat, leurs députés et leurs administrateurs locaux. Le président Chiluba quittera le pouvoir au terme de deux mandats de cinq ans. Quelque dix candidats rivalisent dans la course à l’élection présidentielle. En décidant de convoquer les élections avec un préavis d’un peu plus d’un mois, M. Chiluba compte probablement exploiter les divisions existant à l’intérieur de l’opposition pour favoriser le candidat de son parti, Levy Mwanawasa. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 22 novembre 2001)

* Zambia. Post-Christmas poll for Zambia — 22 November: Zambia’s long-awaited general elections are to be held on 27 December, President Frederick Chiluba has announced. President Chiluba, who is expected to retire after the poll after serving two terms of five years, has also dissolved parliament to pave the way for the elections. Three of Mr Chiluba’s four former vice presidents are seeking to replace him as president, running for different parties. There will also be parliamentary and municipal polls. Zambia has been gripped by election fever for months, with everyone aware that the president was due to stand down by the end of the year —after he failed to push through constitutional changes enabling him to stand  again. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 22 November 2001)

* Zambia. Zambian troops kill 10 Angolans — Zambian soldiers patrolling the border in Western Province have killed 10 Angolans, Zambian President Frederick Chiluba said. Speaking during a campaign tour of the Copperbelt region on 22 November, Mr Chiluba did not say exactly where and when the incident took place. But he stressed that the two countries were not at war and that patient negotiations would resolve the crisis. The latest revelations came as Angola’s special envoy, the deputy foreign minister, George Chikoti, announced the holding next week in Lusaka of a meeting to discuss the border crisis. He had been sent here to pass on the condolences of Angola’s president over the killing of seven Zambians a fortnight ago. Fighting between government forces and Unita rebels had recently intensified in eastern Angola, the envoy said, adding that it was possible that the Zambian civilians, including a teacher and two village headmen, had been caught in crossfire. He also took the opportunity to refute recent media reports that Angolans were demanding, or had indeed seized, any Zambian territory. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 23 November 2001)

* Zambie/Angola. Résoudre le conflit frontalier — Le lundi 26 novembre, la Zambie a envoyé à Luanda une délégation de quatre officiers supérieurs, conduite par le commandant Henry Nkweto, pour discuter avec les autorités angolaises du conflit frontalier qui couve entre les deux pays. La réunion de 48 heures, qui commence le mardi, intervient à la suite de récentes attaques des deux côtés durant lesquelles sept civils zambiens et dix soldats angolais ont trouvé la mort. La rencontre est destinée à empêcher de nouvelles attaques, a commenté le ministre angolais de la Défense. (PANA, Sénégal, 26 novembre 2001)

* Zambia. Moves to shore up currency — Zambia’s central bank has introduced urgent measures to defend the value of the national currency, the kwacha. A spokesman for the bank said it would raise the proportion of deposits commercial banks must keep with the central bank and tighten up compliance with foreign exchange laws. The kwacha has lost almost a quarter of its value in the nine months since Lusaka relaxed monetary policy, and the bank is concerned that the fall could lead to higher-inflation. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 27 November 2001)

* Zambia. Voter apathy in rural Zambia — Mporokoso in Zambia’s Northern Province is home to about 5,000 people, and is one of the country’s many remote communities. Days after outgoing President Frederick Chiluba finally announced an election date of 27 December — right in the middle of the Christmas holiday and the rainy season, people are beginning to hear the news. Here, even tuning into a radio station is a hit-and-miss affair so news inevitably trickles through slowly. Mporokoso is 200 km from  the nearest large town, Kasama, where daily newspapers are sold — albeit a day after publication — and people can listen to radio and television stations. But the road is in terrible condition, and most locals, market traders and subsistence farmers, have little reason to travel. They remain cut off from the political goings-on in the capital, Lusaka, and many do not seem to mind. Mporokoso has been without a MP since June, when the local one bailed out of the ruling party Movement for Multi-Party Democracy into the opposition Forum for Development and Democracy. (BBC News, UK, 28 November 2001)

* Zimbabwe. Priorities all wrong — HIV/AIDS is the number one killer in Africa, and is robbing the continent of skilled and productive young people. One would expect the regional media to prioritise matters related to HIV/AIDS. In Zimbabwe, we are talking of a country where 17% of its 12 million people are infected with the AIDS virus. This means Zimbabwe will have a zero per cent population growth rate next year, mainly because of the AIDS pandemic. But media interests seem centred on such news items as the bombing in Afghanistan; and within Zimbabwe —political violence and the land conflict. Also, the Government’s priorities seem to be elsewhere, as well. The 1 November 2001 budget, earmarked Z$4 billion for the land resettlement programme, and Z$34 billion will go to the defence budget. (Dum. Khumalo, ANB-BIA, Zimbabwe, 7 November 2001)

* Zimbabwe. Mesures répressives — L’atmosphère s’aigrit de jour en jour au Zimbabwe. Le 20 novembre, le leader de l’opposition Morgan Tsvangirai (qui avait déclaré l’année dernière que le président Mugabe courait le risque d’être chassé du pouvoir s’il ne s’en allait pas de lui-même) a été acquitté par la Cour suprême, car la loi sur laquelle se basait l’accusation a été retenue comme inconstitutionnelle. Mais le 21 novembre, on apprenait que Mugabe avait donné son accord à un nouveau projet de loi contre le terrorisme. Selon le journal officiel The Herald, une personne condamnée pour avoir tenté de renverser le gouvernement risque la prison à vie ou la peine de mort. Et les journalistes qui publient des déclarations encourageant “l’hostilité au président” risquent un an de prison. Le 22 novembre, The Herald annonçait aussi que bientôt les Zimbabwéens devront avoir sur eux une carte d’identité, un passeport ou un permis de conduire, sous peine d’un an de prison. “Le gouvernement crée une atmosphère répressive avec toutes ces mesures draconiennes”, a déclaré un porte-parole de la Commission Justice et Paix. Un récent sondage avait indiqué que M. Tsvangirai l’emporterait sur Mugabe aux élections présidentielles de l’an prochain, si elles étaient libres et honnêtes. Ce dernier semble maintenant introduire des lois qui permettraient la mise hors la loi du parti de Tsvangirai, le MDC, ou de le condamner lui-même. Ces  derniers mois, M. Mugabe a aussi nommé des juges qui lui sont tributaires. Par ailleurs, le 23 novembre, le gouvernement a rendu publique une liste de six noms de correspondants étrangers (4 de journaux britanniques, un d’AP et un Sud-Africain) accusés d’aider les activités “terroristes” dans le pays. Un activiste sud-africain des droits de l’homme figure également sur cette liste. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 23 novembre 2001)

* Zimbabwe. Getting tough on ID cards — The Zimbabwean government has announced plans to introduce legislation allowing it to jail or fine people who move about without identity cards. The projected legislation, reported by the official Herald newspaper, is the latest in a string of restrictions which critics say are designed to hamper the political opposition ahead of presidential elections early next year. Four years ago, the Supreme Court ruled that such a measure would be unconstitutional, but the paper quoted the government as saying it was designed to combat increasing crime and terrorism. It has recently accused the opposition of carrying out acts of terrorism. On 21 November, the government said it would introduce tough new security laws making a wide range of offenses punishable with life imprisonment or death. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 23 November 2001)

* Zimbabwe/UE. Le torchon brûle — Le 23 novembre, un entretien entre le président Mugabe et une délégation de l’Union européenne, conduite par le ministre belge des Affaires étrangères M. Michel, a tourné à l’affrontement verbal. Les divisions euro-zimbabwéennes portent notamment sur la réforme agraire engagée par Mugabe. Mais le ton a surtout monté lorsque la délégation a évoqué le rapport de l’Onu sur les pillages des ressources du Congo-RDC, et lorsque les Quinze ont laissé entendre qu’ils ne reconnaîtront pas le vainqueur de la prochaine élection présidentielle si l’organisation du scrutin et le climat qui entoure la campagne n’étaient pas modifiés. Faute d’accepter des normes minimales pour la tenue du scrutin et l’envoi d’observateurs indépendants, l’Union européenne a déjà agité la menace de sanctions à l’encontre du Zimbabwe dans les soixante jours. (D’après Le Soir, Belgique, 24 novembre 2001)

* Zimbabwe. Unrest spirals — 26 November: More than 10,000 employees of Zimbabwe’s state-owned National Railways went on strike, today, forcing the suspension of services and causing further chaos in the troubled country. The rail workers are protesting against the state company’s decision to spread their annual bonus over three payments instead of paying it in a single lump sum. The National Railways management said it had appealed to former employees to return to work on a contract basis and hoped to resume some services within 48 hours. The strike had disrupted caused disruptions around  the country. Businesses in Bulawayo, where the railway headquarters are situated, said filling stations were running out of fuel and motorists had formed long queues. 27 November: Riot police in Harare have used teargas to break up a student protest over the killing of another student by a soldier. US State Department Correspondents say hundreds of students had gathered at the University of Zimbabwe planning to march to parliament and hand in a petition. But before they could set off, riot police sealed off the campus and started to beat them up. Students said they had wanted to march peacefully to hand in their petition, which denounced army indiscipline and called for the resignation of President Robert Mugabe. The latest violence came as the United States joined the chorus of international condemnation of Mr Mugabe’s government. The student protest came in response to the death over the weekend of student Lameck Chemvura, who was thrown from a train by a soldier. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 28 November 2001)

* Zimbabwe. Churches defy Mugabe — Faced with increasing reports of deaths from malnutrition in Zimbabwe, churches are openly defying an edict from President Robert Mugabe that only ruling-party officials may distribute food aid. The churches’ defiance comes as an independent newspaper, the Financial Gazette, reveals today that the 77-year-old leader has ordered bomb-proof underground bunkers to be dug around his home and offices, as well as the delivery of 86 army trucks believed to come from Austria — although there is an EU embargo on defence equipment to Zimbabwe. The underground chambers, to be built of reinforced concrete, are being planned to allow Mr Mugabe to prepare for unrest or civil war, in the event of his losing next year’s elections, according to the paper. In Bulawayo and rural districts in the south of the country, Mr Mugabe’s campaign to stay in power has already translated into hunger among thousands of people, according to the prominent Roman Catholic Archbishop Pius Ncube. He said: «The hunger is caused by the government’s hypocrisy. It wants to distribute food assistance itself, so as to buy votes. It does not care how many people die as long as it can stay in power.» The looming crisis comes after Mr Mugabe earlier this month banned hundreds of the country’s commercial farmers from working their land and told their properties had, in effect, been nationalised. (...) In Masase, a village of some 2,000 people in the Midlands, it is the Lutherans who are defying the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front, and covertly supplying food. It is to people like Reverend Anders Berglund, from the Swedish Church, that Zimbabwe’s Information Minister Jonathan Moyo, refers when he claims foreigners «might try to smuggle election monitors into Zimbabwe using the guise of food aid». Rev Anders said: «Children are fainting in class and the school day has had to be shortened because kids do not have the energy to concentrate.» (The Independent, UK, 29 November 2001)