* Sénégal. Manifestation violente — Le 14 décembre à Dakar, au moins trois personnes ont été blessées et dix autres arrêtées par la police, lors d’une manifestation des familles des victimes du naufrage du Joola, qui avait fait 1.200 morts le 26 septembre. La manifestation avait débuté pacifiquement, mais s’est heurtée à la police lorsqu’elle se dirigeait vers la présidence. Un cameraman d’une agence d’information a été brutalisé. Les personnes arrêtées ont été libérées dans la soirée. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 16 décembre 2002)

* Sénégal. Capitale administrative? — Le site Mékhé-Pékerse, situé à environ 120 km de Dakar près de la côte atlantique, a été provisoirement retenu pour servir de future capitale administrative du Sénégal, rapporte l’agence de presse sénégalaise APS, citant le ministre de l’Urbanisme et de l’Aménagement du territoire. La décision a été prise au terme d’un conseil présidentiel le 14 décembre. Les études préliminaires pour la réalisation de ce projet devraient être bouclées d’ici la fin du mois de janvier. (PANA, Sénégal, 15 décembre 2002)

* Somalia. Faction leaders agree on participation — 16 December: After weeks of wrangling over the number of participants attending the Somali peace talks in the Kenyan town of Eldoret, faction leaders have agreed to a maximum figure of 300. In an earlier statement, the leaders’ committee had called for representation by 400 participants, after the regional Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) — which is brokering the conference — said the numbers attending phase two of the talks should be reduced to 287. IGAD said it would meet the costs of sending surplus delegates back to Somalia, but those who did not register to return by a 12 December deadline would have to meet their own transport costs. In agreeing to a maximum of 300 participants, the leaders’ committee said these would be divided along clan lines. The leaders have also called for accelerating phase two of the talks, which includes discussions on a provisional federal charter, disarmament, and land issues. They say they want it to run concurrently with phase three, which is to deal with power-sharing. Furthermore, they have called for the establishment of a 450-seat parliament. (IRIN, Kenya, 16 December 2002)

* Somalie. Parlement de transition — Le 16 décembre, les leaders des différentes factions somaliennes, prenant part à la Conférence nationale de réconciliation à Eldoret (Kenya), sont tombés d’accord sur la formation d’un Parlement fédéral de transition de 450 membres. La décision a été ensuite approuvée lors de l’assemblée générale. La répartition des sièges serait conforme aux critères retenus par rapport à la division ethnique et en conformité à la Constitution fédérale. Les leaders des factions ont aussi exhorté le président kényan, Arap Moi, à poursuivre le processus de réconciliation. (PANA, Sénégal, 16 décembre 2002)

* South Africa. What to do with your old computer — More than 600 million perfectly good computers will be discarded by companies over the next five years. But an ambitious project is hoping to put hundreds of thousands of these abandoned machines to use helping children in the developing world become computer literate and better educated. The project is being co-ordinated by a group called the Digital Partnership. It unites large companies that regularly update their stock of desktop computers with software makers, networking companies and aid agencies to ready the machines for use in schools, village telecentres and prisons. Already the first few thousand computers have been installed in schools in South Africa. The ever-increasing size and sophistication of software on desktop computers means that large companies often have to upgrade their equipment to handle the demands of new programs. Most of the computers being thrown out still work perfectly and many are broken up and buried in landfill sites. Now the Digital Partnership, set up by the Prince of Wales’ International Business Leaders Forum, is setting up a program to collect the discarded computers and use them in schools in the developing world. The first nation helped by the Digital Partnership is South Africa. Over the next year it hopes to transfer 170,000 computers to about 4,000 government schools in the country. A network of workshops is being set up in South Africa to refurbish the donated computers and locals are being trained to do the work. Telecentres full of computers are being set up in the schools and teachers are being trained in the best ways to use the machines in lessons. Eventually all the machines will be running Windows XP and the Office XP suite of programs. Microsoft has waived software licence fees for all the schools getting computers via the Digital Partnership program. To help pay for the upkeep of the computers, schools are being encouraged to open up their computer rooms to locals and charge for courses in technology skills, for printing out documents or hosting e-mail accounts on their behalf. Web-based portals are being set up that will host up to date textbooks and educational material that should help schools save money and pay for the maintenance of the machines. Financial help has also come from the South Africa Government which has passed laws guaranteeing cut price net access for schools. (BBC News, UK, 16 December 2002)

* South Africa. Clouds loom over ANC conference — 16 December: Deepening cracks are expected to emerge within South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) as it begins a five-day national conference. Members and supporters of the broad-based ANC, which refers to itself as a movement and not a party, are gathering at a university town north-east of Cape Town. The conference is likely to re-elect Thabo Mbeki as party president ahead of general elections in 2004. Correspondents say the ANC is expected to win the elections, giving Mr Mbeki a second term in office. Mr Mbeki is expected to confront elements he has termed «ultra-leftists» in the review of the movement’s social and economic policies. They include trade unionists and communists, who have expressed dismay at what they say is the government’s failure to address poverty, unemployment and the Aids pandemic. They also oppose the government’s privatisation programmes. But Mr Mbeki has defended the movement’s direction. He also pledges to accelerate economic empowerment of the country’s black majority. Mr Mbeki has been re-elected party leader. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 16 December 2002)

* Afrique du Sud. Congrès de l’ANC — Le 16 décembre, s’ouvrait à Stellenbosch le 51e congrès de l’ANC, auquel participent quelque 3.500 délégués. La question essentielle qu’ils débattront est la politique du gouvernement. Le parti communiste sud-africain (SAPC) et le puissant syndicat Cosatu (2 millions de membres) accusent le gouvernement de mener une politique néolibérale, qui profite surtout à une élite noire, alors que le niveau de vie de la moitié la plus pauvre de la population s’est détérioré. Ils contestent aussi sa politique à l’égard du sida, dictée par l’opposition de Thabo Mbeki aux anti-rétroviraux, et la diplomatie “douce” adoptée par l’Afrique du Sud vis-à-vis du Zimbabwe. Beaucoup de commentateurs accusent également le président Mbeki d’avoir centralisé les pouvoirs et de se montrer intolérant à la critique. Si toutefois la réélection de Mbeki comme président du parti ne fait aucun doute, on s’attend à une bataille intense pour les 60 postes du comité national exécutif de l’ANC, que les proches de Mbeki voudraient purger de l’"ultra-gauche". Huit ans après la fin de l’apartheid, le congrès de Stellenbosch pourrait signer l’amorce d’une recomposition de la scène politique sud-africaine. — Le 17 décembre, Thabo Mbeki a été réélu à la tête du parti. Ont aussi été réélus sans surprise M. Jacob Zuma au poste de vice-président, et M. Kgalema Motlanthe comme secrétaire général. Dans son discours aux délégués, M. Mbeki s’est attaqué à ceux “qui tentent de semer la division au sein l’alliance”. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 18 décembre 2002)

* Soudan. Transfuge — Le commandant Peter Gadit a déserté les rangs de l’Armée populaire de libération du Soudan (SPLA) pour rejoindre le camp du gouvernement, promettant de travailler avec l’armée nationale et les milices pro-gouvernementales pour protéger les champs pétrolifères du pays. Ce n’est pas la première fois que le commandant Gadit change de camp. Déjà en 1997, il avait déserté les rangs du SPLA en compagnie de plusieurs autres dirigeants rebelles, et avait signé un accord de paix avec Khartoum. Cette fois-ci il donne comme raison la nomination de quatre hommes du peuple Nuer à des hauts postes de responsabilité dans le sud. Pour le moment, il n’y a aucune réaction du SPLA à cette défection. (D’après PANA, Sénégal, 12 décembre 2002)

* Soudan. Négociations à Washington — Le gouvernement de Khartoum et les rebelles du Mouvement de libération du peuple soudanais devraient tenir des négociations de paix du 18 au 20 décembre à Washington, dans le but d’accorder leurs points de vue sur la formule de partage du pouvoir et de la répartition des richesses entre le Nord et le Sud du pays. Les différences de point de vue concernant ces deux questions ont empêché la signature de l’accord de paix final à l’issue des pourparlers d’octobre dernier à Machakos. Les discussions à Washington ne seront pas officielles, mais veulent paver la voie aux négociations qui auront lieu au Kenya début janvier. (PANA, Sénégal, 17 décembre 2002)

* Tanzania. Zanzibar gets first private newspaper since revolution — In a bid to revive what was once a diverse and dynamic press, several journalists in Zanzibar last week launched the archipelago’s first private newspaper for 40 years. Dira, the Kiswahili word for «compass», is the first privately-run newspaper since the violent revolution in 1964 that led to Zanzibar’s union with Tanganyika and the formation of Tanzania. «We want to give people confidence that this is their country, that they can say what they think and that the constitution protects them,» Ali Nabwa, the weekly newspaper’s managing editor said. «Because of this paper, people here are very excited, but they have been asking, “Will it be able to continue? Will they allow you?”»" Nabwa said. «But they are not doing us any favours by letting us publish. This is our constitutional right. So long as we do not commit an offence, they cannot ban the paper.» Nabwa admitted that there was pressure to «toe the line by praising the government», but he said that Dira would continue publishing stories that challenged the establishment. He cited the tendency of people to heap praise on Julius Nyerere, Tanzania’s first president, while ignoring the government’s abuse of detention powers during his rule and the mistreatment of Zanzibar, as issues that needed to be tackled. (IRIN, Kenya, 16 December 2002)

* Tunisie. Enquête sur les prisons — Le 13 décembre, le président Ben Ali a décidé la mise sur pied d’une commission d’enquête sur les conditions dans les prisons tunisiennes, a-t-on appris de source officielle. Le temps imparti à la commission pour la présentation de son rapport n’a pas été précisé. Plusieurs organisations et partis d’opposition ont dénoncé ces dernières semaines les “conditions déplorables et le surpeuplement” des établissements pénitentiaires en Tunisie. Par ailleurs, le journaliste Hédi Yahmed, auteur d’un reportage sur la situation dans les prisons a affirmé mercredi 18 avoir été “contraint” de démissionner de l’hebdomadaire “Réalités”. (PANA et AP, 13-18 décembre 2002)

* Uganda. IMF debt relief plan fails Uganda — 13 December: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank’s debt relief programme has failed to reduce the debt of Uganda, the first country to qualify for the scheme. A Ugandan finance ministry official said the country’s foreign debt was «unsustainable» five years after applying the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) policy. When it was launched, HIPC was hailed by the world’s richest nations as the solution to the debt and poverty crisis affecting the world’s poorest countries. Uganda’s foreign debt has been growing by an average of $108m annually over the past four years, Longino Tisasirana, the assistant commissioner in charge of the macro-economic department in the finance ministry, said. «Figures indicate that our debt is unsustainable,» said Mr Tisasirana. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 13 December 2002)

* Zambie/Zimbabwe. Pont sur le Zambèze — Le 12 décembre, la Zambie et le Zimbabwe ont lancé un projet de construction d’un pont d’une valeur de 100 millions de dollars à leur frontière commune. A l’occasion de la cérémonie officielle, les présidents Mwanawasa et Mugabe ont déclaré que cet ouvrage aiderait à promouvoir le commerce et les liens économiques entre pays de l’Afrique australe et à relier la région avec l’Afrique centrale et l’Afrique de l’Est. Le pont Chirundi, entièrement financé par le Japon, enjambe le fleuve Zambèze, qui sert de frontière entre la Zambie et le Zimbabwe. Il remplace un ouvrage de taille plus modeste qui avait été construit en 1939 et qui est maintenant dépassé en raison de l’accroissement du trafic. (PANA, Sénégal, 12 décembre 2002)

* Zambia. Coup leader apologises — 17 December: There has been high drama in court this week where 54 soldiers are appealing against their death sentence for attempting a coup. One of the ringleaders stood up in court on 16 December and apologised to the nation for staging the 1997 coup plot. But Captain Stephen Lungu also said he had very good reasons for resorting to illegal means to change the government of Frederick Chiluba. Captain Lungu begged the forgiveness of the Zambian people and the other soldiers sitting alongside him in the dock, who, he says, are innocent men. He told the court that the coup was dreamed up by himself and Captain Jack Chiti, who was absent from court due to ill health. (BBC News, UK, 17 December 2002)

* Zimbabwe. ZANU-PF holds key meeting — 13 December: About 3,000 delegates are gathering in northern Zimbabwe for the annual convention of President Robert Mugabe’s ruling party, ZANU-PF. Land reform and the country’s growing economic troubles will be on the agenda. President Mugabe will be among his party faithful for the next few days of this conference and is likely to try to use the event to entrench his own political position. This is a year in which he has managed to fend off a challenge to his leadership during controversial elections in March, but it is also a year when Zimbabwe has sunk deep into crisis. The difficult issues will have to be addressed. It is expected that land reform will be at the top of the agenda. The ruling party’s leaders are likely to laud their policies to date as highly successful. They say they have so far resettled 374,000 small-scale black farmers on land formerly owned by white farmers. Many Zimbabweans and outsiders blame the land policy for the country’s drastic economic decline. Reduced production on the farms, combined with the devastating effects of a regional drought has meant that more than half of Zimbabwe’s population now faces severe food shortages. Zimbabweans now queue for basics like bread, maize, sugar and oil on a daily basis. With inflation now at over 150% and high unemployment, there is huge discontent in the country. At the conference, President Mugabe said: «The more they (Western countries) work against us...the more negative we shall become to their kith and kin here». (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 13 December 2002)

* Zimbabwe. Mugabe menace les Blancs — Le 13 décembre à Chinhohy (nord du pays), le président Mugabe a menacé de nouvelles représailles la minorité blanche du Zimbabwe si les pays occidentaux, en particulier les Européens, maintiennent leur “hostilité” à l’égard de son pouvoir. — D’autre part, le même jour, la principale formation de l’opposition, le Mouvement pour le changement démocratique (MDC), a exhorté ses militants à ignorer les menaces du gouvernement et à manifester afin de faire tomber le régime. Le leader du MDC, Morgan Tsvangirai, a déclaré que son parti lancera une campagne de désobéissance civile de grande envergure au début de l’année prochaine. Mais un appel à la grève générale, lancé au début de la semaine, est resté largement ignoré par les travailleurs. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 14 décembre 2002)

* Zimbabwe. Economic instability — 12 December: Rising prices of staple food commodities continue to erode household food security. Also, commercial farmers say a government decision to seize «undeclared maize from white-owned farms will deter farmers from producing the crop in the future. 13 December: Zimbabwe is close to running out of fuel, despite government promises that there would be adequate supplies for Christmas. Some drivers are reported to be sleeping overnight in petrol stations in the hope of filling up their cars. The squeeze tightened after the state-owned newspaper, the Herald, reported that Zimbabwe is revamping its supply agreement with Libya, which has been providing most of its fuel. The contract between Zimbabwe and Libya has been threatened by Zimbabwe’s inability to pay on time. 16 December: President Mugabe has threatened to take over petrol stations owned by BP, Mobil and Caltex. He has promised to handle the fuel crisis personally as chronic fuel shortages have worsened. —Zimbabwe has failed to secure a fuel deal with Libya. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 16 December 2002)