* Sénégal. Cinquième remaniement ministériel en 3 ans — Vendredi 22 août, le Premier ministre sénégalais, Idrissa Seck, a présenté sa démission et celle de son gouvernement au président Wade, qui les a acceptées. Selon un décret du président, rendu public en début de soirée, M. Seck a été chargé par le chef de l’Etat de constituer une nouvelle équipe gouvernementale et commencera les consultations dans ce sens à partir de lundi. Le Premier ministre avait écourté ses vacances et regagné Dakar, le jeudi soir, à l’appel de M. Wade, avec lequel il a eu une séance de travail le vendredi matin. De nombreux analystes ont émis, ces derniers jours, des avis selon lesquels les relations s’étaient détériorées entre les deux hommes, suite à la publication du livre-réquisitoire du journaliste Abdou Latif Coulibaly, intitulé “Wade, un opposant au pouvoir. L’alternance piégée?”. Estimant que le président, sa famille et son entourage sont présentés de façon désavantageuse dans le livre, de nombreux Sénégalais en ont tiré la conclusion qu’Idrissa Seck pourrait en être le commanditaire, vu qu’il n’y a pratiquement pas été cité. —Dans un message publié lundi 25 août, le président Wade a affirmé avoir “renouvelé” sa confiance au  Premier ministre M. Seck, auquel il a demandé de former “un gouvernement représentatif d’un Sénégal pluriel mais uni”. C’est dans ce sens, a-t-il dit, qu’ont été reçus en audience différents leaders de l’opposition politique et que des entretriens sont prévus avec d’autres dirigeants. Selon les observateurs, la nouvelle équipe devrait donc constituer un “gouvernement d’union nationale”, avec des leaders de l’opposition, ou “de reconstruction”, avec des membres de la formation du président précédemment écartés. — Mecredi 27 août, on a annoncé le nouveau remaniement ministériel, le cinquième en trois ans. Contre toute attente, les trois principaux partis d’opposition ont refusé de participer à ce nouveau gouvernement, estimant qu’une forte opposition était plus importante qu’une coalition gouvernementale pour la démocratie du Sénégal. Le nouveau gouvernement est composé de 34 ministres, soit deux de plus que le précédent. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 28 août 2003)

* Sierra Leone. Footballers disappear — 21 August: At last three of the Sierra Leone players who stayed behind after competing in the World under 17 Championship in Finland have probably applied for political asylum. The Sierra Leone team — knocked out in the group stages of the tournament — left Finland without the 13 players and one official who failed to turn up at the airport. Only 14 members of the 28-man squad showed up for today’s flight back to Freetown. Police, in the southern Finnish city of Lahti, where the squad had been based, said some of the missing players were now in the capital, Helsinki. «Three people have been found in Helsinki and the police know about them. They have possibly applied for asylum», said a police spokesman. Three other members of the team have been spotted in the capital but their exact location is still unknown. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 21 August 2003)

* Sierra Leone. Foday Sankoh’s body vanishes — The body of reviled Sierra Leonean rebel leader and indicted war criminal Foday Sankoh, who died last month, has vanished from a grave in his home town, police in the West African country said on 25 August. «Sankoh’s body is missing from the grave — the grave has been checked and the body is no longer to be seen,» a police officer in Makeni said. Sankoh took up arms against his country’s corrupt government in 1991, but soon his Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels became notorious for brutality — looting, raping and cutting off the limbs, ears and noses of women and children with machetes. After his death in July, hundreds of Sierra Leoneans crowded a hospital in Freetown to jeer the body of a man reviled for starting one of Africa’s bloodiest wars and dragging their diamond-rich nation even deeper into poverty. His family later took Sankoh’s remains for burial in his home village near the town of Magburaka about 130 miles from Freetown. (CNN, USA, 25 August 2003)

* South Africa. Pollution fear for coast — 22 August: Environmentalists have expressed fears of a potential pollution disaster following the spillage of oil from a container ship off the South African coast. The vessel carrying 3,700 tons of fuel ran aground on 21 August on Table Bay near Cape Town. The Sealand Express is also carrying 50 tons of uranium ore concentrate bound for the United States, to be turned into nuclear fuel. A nuclear engineer says the material is only mildly radioactive and that the oil poses a much bigger danger. Rescuers from Smit Marine South Africa have been trying to pump out the oil. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 22 August 2003)

* South Africa. Prosecutor drops graft charges — South African opposition politicians have expressed outrage after the country’s chief prosecutor declined to press criminal charges against deputy president Jacob Zuma, even though he had found prima facie evidence of corruption against him. Bulelani Ngcuka, director of public prosecutions, decided at the weekend not to press charges for fear the state could not win the case. But it also emerged that France’s failure to respond to South Africa’s request for co-operation may have fatally weakened the case, which involves the French Thales group. Mr Ngcuka decided not to prosecute Mr Zuma after investigating allegations that Mr Zuma and Schabir Shaik, a Durban businessman, attempted to solicit bribes from Thomson-CSF (since renamed Thales) in connection with a multi-billion-dollar arms procurement. The two-year investigation was launched after a whistle-blower sent South African authorities a fax implicating the deputy president, Mr Shaik and Alain Thetard, former head of Thomson- MSCSF South Africa. It covered allegations of fraud and corruption, bribery, financial benefits received by Mr Zuma and «the undue use of public office» to advance Mr Shaik’s business interests. (Financial Times, UK, 25 August 2003)

* Sudan. Peace talks to resume in September — MISNA reports that the seventh round of peace talks held in Kenya between the Sudanese government and southern Sudanese rebels, aimed at ending the 20-year conflict in Sudan, are to end on 24 August and will resume once again in September. (MISNA, Italy, 23 August 2003)

* Soudan. Négociations suspendues — 22 août. Les observateurs restent toujours pessimistes quant aux chances de succès des négociations de paix entre les rebelles du sud et le gouvernement de Khartoum, qui doivent mettre fin à vingt années de guerre civile. Face à l’enlisement des négociations en cours à Nanyuki (Kenya), des exilés du Sud-Soudan ont demandé l’intervention du Conseil de sécurité de l’Onu. Quelques groupes ont envoyé des pétitions à diverses ambassades et manifesté devant le siège de l’Onu à Nairobi. Selon eux, Khartoum tente de ralentir l’avancée du processus de paix pour pouvoir exploiter davantage les ressources pétrolières du sud, qui représenteraient “le problème fondamental”. Selon l’agence de presse égyptienne Mena, les rebelles du Soudan réclament 60% des revenus pétroliers du pays. — 24 août. Des divergences sur le partage du pouvoir ont entraîné la suspension des pourparlers de paix, a-t-on appris de source officielle à Khartoum. Dirdeyri Mohammed Ahmed, le principal adjoint de l’ambassadeur du Soudan au Kenya, a déclaré que “les divergences ont débouché sur la suspension des négociations jusqu’au 10 septembre, pour donner aux deux parties le temps d’organiser des consultations”. Un haut responsable du gouvernement a toutefois affirmé que les pourparlers avaient enregistré de légers progrès et que la médiation avait fait des propositions qui ont aidé à surmonter les “problèmes de procédure”. Ces “règles de négociation” devront être débattues à la reprise des négociations. — Par ailleurs, selon la presse locale, les rebelles soudanais ont accusé les forces gouvernementales d’avoir tué 46 civils et détruit plusieurs villages dans l’Etat du Nord Darfour, dans l’Ouest du pays. “Des appareils Antonov ont bombardé, dimanche et lundi (24 et 25 août), la ville de Kornoy, dans l’extrême-ouest du Nord Darfour, tuant 46 personnes, dont des enfants, des femmes et des personnes âgées”, rapporte l’agence PANA, citant la presse. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 28 août 2003)

* Swaziland. Democracy tested in candidate nominations — Swazis went to the polls at the weekend to nominate candidates to run in October’s parliamentary election — a process King Mswati said proved democracy was alive and well in sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarchy. However, his brother Prince Maguga Dlamini said he would ban a group of women from contesting the October poll because they had protested against his claim to be their chief two years ago, newspapers said. «If you defy the prince, and nominate these women, he said he will ensure that the elections are dismantled,» polling supervisor Elphas Mklabela was quoted as telling voters by the Times of Swaziland on 24 August. The king has faced growing criticism in recent months from trade unions and rights groups in the landlocked country, where opposition parties are banned. They accuse him of autocratic rule and a disregard for the rule of law. (CNN, USA, 25 August 2003)

* Tunisie. Remaniement partiel du gouvernement — Le 25 août, le président Ben Ali a opéré un remaniement partiel du gouvernement tunisien, qui a touché deux importants départements. A la veille de la rentrée scolaire, Moncer Rouissi cède le portefeuille de l’Education et de la Formation professionnelle à Raouf Najjar, ex-ministre de la Jeunesse et des Sports. Le deuxième ministère qui a changé de mains est celui de l’Industrie et de l’Energie. Détenu pendant plus de cinq ans par Moncef Ben Abdallah, il est confié à Fethi Merdassi, qui avair été  nommé récemment ambassadeur à Bonn. Trois nouveaux secrétaires d’Etat font par ailleurs leur entrée au gouvernement. Aucune précision n’a été fournie sur les raisons de ce remaniement. (AP, 25 août 2003)

* Uganda. More northern Ugandan deaths — At least 120 people are reported to have been killed in northern Uganda in the past fortnight. According to Ugandan army spokesman Major Shaban Bantariza, most of those killed were Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels, who have been fighting to overthrow the government since the late 1980s. «In the past two weeks, the army has killed 90 rebels for 11 of its own soldiers, and not less than 20 civilians were killed during battles in northern Uganda,» he said. He added that 16 government soldiers had been injured. Earlier this week President Yoweri Museveni dared Uganda’s rebels to abduct him rather than civilians after he moved to the central town of Soroti to direct the army’s campaign against rebels. He was speaking after the army accused LRA rebels of killing 13 children whom they had abducted. The government has appeared powerless in recent months to halt intensified rebel attacks. The LRA abducts boys to become fighters and girls to be sex slaves. They have become synonymous with torture, abductions and gruesome killings designed to instil fear in civilians. (BBC News, UK, 21 August 2003)

* Uganda. Sudan re-arming Uganda rebels — 26 August: Shaky relations between Uganda and Sudan could be further strained by new accusations that Khartoum is supplying arms to rebels of the Lords Resistance Army (LRA). The Ugandan Government also claims that LRA leader Joseph Kony has finally crossed back into southern Sudan via the northern Ugandan town of Gulu to acquire more supplies. But the Sudanese Government denies the charges, saying that only two weeks ago it presented a comprehensive report to Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni, showing Sudan was not providing weapons to the LRA rebels. The latest round of accusations follows reports that the Ugandan army received information from an LRA defector, David Oneka, about the alleged supply of arms, including anti-tank missiles, by Sudan to the rebels. Mr Oneka also claimed that he witnessed Mr Kony crossing into Sudan accompanied by his wives and 600 rebel fighters. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 26 August 2003)

* Zambie. Grève des fonctionnaires — Le 26 août, les agents de la fonction publique zambienne ont déclenché une grève générale illimitée pour exiger le paiement d’indemnités de logement. Le système judiciaire est paralysé et certaines cliniques de Lusaka et de la région du Copperbelt ne sont pas épargnées. Les syndicats indiquent que les ministres et leurs adjoints perçoivent des indemnités de logement, tandis que ce droit est refusé aux travailleurs. Le gouvernement accuse les  dirigeants syndicaux d’être manipulés par l’opposition. (PANA, Sénégal, 26 août 2003)

* Zimbabwe. La menace de famine s’aggrave — La situation alimentaire au Zimbabwe risque de s’aggraver davantage encore suite à une nouvelle directive de l’administration du président Mugabe concernant la distribution des aides alimentaires internationales. La directive attribue en effet la responsabilité de la distribution et de la répartition des aides aux autorités locales et aux structures villageoises. Les organisations humanitaires devront se limiter à la seule fourniture des aides alimentaires. Dans le passé, l’opposition avait déjà accusé le parti au pouvoir, le ZANU-PF, de politiser les aides humanitaires en les distribuant à ses partisans en “récompense” et pour conquérir de nouveaux électeurs. Les organisations humanitaires ont tiré la sonnette d’alarme. Le PAM a fait savoir “être en pourparlers avec les autorités et les ONG partenaires pour examiner les applications concrètes de cette nouvelle politique”. (D’après Misna, Italie, 22 août 2003)

* Zimbabwe. Emergency budget — 22 August: The Zimbabwean government has unveiled an emergency supplementary budget aimed at paying state employees’ wages, and importing food, seeds and medicines. Finance Minister Herbert Murerwa asked parliament to approve a supplementary budget of $840 million, almost doubling the country’s existing budget. He said the new budget would not boost the country’s deficit, as it would be financed by the removal of price controls, and by increased tax revenues. The bulk of the new budget will be spent on pay rises for state workers who are struggling to survive in the face of soaring inflation which has made basic goods unaffordable. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 22 August 2003)

* Zimbabwe. UN warns over Zimbabwe aid — 23 August: The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has said it will postpone food aid to any part of Zimbabwe where, in line with the new government directive, local chiefs take over the distribution of the aid. More than 3m Zimbabweans are dependent on food aid for survival. That number is predicted to rise to 5.5m by the end of the year. The WFP in Zimbabwe has reiterated its standing policy that it will not tolerate any political interference in the distribution of food aid, and this comes at a very delicate moment. This week the Government of Zimbabwe ordered local chiefs to take over the distribution of food aid across the country. The WFP‘s policy is that if any village in Zimbabwe acts on the government’s instructions and insists that local chiefs distribute the food aid, the aid would be suspended in that area. 25 August: The Government has given an assurance that the WFP will remain in control of humanitarian food distribution. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 25 August 2003)

* Zimbabwe. SADC leaders call for sanctions  to be lifted — 25 August: Southern African heads of state have called for sanctions against Zimbabwe to be lifted. The regional Southern African Development Community (SADC) has also urged President Robert Mugabe’s government and the country’s opposition to resume talks in order to end the country’s political crisis. The call came after Mr Mugabe received a rapturous welcome at the SADC summit in the Tanzanian commercial capital, Dar es Salaam. The summit supported President Mugabe’s controversial land reform policy, saying that the sanctions were unwarranted and only made life difficult for ordinary people. «Those sanctions should now be lifted,» Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa said. «The quicker they are lifted, the quicker more influence for positive economic growth and social service delivery change can emerge,» Mr Mkapa, the new SADC chairman, said. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 25 August 2003)

* Zimbabwe. Accord d’investissement avec l’OPEP — Le 26 août, le Zimbabwe a signé un accord de protection des investissements avec le Fonds de l’OPEP pour le développement international qui, selon les officiels, pourrait attirer les pétrodollars des pays producteurs de pétrole. Selon le ministre des Finances, cet accord ouvre la voie aux entreprises des pays membres de l’OPEP pour l’investissement privé dans le pays. Le Zimbabwe s’était attiré de vives critiques pour avoir violé les droits de propriété en saisissant des fermes occupées par des Blancs. De nombreux investisseurs ont aussi boycotté le Zimbabwe, regrettant les inconvénients d’une économie instable (avec un taux d’inflation de 399,5%) et une atmosphère politique trouble. L’OPEP a financé de nombreux projets au Zimbabwe et octroyé récemment au pays 4,3 millions de dollars d’aide alimentaire. (D’après PANA, Sénégal, 26 août 2003)

* Zimbabwe. Mugabe’s new palace — Builders are putting the finishing touches to a retirement home for President Robert Mugabe that will rival the most extravagant of African leaders’ residences. The project is the latest sign of how his regime is prospering while vast numbers of Zimbabweans are close to starvation. The World Food Programme estimates that 5.5 million people —almost half the population — will need hunger relief by the year’s end. Several architects who have seen aerial pictures of Mr Mugabe’s new mansion, 16 miles north of Harare, say it looks as large as a medium-sized hotel. Surveyors in Harare estimated the building cost about £3.75 million — a colossal sum in a country where factory workers can earn as little as £6 a month. Final costs, including landscaping, security and interior decoration are expected to push the bill close to £6 million. Contractors are working feverishly on the fittings while two lakes built for Mr Mugabe on the southern boundary have begun to fill. The residence offers more than three acres of accommodation,  mostly on three floors, including two-storey reception rooms, an office suite, and up to 25 bedrooms with adjoining bathrooms and spas. The Chinese-style roof is clad with midnight blue glazed tiles from Shanghai. The ceilings were decorated by Arab craftsmen. Mr Mugabe’s mansion is more than three times the size of his present official residence and his offices at State House. Its scale has raised opposition concerns that — if as is widely expected — Mr Mugabe steps down as leader of his ruling Zanu-PF at the annual congress in December, or maybe after his 80th birthday in February, real power will move from his official government offices to his new residence. (Daily Telegraph, UK, 27 August 2003)