UNITED NATIONS
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Integrated Regional Information Network for Southern Africa
Tel: +27 11 880 4633
Fax: +27 11 880 1421
e-mail: irin-sa@irin.org.za
ZIMBABWE: Plight of farm labourers ignored
Zimbabwe's 700,000 farm labourers and their dependents are not being considered for resettlement under the government's controversial land acquisition scheme, trade union and human rights activists told IRIN this week. They said the labourers would be left without homes or jobs as their employers' farms are taken over.
According to Philip Munyanyi of the General, Agriculture and Plantation Workers Union of Zimbabwe (GAPWUZ), the labourers and their dependants represent a population of around two million people. About 45 percent of them are from neighbouring countries like Malawi and Mozambique.
Under President Robert Mugabe's new "fast-track" land reform programme, some 3,000 mainly white-owned commercial farms have been earmarked for acquisition and redistribution to around 500,000 landless black households. But "the farm labourers and their dependents have been excluded from the provisions of the government's Land Acquisition Act," Munyanyi told IRIN. "As farm owners abandon their occupied farms, the labourers have suffered intimidation and assaults by the invaders, forcing many to flee the farms," said Munyanyi.
Many of them have nowhere else to go. "Farm labourers lose their farm accommodation on land acquired by the government. As they have no other relatives in Zimbabwe, they set up squatter settlements in and around the farms, which increases landlessness," Pesanai Mazambani of the human rights organisation, ZimRights, told IRIN. In the political violence that accompanied the farm invasions, labourers were targeted as supporters of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change by the veterans backed by Mugabe.
ZIMBABWE: MDC chides SADC over support to Mugabe
Southern African leaders have taken "a very bad position" in supporting the embattled government of President Robert Mugabe and its land reform programme, Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai told IRIN on Tuesday.
A Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit decision on Monday called on Britain, Zimbabwe's former colonial ruler, to honour obligations under the 1979 Lancaster House independence agreement and pay for land reform. But Tsvangirai, who leads the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), said the heads of state had failed to acknowledge the issue of government-backed political violence accompanying the land reform programme.
The interview in full can be found at: http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/sa/countrystories/zimbabwe/20000808a.phtml
ZIMBABWE: SADC concerned at US sanctions threat
At their two-day summit in Windhoek, Namibia, this week Southern African leaders rallied around Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe against threatened US sanctions. In an opening address to the heads of state of the 14-nation Southern African Development Community, SADC outgoing chairman Mozambique President Joaquim Chissano said detractors were trying to humiliate those who brought freedom and independence to their countries.
They echoed Zimbabwe's concerns over threatened US sanctions contained in a 'pro-democracy' bill passed by the US Senate in June and to be considered by the House of Representatives. The Zimbabwe Democracy Act 2000 Bill bans US aid to Harare and any debt cancellation. It also instructs US representatives to multinational financial institutions to vote against any assistance to the government "except for assistance to meet basic human needs and good governance".
Zimbabwean Foreign Minister, Stan Mudenge told journalists: "The government would have to take emergency measures to survive. Doesn't that normally lead to the suspension of certain democratic devices so that the country can survive?" he asked. "It's a shocking piece of legislation because it seeks to interfere in the sovereign affairs of Zimbabwe."
The draft bill can be viewed at: http://www.senate.gov/
ZIMBABWE: Hunzvi backs "fast-track"
Meanwhile, the leader of the Zimbabwe War Veterans Association Chenjerai Hunzvi told IRIN this week he was confident that the government's "fast-track" land redistribution programme would be completed before the start of the rainy season in October.
"I would want everyone to be settled by October. Every Zimbabwean will take part to ensure that this issue is resolved, that it is taken care of," the controversial newly-elected MP said. "We will do the resettlement the Zimbabwean way. We will give back to the people the land that was grabbed by the imperialists in the 1890s."
ZIMBABWE: SA utility threatens to cut power
South Africa's power company Eskom has warned this week that it may be forced to cut supplies to Zimbabwe because of mounting debts. Senior Eskom manager Peter O'Connor told journalists on Tuesday: "We have informed them that if we are stretched with our local customers who are good payers, they will be the first to be cut."
The Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) imports a third of its power needs from Eskom. In June, the South African utility cut power supplies from 450 megawatts to 150 megawatts due to payment problems related to Zimbabwe's foreign currency crisis. In June, ZESA's debt was reportedly US $20 million. ZESA's executive chairman, Sydney Gata, said this week the ailing utility would be privatised over the next two years.
ANGOLA: UN tightens diamond trade monitoring
A new United Nations-appointed team of experts tasked with monitoring international sanctions against the Angolan rebel movement UNITA is conducting its first fact-finding mission to Angola, officials told IRIN.
The five-member team, which arrived in Angola last week, will take the investigations of a previous Panel of Experts on sanctions violations further. Analysts told IRIN that the new, smaller team, is strengthened by the inclusion of two women: Lena Sundh, former Swedish Ambassador to Angola, and Christine Gordon, a British journalist who has reported on the diamond industry for at least a decade.
See, ANGOLA: IRIN Focus on new sanctions monitoring mechanism. The report can also be viewed at: http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/sa/countrystories/angola/20000804c.phtml
ANGOLA: Rebel attack near capital
An estimated 250 UNITA rebels raided the small town of Catate near the Angolan capital, Luanda, on Monday. Official news reports said at least 10 of the rebels and four civilians were killed.
In what Luanda-based diplomats described as a raid to steal food stocks and to show that it can conduct operations near Luanda, the attackers fled when the army intervened. Local news reports quoted residents of Catate, a town in Bengo Province 70 km southeast of Luanda, as saying food stocks from a local Catholic mission on the outskirts of the town had been looted. Later in the week, the army said it was "firmly in control" of the area. An army statement said the raid occurred at dawn on Monday.
ANGOLA: Further insecurity reported
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in its latest update on the situation that six vehicles had been attacked and burned on 20 July in an ambush near the Bengo provincial town of Santa Teresa.
Meanwhile, the army also said that the Angolan armed forces had killed 34 UNITA soldiers and captured three in military operations last week in Cuemba region in the central highlands province of Bie. It gave scant details of the clashes.
But the OCHA report dated 28 July said insecurity remained a concern in Bie: "Insecurity has been reported in the Bie areas of Cambandua, Cuemba, Chiumba, Dungo, Cassombo, Chimuco, Caluimbe, Camacupa, Cavoco, Sani and Chiteque." On 18 July, it said, four children were wounded in a landmine explosion in Camburucuto, Kuito. On 19 July, one person was hurt in a similar explosion in Muinha, north of Camacupa, while on 21 July seven people were killed when a landmine exploded near Belo Horizonte.
OCHA said humanitarian agencies and the government were investigating reports that an estimated 9,500 people displaced by fighting had set up eight makeshift camps in the Bie towns of Kuito, Chinguar, Andulo, Catabola, Camacupa and Cunhinga during the third week of July.
Insecurity in neighbouring Huambo Province during the past two months had resulted in nearly 1,000 people fleeing to the town of Longonjo, OCHA said.
ANGOLA: Suspected UNITA raid on diamond mines
Suspected UNITA insurgents abducted seven Angolan nationals and killed a South African security consultant in a pre-dawn raid on a diamond mine near the Lunda Norte provincial capital of Lucapa on Monday.
A spokesman for a Johannesburg-based company, Gray Security Services, told IRIN on that Clinton Whitehouse, described as a management consultant, died when a group of about 60 armed men attacked the mine works near the government-controlled town of Camafuca, outside Lucapa. He said there had been a similar attack on Monday at another nearby diamond mine in Casamba, but gave no details of the incident.
ANGOLA: Government halts new offensive
The commander of the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA), General Joao de Matos, told the independent 'Radio Ecclesia' broadcasting station on Wednesday that the authorities had decided to suspend a military offensive aimed at capturing the UNITA rebel leader Jonas Savimbi.
Operation Exagono was launched to surround Savimbi in the south of Bie province, in the central highlands some 600 km southeast of the capital. He gave no further details on the decision.
ANGOLA: Government claims control of Namibian border zone
In a separate announcement, the Angolan government said this week that it had re-gained full administrative control of the volatile Dirico district along the country's southern border with Namibia. In a brief dispatch on Tuesday, the state news agency Angop reported that "government administration was reinstated" in the Mucusso area of Cuando Cubango Province north of Namibia's Caprivi Strip. For years, the area has been under control of the UNITA rebel movement.
Meanwhile, Angolan state television reported on Wednesday that the government had also set up a new administrative network in Lucusse, in the neighbouring province of Moxico, which shares borders with Zambia. Fighting between FAA forces and UNITA rebels along the Zambian and Angolan borders in recent months has resulted in thousands of refugees fleeing into the two neighbouring countries.
ZAMBIA: Troops sent to border with DRC
Zambia has deployed additional troops to Kaputa in the country's northern province bordering the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) following incursions by armed groups from the Congo.
A senior Zambian military source told IRIN that a token force has been sent at the request of the local authorities: "The troops have been sent there to help in monitoring the movement of refugees into Zambia from DRC."
A Zambian humanitarian worker confirmed to IRIN that gunmen from the DRC have been raiding villagers in Kaputa for the last three weeks. "The situation is very tense as the armed groups regularly loot shops and homes and then cross back into the DRC," he said.
UNHCR said this week that 1,106 DRC refugees had newly arrived in Zambia. They are mostly women and children and in poor condition. There are a total of 29,800 DRC refugees in three camps in Zambia, with an additional 15,000 refugees considered self-sufficient, living among the local population.
ZAMBIA: New party's challenge delayed
Controversial politician Ben Mwila is challenging the Zambian authorities to allow him to register his new party.
The former environment minister and ruling Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) political heavyweight told IRIN that he would try and meet with Home Affairs Minister Peter Machungwa next week "to see if we can reach a compromise" over the issue of his party's symbol and colours which is stalling registration. MMD national secretary Michael Sata told the 'Times of Zambia' this week that Mwila was attempting to ride on the coat-tails of the MMD's identity. "When you start using other people's symbol and style that is not compliance. He should go with his own style, his own identity, nothing related to the MMD because he is already divorced from MMD."
At the weekend, the police raided his home in an apparent search for weapons, but none were found. Mwila acknowledged that he had announced his intention to stand for the post of MMD party president in the upcoming national elections. Under the current constitution, Chiluba is unable to contest for a third term.
The former environment minister, who is also Chiluba's uncle, is from the country's northern province political power base.
NAMIBIA: Soldiers detained
The Namibian authorities have detained 22 soldiers of the Namibian Defense Force (NDF) who have allegedly refused to serve in Angola, a human rights official told IRIN this week.
Phil ya Nangoloh, director of the National Society for Human Rights, said they were being held at the Grootfontein military base in northern Namibia and could face disciplinary hearings. He said soldiers, all members of the Walvis Bay-based Fifth Battalion of the NDF, had been deployed at Omega, some 270 km east of border town of Rundu, at the time of their arrest early last week.
An army spokesman contacted by IRIN confirmed that a legal case was pending, but he declined to give further details citing "issues of national security". The Namibian army is made up entirely of volunteer professional soldiers.
NAMIBIA: Angolan soldiers deported
Meanwhile, the human rights society also told IRIN this week that two members of the Angolan armed forces who had been arrested by the Namibian police for the murder of two civilians near the Angolan border on 21 July, had since been deported back to Angola.
Their were held on 24 July at Kasote, near the Angolan border. The two had in their possession uniforms of the Angolan army, ammunition and balaclavas. In a statement dated 23 July the society reported that two people were executed while another one wounded when Angolan government soldiers, pretending to be members of the Namibian security forces, rounded up civilians in the mid-morning hours at the border village of Mohopi.
BOTSWANA: Government to provide free HIV/AIDS drugs
President Festus Mogae of Botswana has said that his government would provide free HIV/AIDS drugs at public health facilities for people living with the disease.
Addressing the women's wing of the ruling Botswana Democratic Party, Mogae said that with the financial support of international organisations, the government would soon purchase the drugs and make them available in clinics, dispensaries and hospitals. A forthcoming UNDP report says that Botswana's HIV/AIDS prevalence rate has reached 36 percent of the population.
COMORO ISLANDS: Transitional constitution adopted
A national conference on Monday adopted a transitional charter to restore constitutional order in the Comoro Islands and oblige the military leadership to relinquish some of its power.
News reports said the three-day conference in Grand Comore, the largest island in the Indian Ocean archipelago, was attended by all major political parties, the military, professional bodies, religious leaders and other civic organisations. No representative from the breakaway island of Anjouan attended the conference.
Colonel Azali Assoumane, the military leader of the Comoro Islands, said that a government delegation would next week travel to Anjouan to meet with the leaders from Anjouan to try and persuade them to return to the Comoran federation.
MOZAMBIQUE: Rainy season brings new threat
The World Food Programme (WFP) is concerned that next month's rainy season in Mozambique could affect flood-damaged roads under repair, again cutting off people from food aid. Laurince Bjorgman, WFP's deputy country director, told IRIN this week that the condition of the roads crossing the Limpopo river, which were ruined by floods earlier this year, remained poor.
Bjorgman said WFP was active in five provinces - Maputo, Gaza, Inhambane, Manica and Sofala - where it was assisting 543,000 beneficiaries with food aid. He said in July alone, the agency distributed 6,814 mt of food items by road and boat.
SOUTHERN AFRICA: Mozambique's neighbours still affected
Meanwhile, the government's disaster management agency Instituto Nacional de Gestao de Calamidades (INGC) said in its latest report this week that the impact of the February/March cyclones continued to be felt by neighbouring South Africa and Zimbabwe.
"The closure of the Limpopo railway has forced Zimbabwe to use more expensive routes to South African ports," said the INGC. It added that a drop in hydropower supplies from the Cahora Bassa dam to South Africa has meant that South Africa had to use more expensive electricity from its thermal power stations.
SOUTHERN AFRICA: SADC leaders tackle wars, HIV/AIDS, trade
Leaders of the 14-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC) held a second and final day of talks on Monday aimed at seeking to revive the peace processes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Angola.
According to officials contacted by IRIN and news reports of the summit in the Namibian capital, Windhoek, the leaders meeting behind closed doors, approved a free-trade pact, adopted a regional approach to the HIV/AIDS crisis, and sought consensus over a controversial regional defence body.
A detailed report of the summit can be viewed at: http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/sa/countrystories/other/20000807.phtml
[ENDS]
Johannesburg, 12:50 GMT
IRIN-SA - Tel: +27 11 880 4633 Fax: +27 11 880 1421 E-mail: irin-sa@irin.org.za
[This item is delivered in the "africa-english" service of the UN's IRIN humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations. For further information, free subscriptions, or to change your keywords, contact e-mail: irin@ocha.unon.org or Web: http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN . If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Reposting by commercial sites requires written IRIN permission.]
Copyright (c) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2000