Migration News -
Angola, Botswana, DRC, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia

Angola

Displaced people resettlement plan in June (ANGOP, 31/05) - A national seminar on provincial planning of resettlement and return of displaced people will be held on June 03-04 under the social welfare ministry (Minars), ANGOP has learned. This was announced on Friday through a Minars press release that would not mention the exact purposes of the meeting. Recently, the social welfare minister, Joao Baptista Kussumua, spoke of the need for a speedier relocation of the displaced so they can start plowing and stop depending on humanitarian aid. According to him, a response and solution to resettlement should be worked out, with the Government developing capacities and innovations. There are about four million displaced persons in Angola, the source said.

UNITA quartering process in northern region ends (ANGOP, 31/05) - The quartering process of UNITA soldiers in Angola`s north region, started last April, ended on Thursday, the Chief of UNITA Military Forces` High Operational Strategic Commando, Gen. Felino Ikuvela "Apolo", told ANGOP Friday. General "Apolo", who announced this at Madimba locality, 65 kilometers from Mbanza-Congo town, northern Zaire province, said a total of 8,011 troops were quartered and 15,529 family members sheltered in the surrounding areas of the six confinement areas of the region. Gen. "Apolo" added that the Regional Technical Commission will be in charge of registering the confined soldiers and control the weapons assembled in the six areas. UNITA soldiers in north region are quartered in the areas of Loge and Uamba Valleys (Uige), Santa Cruz and Mimbota (Kwanza-norte), Madimba (Zaire) and Mussabo (Bengo). Last April, military chiefs from the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA) and UNITA Military Forces (FMU) signed a Memorandum of Understanding Complementary to the Lusaka Protocol which foresaw the quartering of 50,000 soldiers countrywide, but the number has so far gone up to more than 60,000.

UNHCR delegation due in June (ANGOP, 30/05) - A delegation from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is expected to visit Angola on June 11-14 aimed to define with the Angolan government new strategies in future repatriation of refugees. The delegation, led by the UNHCR Assistant Kamel Morjane, also comprises the International Protection Director, Erika Feller, and the Africa Bureau Deputy Director, Ebrima Camara. With the new politico-social situation in the country, the UNHCR expects that most of Angolan refugees in the neighboring countries will progressively opt for repatriation, creating a basis of infrastructures and services in the restoration of their areas of origin. During its stay in the country, the mission will review with the Angolan authorities the situation of nearly 12,000 Congolese refugees who are in Angola. The visit program also includes meetings with some senior government officials, UN agencies, donors and non-governmental organizations operating in major areas for the return of population. The UNHCR has offices in the Provinces of Luanda and Uije, providing aid and protection for over 13,000 refugees and asylum seekers. It also assists more than 200,000 internal displaced people in northern Provinces of Luanda, Zaire and Uije.

Military delegations start official talks (ANGOP, 29/05) - Delegations from the Defence Ministries of Angola and South Africa Tuesday opened here official talks aimed at strengthening the military cooperation between both countries. Leading the delegations are the Angolan Defence Deputy Minister, Admiral Gaspar Santos Rufino, and his South African colleague, Nozizwe Madlala Routledge, who started on Monday a four-day working visit to Angola. Addressing the ceremony, the Angolan official reaffirmed his government`s will to establish relations that permit Angola and South to continue to have technico-military cooperation, just as the Defence Ministers of both countries expressed in July 2001 in Luanda. Gaspar Rufino said that the occasion will serve for the two parties to analyse deeply the ways of implementing cooperation. In her turn, the South African Defence Vice Minister defended the need for identifcation of new areas of eventual cooperation and expressed her government`s willing in providing all support to the Angolan Armed Forces, mainly in the demining field. Nozizwe Routledge, that heads a six-member delegation, will fly on Wednesday to northern Cabinda province.

SADC experts approve forestry protocol (ANGOP, 29/05) - Southern African Development Community (SADC) experts on Tuesday approved in Luanda a protocol on forestry, ANGOP learned from an official source. The experts ratified the document at the end of the seminar on the protocol during which some amendments, analysis and opinions from of each country were introduced, said SADC official, Marcela Veloso. According to the source, the protocol will be submitted to the cabinet council of member countries before it is tabled for the September meeting of heads of state and government. Commenting on the meeting, Ms. Veloso said that the discussion was particularly heated among Swaziland, Namibia and Bostwana, countries with vast areas of desert. Meanwhile, the protocol will facilitate trade among member countries, combat against deforestation, promote conservation and forest protection and resolve border forest problems, like the one between Angola and Congo.

USD 22 million spent in first phase of UNITA troops quartering (ANGOP, 28/05) - The first phase of Unita troops quartering process under Angola`s recently signed peace accord has been completed on a cost estimate of USD 22 million, the Special Commission for Logistics announced on Thursday. According to a Special Commission communique released at a balance meeting, of the amount mentioned, eight million were used in the purchase of goods from the local market. The source also said that the goods meant to secure immediate assistance to the quartering areas were purchased from local suppliers with enough storage capacity and market competitive prices. But, the note says, some provisions also came from external markets such as those of Brazil and South Africa. Meanwhile, a cargo aircraft is expected on Friday in Luanda with goods from Brazil, whereas two ships will be arriving soon with provisions to assist the quartering camps. This is in addition to the one that brought in 120 containers with an assortment of goods.

Foreign troops in quartering areas (Irin, 29/05) - At least 560 foreign soldiers, mostly Congolese and Rwandan, who had fought alongside UNITA rebels are in Angola's quartering areas awaiting repatriation, the state news agency has reported. General Francisco Furtado, spokesperson of the Joint Military Commission (JMC) overseeing the demobilisation of UNITA forces, told the news agency ANGOP that the foreign troops were receiving the same treatment as UNITA soldiers and would be repatriated in accordance with international law. Catherine Gendre, deputy head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said the agency had volunteered its services to the government, but had not yet been approached by the JMC. The Rwandan embassy in South Africa told IRIN that although it had no details of the Rwandan nationals in the quartering areas, they "can only be Interahamwe [Hutu extremist rebels] guys operating with Savimbi [the former UNITA leader]". Gendre said that the ICRC had no information on the foreign soldiers, but once invited by the JMC, the agency would interview them in the quartering areas to determine whether they wanted to be repatriated, "and submit the results to the government". She told IRIN that because Rwanda and Angola were involved on opposite sides in the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the Rwandan soldiers were protected by international humanitarian law and could not be forced to return home. General Abreu Muengo Kamorteiro, UNITA's chief of general staff, was quoted this week by the state daily, Journal de Angola, as saying that the issue of the foreign troops was "a very delicate matter". According to data released by the JMC at the end of March, the Congolese and Rwandan soldiers were quartered in demobilisation sites in Angola's northern provinces of Uige, Zaire, Malanje, Lunda Norte. A small number were also reportedly in UNITA's former southern stronghold of Cuando Cubango. Meanwhile, the Assistant High Commissioner for Refugees, Kamel Morjane, is to visit Angola next month to discuss with the government the refugee agency UNHCR's role in the future repatriation of Angolan refugees. The 10 to 14 June mission would also review the situation of some 12,000 refugees, mostly Congolese, currently hosted in Angola and for whom "durable solutions" need to be found, a UNHCR statement said. UNHCR is providing protection and assistance to more than 13,000 refugees and asylum seekers in Angola. UNHCR has also been assisting more than 200,000 internally displaced persons, mostly in Luanda, Zaire and Uige provinces. With the return of peace, the UNHCR statement said it expected that most of the more than 450,000 Angolan refugees hosted in neighbouring countries would progressively opt to repatriate once basic infrastructures and services are restored in their areas of origin.

South African minister defends special relations (ANGOP, 28/05) - Visiting South African Health Minister Manto Tshabalala Msimang Monday in Luanda expressed intention to establish a very special relationship with Angola built upon joint work and unparallelled in Southern Africa Development Community (SADC). Addressing journalists on arrival at Luanda international airport, the Minister said she got impressed with the latest political developments in Angola which augur well for establishing ideal conditions for a joint work. The South African official is in Luanda on a 3-day visit meant to review the existing cooperation in health between the two governments. Among other issues the two sides will discuss medical assistance, technical support, tele-medicine and the treatment of patients sent to South Africa by the Angolan health authorities. Manto Tshabalala Msimang and her Angolan counterpart Albertina Hamukwaia are also expected to sign a protocol on post-graduation studies for Angolans in South Africa, bio-medical research, the fight against AIDS/HIV, and the eradication of poliomyelitis in Angola.

DRC police contingent ends training in Luanda (ANGOP, 28/05) - A total 588 members of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) police completed on Friday in Luanda the Fourth Protection and Intervention Course at a ceremony presided over by the Angolan home minister, Fernando da Piedade "Nandó". During the three-month programme the trainees learned such subjects like military ethics, armament and shooting practice, fight techniques, military engineering, criminal investigation, penal law, police legislation and the like. The programme that was conducted at the National Protection and Intervention School was sub-divided in the specialities of training of instructors, migration and border services and anti-terror. At the same school, 123 members sof the Angolan National Police completed a promotion programme for officers from the General Command of the Protection and Intervention Unit. Closing the course, minister Fernando da Piedade "Nandó" said the programme will reinforce the relations existing between the two countries, thereby more and more burying the instability that prevailed along the common borders. "Now we we can start counting on the intervention of the trainees in the combat to the tafficking of drugs, arms, explosives and other criminal practices that affect our peace and stability", he said. To the Police top officer, the combat to crime is in every country a concern and permanent challenge for the police corporations. He said as well that the actions and techniques to curb crime opportunities, social tension and preservetion of the citizens rights will depend on the newly trained effectives. "The primary and general objectives of the training have been attained (...), therefore your acts should abide by a stand and conducts guided by the criteria of ponderation, transparency, impartiality and objectivity in dealing with the matters and people", the minister t old the trainees. Fernando da Piedade announced that in future courses the training of DRC and Congo Brazzaville contingents will take place in their respective countries with the help of the Angolan police. Meanwhile, within the framework of the tripartite joint commission for security on the border, the sub-commission tasked to training has carried out inspections on the future centres in the DR Congo and in Congo Brazzaville, meant for simultaneous programmes in the three countries. According to minister "Nandó", with the rehabilitation of the "Maluku" Training Centre, in the DR Congo and "Moulende", in Congo Brazzaville, the specialities of security and maintenance of public order, migration and foreign services, vip`s protection, strategic objectives, riot and border protection will be run. The minister hinted as well that after the seventh ordinary meeting of the Tripartite Joint Commission to be held in the DR C, Angola will propose for luanda the holding of Portuguese language interpreters courses and french in the DRC and Congo Brazzaville. Up to now, Angolan has trained 1.799 effectives from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, since concernd accord was signed between the two countries in 1997. In addition to contingents from the DRC, Angola has been training effectives from Congo Brazzaville, Cote D`ivoire, Equatorial Guinea and São Tomé and Príncipe.

65,000 UNITA troops quartered (ANGOP, 23/05) - The Angolan Armed Forces (FAA) said on Wednesday 65,000 UNITA soldiers have been quartered so far across the country against the 55,000 initially predicted. "We are well beyond the figure initially predicted hence a greater effort will be necessary to accommodate these people", FAA deputy chief of staff Gen. Geraldo Sachipengo Nunda said. He added that they are making big efforts now to have the infrastructures tailored to the needs of the soldiers and their families. The General was speaking at the Luanda International Airport as he witnessed the arrival of 116,178 kg of assorted goods from the United States meant for the quartering areas. The consignment consists of blankets, tents and water tanks among other items offered by the U.S. government to help resolve a few problems that have emerged at the quartering sites, especially in the provinces of Kuando Kubango, Huila, Cunene and Moxico. In the view of the general, international aid represents an important help in creating better conditions for those quartered and the civilians, in addition to the efforts from the local authorities. In his turn, the deputy chief of staff with UNITA military Gen. Arlindo Samy rejected the accusations recently uttered by his party fellow abroad Isaias Samakuva that the government was not assisting the people at the quartering camps. General Samy considered this to be misinformation as Samakuva is based abroad and is unaware of what is actually happening on the ground. All that can be pointed out is that there are a few problems with the transportation of supplies to certain areas where access is not easy, he said adding that there are also serious health problems and shortage of drugs in those areas.

Government discusses reintegration of UNITA ex-soldiers (ANGOP, 23/05) - Angola's Cabinet Council Standing Commission discussed Wednesday, in Luanda, the programme of social reintegration of UNITA ex-soldiers. The document was outlined by the Peace and National Reconciliation Intersectoral Commission and foresees the reinsertion of the UNITA military being demobilized in the wake of the Memorandum of Understanding complementary to the Lusaka Peace Protocol signed in April in Luanda. These soldiers are among the 55,000 UNITA military that are being quartered in various quartering areas throughout the country. A cooperation accord between the governments of Angola and Italy plus the United Nations meant to implement a programme of institutional reinforcement of the country's public service is also being discussed by the Cabinet Council Standing Commission at a session presided over by the Angolan Head of State, Jose Edurado dos Santos.The working agenda also included the analysis of issues related to the budgetary and financial execution of 2001 (from January to September), the extension and modernization of the Customs and the privatization project of the "Panorama" Hotel, located in Luanda.The Standing Commission discussed issues related to the holding of a Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) Demining Operators Conference and to an irrigation project in Matala district (southern Huila province).

Cabinet approval demobilized social reintegration programme (ANGOP, 23/05) - Angola's Cabinet Standing Commission Wednesday in Luanda approved the social reintegration of demobilized soldiers under a programme that comprises training and professional conversion, support for establishment of family owned businesses, creation of jobs and community resettlement and development of populations. According to a press note released at the end of the meeting, the implementation of the programme will count on the participation of public and private entities, including local and foreign non-governmental organisations, churches and associations with working capacity and well related to the communities expected to receive the target populations. The partnership will be set up in line with the accords or conventions under which the duties and responsibilities of the parties involved will be stated. The programme estimated to cost 56 million us dollars, will be implemented in two years to cater for about 30,000 people, the source says. Chaired by the Head of State, Jose Eduardo dos Santos, the Cabinet session also assessed the budgetary and financial performance of the year 2001 and the first quarter of this year and recommended its approval by the Cabinet Council, ahead of its submission to the Audit Court. The Government also reviewed the report on the customs performance of last year and the plan of work for this year and recommended a continued and strict application of the customs expansion and modernization programme thereby securing an efficient attraction of revenues. The same session also approved the accord of cooperation between the Governments of Angola and Italy and the United Nations for the execution of a USD 3 million programme of cooperation meant for the institutional reinforcement of the Angolan public administration. The Standing Commission of the Cabinet also recommended the ministries of finance and tourism to come up with a strategy for the privatization of hotels facilitating their rapid rehabilitation and modernization. The Government was also informed on the pace of the first phase of the Matala-Capelongo irrigation project, which is practically completed and comprises such works as rehabilitation of infrastructures of the Matala Farming Development Department, the supply of community equipment, supply and installation of a laboratory of pedology and a climatological station. In view of the severe humanitarian situation facing the populations of Bungei and Chipindo (southern Huila province), the Government decided to design a Special Programme for the supply of food, clothes and medicines.

Angola, barely done with war, faces new threat of famine (Sapa-AFP, 23/05) - Tens of thousands of Angolans could die of hunger unless the international community quickly sends emergency aid to the country, in ruins after 27 years of civil war, humanitarian workers said. Since a ceasefire signed on April 4 ended the fighting, UN teams and several humanitarian groups have visited regions previously cut off by the war between the army and the rebel National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA). What they found was a catastrophic situation, with an estimated 200,000 people already suffering from advanced malnutrition and needing urgent aid if they were to have any chance of survival. The government says a total of 600,000 people live in these regions, once completely isolated from the rest of the world by nearly three decades of almost endless battles between the army and UNITA. Half-starved Angolans have been trickling out of the bush for the seven weeks since the ceasefire was signed. And no one knows exactly how many people have joined the already identified 4.1 million internally displaced people who fled fighting before peace returned to the war-ravaged west African country. All those displaced people have depended entirely on the UN's World Food Program (WFP) for survival. Faced with an influx of weak and once-hidden victims of the civil war, WFP estimates that it will need an additional 8,000 tonnes of food each month, on top of the 13,000 tonnes it distributes on average each month. While waiting for donors to provide new financing, WFP has decided to reduce the amount of food provided to groups who still have some degree of self-sufficiency, to be able to provide more food to the most urgent cases. "We have reduced, even suspended the supply of rations to those who have the ability to survive through their own efforts, which allows us to help those who are suffering," said Marcelo Spina Hering, WFP spokesman in Luanda. Food and medical supplies are also desperately needed in the 35 demobilisation camps for former UNITA fighters set up throughout the country since the ceasefire. Former rebels have poured into the camps, where they are to be disarmed, and their families have settled nearby. After a long delay, President Jose Eduardo dos Santos' government has finally launched an international appeal for aid for the ex-rebels and their families, for ordinary victims of war, and for rebuilding the nation. He has also given the green light to the United Nations to deliver food aid as quickly as possible to the nearly 200,000 relatives of ex-rebels living near the disarmament camps. But the government has not allowed UN teams to visit the camps, where the army and UNITA have exclusive control. UNITA officials estimate that 69,000 former fighters have moved to the camps, and thousands more are expected to arrive in the coming weeks. Without immediate international aid, the United Nations, UNITA and aid agencies have warned that a massive famine could fuel a flight from the camps, as the rebels try to eke out a subsistence living in the bush, possibly through crime. While the magnitude of the food crisis is growing, the United Nations doesn't have the money needed to offer its help, according to a UN source who said the world body has received only four million of the 52 million dollars needed to save tens of thousands of lives.

Focus on quartering areas (Irin, 22/05) - Aid agencies in Angola are extending relief operations into quartering camps where UNITA soldiers' families have gathered, and areas of the country that have now become accessible as a result of a 4 April ceasefire between government and UNITA forces. Relief workers who have been operating in the quartering camps' family areas since the ceasefire, as well as the Joint Military Commission (JMC) which is overseeing the demobilisation process, have described the humanitarian situation there in recent weeks as critical. Official JMC statistics show that more than 65,300 soldiers had already registered at the 35 cantonment locations by Monday, accompanied by almost 164,000 of their relatives who are being quartered separately. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said recently it believed that an estimated 500,000 people from areas which were inaccessible during the war would need urgent assistance in the near future. OCHA rapid assessments in 26 such areas in 12 of Angola's 18 provinces indicate that thousands of people need help immediately. "Critical levels of malnutrition" existed in at least seven of the areas, OCHA found, and people from all 26 locations were in urgent need of basic health care, sanitation, potable water, essential non-food items, education and proof of identity. "On the basis of the assessments, sectoral groups are drafting an analysis of each sector and a corresponding plan of action that includes activities and cost requirements. Sectoral focal points are working in full consultation with all relevant partners, including government representatives, UN agencies and international and national NGOs," OCHA said in a report released on Tuesday. In the same report, OCHA said the aim of the UN's humanitarian strategy was "to continue providing assistance in areas where programmes are already underway and to initiate life-saving operations for vulnerable populations in newly accessible locations, as well as in family areas established under the 4 April Memorandum of Understanding [between government and UNITA troops]" which ended Africa's longest-running civil war. "Operations will be extended in a pragmatic manner within current logistical and funding constraints ... These operations [in family quartering areas] are extensions of ongoing provincial programmes and are complementary to government programmes," OCHA said. In addition, humanitarian partners were working in close collaboration with government authorities to accelerate the resettlement and return of those displaced by the war to their homes or to safe areas. It was reported in a JMC confidential report about two weeks ago that the number of weapons being handed over at the cantonment areas was a cause for concern. However, UNITA members in the commission attributed the low number of registered weapons, to the fact that many of their soldiers were being transported to the cantonment areas by the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA) and were unable to take more than just their rifles with them. One UN security expert, however, said that it seemed as though UNITA was holding back - waiting first to see whether the process was handled properly. But most observers and commentators in Angola agree that UNITA does not have the capacity to restart the war, even if they do hang onto some of their weapons. "They do not have access to money or other resources to go back to war," one diplomatic source said. "UNITA soldiers are in no condition to continue fighting a bush war," said another. Their comments seem to be corroborated by fieldworker reports, which indicate high levels of malnutrition among soldiers. In fact the JMC report said that at least 86 people in the family quartering areas had died in the first half of May as a result of malnutrition, and that some soldiers were in a severely weakened state on arrival at the quartering sites. One elderly man who made his way to a quartering area in Sambo in the central province of Huambo, told IRIN last week that to his knowledge 20 soldiers had died at the site between 30 April (when he arrived) and 16 May. "The soldiers are happy the war is over. They don't want to fight anymore. But they do not feel they have lost the war. They just feel there was an agreement between UNITA and the government ... Really their conditions are very bad, and in the camps they have no blankets, soap and food," he said. The man, who did not want his name published, was trucked with other soldiers' families to a nutritional feeding centre run by the NGO CONCERN in central Huambo. He was at the centre with a young malnourished child who needed medical help desperately. Another woman who was taken to the nutritional centre from the same quartering site told IRIN that when she arrived at the site with her soldier husband there was nothing there. "Now they [the government] are distributing food for soldiers and their families. When we arrived at the quartering area there was nothing. We had to collect our own food. After this, food and some other things arrived, but there are very few goods," she explained. According to the woman, soldiers were each being given rations 1kg of rice, a small tin of fish, a small piece of dried fish and half-a-kilo of maize for 10 days. This ration was doubled for families situated in the nearby family area, she said. The government has since asked for international assistance to provide humanitarian aid in the family areas. But the soldiers themselves are not being helped directly yet, except with supplies from the government. The Angolan government and UNITA have so far described the quartering process as successful. However, there is growing concern that a lack of food, medicines and other assistance could lead to banditry - and to more deaths. The government is hoping to keep soldiers and their families at the quartering sites for a maximum of six months before trying to return as many people as possible to their homes, and to incorporate 5,000 UNITA soldiers into the FAA.

UNITA welcomes suspension of travel sanctions (Irin, 22/05) - The Angolan opposition group UNITA has welcomed the lifting of a United Nations travel ban on it members, saying that the move is long overdue and will facilitate the party's political reorganisation. The Security Council lifted the ban for three months on Friday, but other sanctions against the former rebel movement remain in place until such time that Angola's peace process is consolidated, the resolution said. General Lukamba Gato, head of UNITA's management committee, told IRIN on Tuesday that the move would enable UNITA to organise a congress and to elect a new leadership in the near future. "The decision of the Security Council is welcomed because it now makes UNITA equal with its partner in the peace process and with other political parties ... This will free the party so that it can compete in order to find equality with other parties concerning the election programme," he said. UNITA has been waiting for the ban to be lifted so that its internal and external wings, can meet to elect a new president and decide how to tackle a new election expected to take place in the second half of 2004.

Bie government to resettle 100,000 displaced people (ANGOP, 21/05) - The government of Angola's central Bie province is expecting to resettle some 100,000 displaced people currently concentrated in Kuito city and the surrounding areas. Local social welfare director Isabel Afonso said the resettlement should be carried out jointly with Angolan and foreign non-governmental organizations. The provincial director for planning, Jorge Assafe, told ANGOP that they will contribute some two million US Dollars to be invested in farming, health, education and reconstruction of social infrastructure at the resettlement areas.

South Africans looking for oil business (ANGOP, 16/05) - A South African delegation of businesses arrived Wednesday in Luanda for talks with Angolan authorities associated with the oil sector in an attempt to find business opportunities in the country. The delegation comprising some 20 businessmen expressed the wish to provide services to oil companies operating in Angola. The South African delegation is ending its visit to Angola on Saturday, May 18. South Africa is southern Africa's strongest potential investor.

Immigration wants tighter border control (ANGOP, 13/05) - The Angolan immigration office (SME) has defended the need for reinforcing and protecting the country`s borders with a view to controlling illegal immigration. Official statistics say Angola has nearly 300,000 illegal foreigners. Gathered in its Consultative Council 8th meeting, that closed on Thursday, the SME recommended a tighter control on the borders, so that the illegal immigrants are sent back home at the Border Posts, instead of passing through Luanda. Addressing the closing ceremony, the Home Affairs Deputy Minister, Sebastiao Martins, said that the Ministry is engaged in the restoraton and outfitting of all Border Posts. SME, a body under the guardianship of the Home Ministry, was set up in April 1975 and is tasked with controlling the entry, exit and stay of foreigners, as well as the issue of travel documents, such as passports and safe-conducts.

Over 42,000 UNITA soldiers quartered (ANGOP, 09/05) - A total 42,928 UNITA troops have been quartered at 35 pre-defined areas countrywide representing 78 percent of the 50,000 expected, Gen. Francisco Furtado, a member of the Joint Military Commission (JMC) told MPs in Luanda. Addressing the National Assembly on the Memorandum of Understanding complementing Lusaka Protocol, Francisco Furtado informed that 78,564 family members of UNITA soldiers have also been sheltered with another 6,929 troops and 5,390 relatives expected to reach the quartering places by May 12. The General also announced that 474 of the 519 Congolese and Rwandan soldiers predicted have been quartered too. Gen. Francisco Furtado informed that an inter-ministerial commission was established to secure the quartering and sheltering process, mainly in providing humanitarian assistance to some 55,000 UNITA military and 300,000 of their relatives. He acknowledged some delays in the arrival of supplies to the quartering areas in the first days but, he said, the problem was solved through using stocks from the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA) for 13 days. Currently, quartered soldiers and their relatives are receiving a regular supply in food every 30 days in packages consisting of rice, cooking oil, maize flour, salt and dry fish, as well as tents, farming tools, seeds, fertilizers, used clothes and blankets. According to Gen. Furtado, new supplies imported by the government will be reaching the country in the coming 15 days to improve assistance in the quartering areas. JMC started activity on April 5 and is formed by military experts from FAA and UNITA Military Forces witnessed by United Nations observers and members of the Troika of Observers (Russia, Portugal and the United States). The quartering of UNITA troops is part of the above mentioned memo of understanding formally signed on April 4 in Luanda between FAA and UNITA rebels.

Botswana

Don't discourage nurses from taking posts abroad, says official (BOPA, 29/05) - An official of the Botswana Congress Party (BCP) says nurses should not be discouraged from taking up posts abroad because the country stands to benefit from their engagement. Nzwaligwa Nzwaligwa, who is former Selebi-Phikwe mayor, told a political rally at Botshabelo, over the weekend, that it is futile for government to try to retain the nurses by increasing their wages as what it offers will never match what they stand to get from outside the country. Consequently, the country should be proud that it produces nurses who have the qualifications and experience to work abroad. Also, their departure will not only create openings for other unemployed Batswana, but will also enable them to gain additional experience and expertise. Nzwaligwa also urged Batswana to be careful and responsible when choosing parties, adding that the BCP is ready to take over power and start addressing the problems facing Batswana. Earlier, Keetile Malatsi said Batswana are poor and can not afford to pay school fees when the cost sharing is introduced in education, adding that the proposal will make education inaccessible to children of the poor. Kosy Mashaba argued that high poverty and the worsening HIV/AIDS situation in the country is likely to make the goals of Vision 2016 impossible. Also, Vision 2016 is bound to fail due to lack of commitment, as it was formulated to gain political mileage. For his part, BCP vice president Gil Saleshando complained about lack of coverage by the government media, adding that the strategy to promote the BNF at the expense of his party will fail because both the BNF and BDP will continue to disintegrate because of infighting and weak leadership.

Stop harbouring illegal immigrants to save public funds, says councillor (BOPA, 28/05) - Councillor Drill Kgwatalala of Bobonong has appealed to Batswana to stop harbouring illegal immigrants so the government could save funds it spends on their repatriation. Some people concealed such immigrants because they paid them low wages as housemaids and herdboys, she said. Even though it was hard to find reliable Batswana herdboys and maids, they should at least hire aliens legally to avoid problems, she added. Kgwatalala, who was addressing a kgotla meeting at Mosalakwane lands , told her audience that from June 1, foreigners would be paying P20 and P120 medical fees while Batswana must produce Omang cards before they could be treated. She warned that if they continued hiding illegal immigrants, they would not only be forced to pay for their medical treatment but risked prosecution as well. Kgwatalala urged the community to co-operate with the police in the fight against crime. For their part, residents briefed the councillor on drought, which has affected the area, saying the foot and mouth disease outbreak in Matsiloje area has worsened the situation, as they could no longer sell their livestock. They said even though they had ploughed livestock, especially matimela and quealia birds, had destroyed their crops. Meanwhile, the farmers association committee raised concern about the farmers who neglected to fence their fields after being supplied with the fencing materials through government schemes. Residents appealed to government to re-introduce the drought relief programme so they could build crushes (megotlha) with poles and erect drifts across streams along the Bobonong/Tobane road. They commended their councillor for the culverts, which have been erected at rivers along the same road, saying government should go a step further and construct a bridge at the Lekopong River. In response, Kgwatalala urged the farmers association committee to ensure that assistance schemes were utilised. On the issue of a bridge, she said because council was unable to construct bridges, their request would be referred to central government.

Police probing 59 drivers with questionable licences obtained in Namibia (BOPA, 27/05) - In what appears to be a massive scam, Ghanzi police are investigating 59 drivers with questionable licences obtained from Namibia. Three Ghanzi local police officers are also implicated in the scam that has also seen the confiscation of three licences from two council drivers and a Charleshill local police sub-inspector. Ghanzi Central Police Station Commander Victor Nlebesi says their investigations have revealed that two of the local police officers are sub-inspectors while the third is a constable. Nlebesi has appealed to everyone who has obtained a driver’ licence in Namibia to come to them in order to avoid inconveniences in the future. Meanwhile, Ghanzi Local Police Station Commander Moitsiemang Moruntshi says he has heard about the rumour, but could not comment because he has not received any official report. However, he said disciplinary action will be taken against those involved because it is a criminal offence. Central Transport Organisation (CTO) Inspector Raphael Ramatu said they do not have any power to withdraw CTO licences from their drivers unless the courts have confiscated their national licences.

Minister urges international community to be realistic about Botswana's elephant herd (Botswana Gazette, 27/05) - Foreign Affairs Minister, Lt. Gen. Mompati Merafhe has appealed to the international community to look at Botswana’s elephant population problem differently from similar problems in other SADC member countries. Merafhe says while the international community has a moral responsibility to be concerned about the preservation of elephants, it is equally important that they should demonstrate their appreciation of the problems facing Botswana on the same subject matter. He was speaking at the just ended Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) meeting in Kasane where he was re-elected Chairman for the second year in a row. The Minister said while Botswana has spared no effort in protecting her elephant herd, the largest in Southern Africa so far, he was concerned by the international community’s lack of appreciation of the problems facing his country. Explaining the history of Botswana’s huge elephant population (estimated at more than 79,000), Merafhe said it was through the country’s commitment to the preservation of its wildlife that this was achieved. However, while this may be a success story, the time has now come for the issue to be looked at in the context of the immeasurable and costly devastation that the elephants continue to have on the very habitat on which they depend for survival. Merafhe said upon realizing the impact of such a large herd on Botswana’s fragile ecosystem, Botswana offered any country to feel free to capture and translocate the elephants if they needed them. In spite of this, however, no country seems to be prepared orwilling to assist in the capture and translocation of the elephants. Appealing to the international community’s intervention, Merafhe said Botswana’s problem should be treated differently because of the unbearable costs of having such large herds of elephants. So far Botswana has been footing the bill whenever elephants have been translocated anywhere else in the region. Merafhe said as Botswana’s elephant population continues to grow in leaps and bounds, the country will continue to fight hard for the controlled utilisation of elephant products. He said owing to their destructive nature and their gross feeding habits, the elephant population now threatens the very ecosystem that they need to survive. Botswana’s concerns are also shared by Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa. For many years now, these four have been fighting unwavering international opposition to be down listed from CITES Appendix one to Appendix two to allow controlled utilisation of their elephant species, particularly culling. "We would urge you to use this opportunity to find Out more about the issue of elephants in this region so that at the next CITES your countries will find it not difficult to appreciate the difficulties that the current regime on elephants poses on countries such as mine” Merafhe told delegates.

Commentary on land issues in Botswana (Mail & Guardian, 24/05) - Botswana has one of the most progressive and successful land policies in Southern Africa. Part of the reason for this is that upon independence Botswana did not inherit the same kinds of problems that South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia did - notably, the massive land ownership inequalities that were a result of the dispossession of African populations by European settlers. However, the success of Botswana's land policy also stems from its innovative features and its decidedly pro-poor bearing. The latter is nowhere more obvious than in the official principle that every Batswana has a right to land for residential and agricultural purposes. Within customary tenure areas, which comprise 79% of all land and are controlled through a decentralised system of locally elected land boards, land is allocated free. This is not to say that Botswana has no land problems. Indeed it does, and they are becoming more acute. In 1991 the government of Botswana appointed the presidential commission into land problems in Mogoditshane and other peri-urban areas. Mogoditshane is the largest peri-urban settlement around Gaborone, by far the largest city in Botswana. The purpose of the commission was to try to identify the causes of the growing squatter problem in the vicinity of Gaborone and other cities and to recommend a course of action to resolve the problem. The commission found two processes at work. On the one hand, the drift of people out of the agricultural sector was contributing to rapid rural-to-urban migration. On the other hand, the government's various administrative systems were not able to keep pace with the demand for urban and peri-urban plots, not to mention housing. Whatever the extent of the problem was in the early 1990s when the commission started its work, it is more serious today. Over the past 10 years the population of Gaborone proper has increased by 39%, while the population of the peri-urban areas surrounding Gaborone has increased by a phenomenal 90%. About one-third of the population of greater Gaborone resides in the peri-urban fringe. Despite the abundance of land in the country as a whole, land scarcity has emerged in those areas where people believe there are job prospects, particularly in and around Gaborone. Consequently, in contradiction to the policy of free land allocations in communal areas, a market has developed for land in those areas that abut city boundaries. It is largely an illegal market. A typical illegal transaction is where a person holding an agricultural plot in the peri-urban fringe divides it up and sells the sub-divisions for residential purposes. By law land-holders in customary areas do not own the land, but rather hold it in terms of customary rights. These rights can be transferred from one person to another, but in principle all that can be sold are the developments on the land and not the land itself. The land, after all, is the common heritage of all Batswana, which is why it is allocated free in the first place. However, those holding agricultural plots in the peri-urban fringe increasingly recognise the market value of the land because of its location, and prefer to sell it illegally to those in need of residential sites rather than accept the relatively meagre compensation offered by the land boards. They are assisted in this by a growing number of estate agents who each month openly advertise plots for sale in Mogoditshane and other peri-urban villages. What is evidenced by the evolution of these land markets is not only a clash of principles - between government-administered allocation and control on the one hand, and open-market allocation on the other - but also a shift in people's thinking about what it means to "own" land. The government is unhappy with the pattern of settlement being established by these illegal sales. Indeed, there are causes for concern. Haphazard settlement complicates the provision of services, for example, electricity, water and sewerage. Also, haphazard settlement may not be optimally spaced. Towards the late 1990s attention became focused on about 5000 "illegal squatter" households in Mogoditshane, principally people who had moved on to what had been formally designated agricultural land. According to government officials, the space occupied by these 5000 households would have been sufficient to accommodate 20000 to 25000 households had it been settled according to a rational plan. However, according to research conducted by the Botswana Council of Non-Governmental Organisations (Bocongo) and the Botswana Christian Council, most of these households have pending applications for land with the local land board, and most of these were submitted years ago. It must also be pointed out that these 5 000 households represent between a third and half of all of the households in Mogoditshane, and about 6% of all households in the greater Gaborone area. Last year the government commenced with demolitions of the homes of these squatters. So far about half of the 5000 squatters' homes have been demolished. There has been widespread criticism of the government, not only for the sometimes callous and arbitrary manner in which the demolitions have been undertaken, but for the inadequacies of the land allocation system that contributed to the squatter problem in the first place. Under the umbrella of Bocongo and the Forum on Sustainable Agriculture, funded by the Southern African Regional Poverty Network, a symposium was held recently in Gaborone to discuss the demolitions and to improve the dialogue between civil society and the government in respect of land policy. In fact, there was a surprising amount of common ground: it is important to maintain the rule of law; it is necessary to create mechanisms to better accommodate low-income households needing access to land for residential purposes close to urban areas; and to the extent squatters exist already, they will probably have to be removed, albeit in a humane way. What was far less clear was exactly how the country's land policy should be amended in order to manage land pressures more successfully. In particular, no way forward was identified to resolve the clash of principles, that is between government control over allocation on the one hand and market forces on the other. In comparison with South Africa, the scale of Botswana's peri-urban land problems are small, almost minute. But apart from scale, and some important aspects of tenure systems, the problems are much the same. As we approach the one-year anniversary of the Bredell land invasion on the outskirts of Johannesburg, South Africa has yet to resolve its own version of these issues. Richard Humphries is coordinator of the Southern African Regional Poverty Network, hosted by the Human Sciences Research Council in Pretoria

UNHCR to build houses for Angolan refugees (BOPA, 23/05) - United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) has financed the construction of houses for 11 of 36 Angolan refugees who have been given Botswana citizenship.Under secretary (political affairs) in the Office of the President, Edward Ralelobana told BOPA, Monday, that a request has been made to the UNHCR headquarters in Geneva for more funds to build houses for the rest of the group. The interview followed a letter which the refugees have written to the Dukwi councillor, Mmapula Maja, requesting her to assist end their suffering following their removal from the Dukwi Refugee Camp to be integrated into the Dukwi community in 1996. In the letter, they accused the UNHCR and government of failing to providing for their upkeep after they lost the right to such provisions after being moved out of the camp. They say they were advised to apply for citizenship so that they could benefit from government assistance schemes, but up to now their citizenship has not been confirmed. They said two-roomed houses and toilets were built for only 11 of them, while the rest suffer due to lack of accommodation. Maja confirmed the problems faced by the Angolans, adding that they need urgent assistance. However, Ralelobana said they have submitted a list of more than 200 Angolan refugees to the Ministry of Home Affairs for citizenship consideration. He said his office takes the matter seriously and will give it the urgency it deserves so that the Angolans gain Botswana citizenship and qualify for employment like other citizens. This include giving the list to President Festus Mogae to give authority for the refugees to be given citizenship. The integration of refugees into communities of asylum states is one of the United Nations, durable solutions towards ending the refugee crisis in the world.

South Africans suspected of night watchman's murder (Botswana Gazette, 22/05) - Two South Africans, Thami Nyambe {24} and Sthembiso Shezi {30} and a local man, Edward Mafoko Fiki {31} from Mmankgodi, were last week arrested following the death of a night watchman in Thamaga.The three are suspects in the fatal shooting of the 40-year-old guard at Ramaphatlhe near Thamaga two weeks ago where he was guarding a shop.According to Senior Superintendent Matlo of the Molepolole Police, the police a pistol was used in the murder.”We are still waiting for reports from various police station to establish whether the suspects may be wanted in connection with other criminal activities,” he told The Gazette.The three men were scheduled to appear before magistrate Peggy Hamoonga in Molepolole. Meanwhile a Molepolole supermarket was robbed of P24 000 recently. Matlo appealed to business people to bank their proceeds every day to make it difficult for thieves to steal large sums of money.

Residents welcome establishment of tourism board (BOPA, 22/05) - Residents of Sankoyo, Shorobe, Seronga and Shakawe in the North West District have welcomed the proposed establishment of a tourism board. Speaking in kgotla meetings addressed by a parliamentary committee on foreign affairs, trade and security, residents said the board must not exist in name only but should be empowered to make binding decisions. The parliamentary committee chaired by Mmadinare MP Ponatshego Kedikilwe, is consulting Batswana on the proposed establishment of a tourism board that will regulate, market and promote tourism locally and internationally. Residents said the board must also ensure Batswana are availed an opportunity to enter the tourism industry, as it is presently controlled by foreigners. The residents, who said they appreciate the importance of tourism in the economy of the country, said the board must ensure that Batswana are trained, given land and financial support to enter the lucrative industry. They said Batswana should be involved in the tourism industry as it is based on their natural resources. Some people who have been given exclusive rights to land were now treating and controlling those concession areas as a state within a state, complained the residents, adding that they are ill-treated, denied entry to some places and are considered second class citizens in their own country. They also said flights into the country’s national parks and the Okavango Delta must be monitored and controlled, as they suspect that some of the airstrips are used to smuggle live animals and trophies out of the country. The residents of the four villages said membership to the board must be based on merit for it to be efficient and effective and that communities must be represented. Other members of the parliamentary committee are MP for Maun/Chobe, Bahiti Temane, MP for Gaborone West, Robert Molefhabangwe, nominated MP Shirley Segokgo, the MP for Ngwaketse West Michael Tshipinare and the leader of the opposition Kenneth Koma. The parliamentary committee urged the residents to conserveand guard their natural resources. They also advised the residents to be courteous when dealing with tourists, but they should not allow them to ride roughshod over them. They were encouraged to report those tourists who deface or destroy artefacts. The residents were also encouraged to pass their skills to the younger generation and promote cultural tourism.

Non-citizens to pay full medical fees at all Botswana health facilities (BOPA, 16/05) - Non-citizens will from next month be charged full consultation fees on medical services at all government-supported health facilities unlike Batswana who will continue to be charged only P2. The Ministry of Health says in a statement that a non-citizen will be charged P20 on consultation by a nurse, P30 by a medical officer and P50 by a specialist. It says a P60 charge will be imposed on a non-citizen admitted to a general ward per day, including maternity ward. Private wards will cost P120 per day. Children under the age of 12 will be charged half fees for consultation and admission and they will be charged cost price for drugs and dressings. The ministry urges citizens to produce their identity cards at health facilities for smooth implementation of the directive. Children under 16 will be expected to produce their guardians’ identity cards as well as evidence that they are bona fide guardians in the form of a birth certificate or a letter from the chief or district commissioner. Non-citizens will also be expected to produce a valid identity card.

Company slams government for favouring foreign products (BOPA, 13/05) - A paint manufacturing company in Serowe has complained about the tendency of government and councils to import things that they can buy locally. Moji Motalaote, chairperson of Mmabesi, stated that the two institutions should be at the forefront of the “Buy Botswana” campaign, but are instead working against it. She expressed fear that many Batswana owned companies will collapse if government departments and councils do not change their attitude and start supporting local industries. She stated that her group is still in the formative stage and is in desperate need of tenders. It has requested tenders without success from the Central District Council to supply paint that is used for painting primary schools. It has tried selling to local wholesales, but they too prefer imported paint.However, Motalaote said they will persevere as “Rome was not built in a day.” Mmabesi was established by 13 women who grouped themselves and applied for a Financial Assistance Policy (FAP) loan. They operate from “Boiteko” at Newtown in the old rondavels that were used by Serowe Brigade opposite Rasebolai Post Office.

I never lost my Botswana citizenship, says Presidential advisor (Botswana Gazette, 8/05) - President Mogaes Special Advisor, Sidney Pilane, has differed with Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs, Kingsley Sebele over the interpretation of the Citizenship Act. This follows Presidential Affairs Minister, Daniel Kwelagobes announcement in parliament that his investigations have revealed that Pilane renounced his South African citizenship in March this year, long after he was appointed Special Advisor to President Mogae. While Pilane says there is nothing in the Citizenship Act prohibiting him from being a citizen of another country while keeping Botswana citizenship, Sebele says Botswana laws do not allow dual citizenship. Sebele says had his Ministry known in advance that Pilane was a citizen of both Botswana and South Africa, he would have been served with a Ministerial order depriving him of Botswana citizenship. “That is the essence of the law. If we become aware of dual citizenship, we immediately take away that of Botswana. For example, one cannot be a Motswana and a Namibian all at the same time,” he said. According to Sebele the exception is when one attains citizenship of another country through marriage, which he said is a different matter.But Pilane says that is a “fallacy”. While conceding that he was a citizen of both Botswana and South Africa at the time of his appointment, Pilane is adamant that there was nothing wrong in holding dual citizenship. “So far as I am concerned, the debate concerning my citizenship is a discussion in which I have not participated and am not prepared to participate because in it results from witch?hunt. I have always been a citizen of Botswana and at no time have I lost that citizenship,” he said. In an interview with The Gazette, Pilane maintained he never acted against the laws of Botswana and as such never lost the protection of his citizenship through those same laws. He said even when he was working in South Africa a few years ago he never renounced his Botswana citizenship, a view Sebele rejected. “If its true Pilane knew what the law said when he went to South Africa, but still went ahead and attained South African citizenship, then he was prepared to risk his Botswana citizenship because had we known, the Minister would have invoked his powers and deprived him of the Botswana citizenship. We do not allow dual citizenship in Botswana under any circumstances,” he said. He, however, conceded there is a loophole in the Citizenship Act which some people have exploited to attain dual citizenship. This happens in the case where a citizen of Botswana goes to another country and gets citizenship of that country without notifying the authorities in Botswana. “I do not agree that it is a loophole. It is law and we cannot interpret it on the basis of what some one supposes it should be,” Pilane said. The Ministry is working on tightening the law to fully eliminate all chances of Batswana over 21 years from holding citizenship of other countries at the same time. The Citizenship Act of 1998 says “Any person who is a citizen of Botswana and also a citizen of another country shall upon the attainment of the age of 21 years cease to be a citizen of Botswana unless such a person has immediately before the attainment of the age of 21 years renounced the citizenship of that other country, taken the full oath of allegiance, and made such declaration of intentions concerning residence as may be prescribed.

Legal case of disabled child schooling in Zimbabwe (BOPA, 10/05) - Lobatse High Court judge Justice Richard Horn has decided to reinstate the case in which Eitlhopha Mosinyi wants the court to direct the Ministry of Education to sponsor her 17-year-old mentally disabled grandson at Sir Hamphrey Gibbs School in Zimbabwe. The case is to be heard on May 21. “I have decided to recall the case to be heard so that the disabled child could be helped in his difficulty,” said Justice Horn when explaining his decision to recall the matter after striking it off the roll on Monday because Mosinyi had not followed the right procedures when filling the case. In her fresh papers, which she served on the respondents on Monday, Mosinyi wanted the case heard on May 10. But Counsel Tefo Bogosi, from the Attorney General’s Chambers, applied for a postponement so he could study the case, saying he was only assigned the matter at short notice. Although Mosinyi opposed the postponement, saying time was running out for Mahli, Justice Horn agreed with the state counsel and set the matter for May 21. He advised Mosinyi, who is appearing in person, to file the answering affidavit quickly to give the respondent enough time to peruse the document. Mosinyi said the other reason why she opposed the postponement was because the closing date for accepting children at Sir Hamphrey Gibbs was May 31. She said if Mahli missed the deadline the school would never accept him because he would have turned 18 years next year. Earlier, Justice Horn said it was not clear to him as to what could be done, in terms of the laws of Botswana whether customary or modern, to help the child because of the psychological report he had read about his condition. He said Mosinyi’s grandson was not considered a child, in terms of the Botswana Children act, because he was over 14 years. He explained that the Act only covers children under 14. He said Mosinyi, in her papers, referred to the Disabled Children’s Convention and not the Botswana Children Act. However, he said he was not sure as to whether Botswana had signed the convention. Mosinyi told the court that there was no institution in Botswana that the child could be admitted to. She said the only one was in Zimbabwe where Mahli was admitted for only one term and dropped because of financial constraints. It, however, transpired that the Ministry of Education has never approved the Zimbabwean school nor assessed and registered as appropriate for children like Mahli. Bogosi explained to the court that the ministry has since formulated guidelines regarding training of children with disability outside the country. He said the guidelines required the child to be assessed by a psychologist to determine whether he/she was trainable and educable. He also informed the court that Mahli’s parents had long been asked to take the child to the Central Resource Centre in Gaborone for therapy once a week for six months so the child could pass the assessment, but that had not been done yet. Bogosi stated that the ministry had identified a school for disabled children in Johannesburg, South Africa, where it places the children. He said some children who were ahead of Mahli on the waiting list had long been sent there. He mentioned that Mahli’s name was 23rd out of the 50 on the waiting list. If Mahli passed the assessment, the ministry would send him there.

Francistown residents blame Zimbabwe immigrants for high crime rate (BOPA, 08/05) - Francistown residents have blamed illegal immigrants from Zimbabwe for the high crime rate in the city and asked government to do something about it. Speaking in a kgotla meeting addressed by Francistown East MP, Joy Phumaphi last week, residents of Central ward said customary courts are overwhelmed by crime cases involving illegal immigrants from Zimbabwe. Donga Customary Court President, Kind Sebinyane told the meeting that most of the cases involve shop lifting, adding that they mete out corporal punishment to male offenders, but have problems dealing with female offenders. Other issues discussed at the meeting included dumping of garbage on undeveloped, harbouring of illegal immigrants by Batswana, illegal trading by Zimbabweans in the Francistown mall, dark streets, untarred roads and stray dogs in the city. In response Phumaphi blamed Batswana for encouraging illegal immigrants by providing them with accommodation and market for their goods. She promised to talk to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lt. Gen. Mompati Merafhe about the influx of illegal immigrants from Zimbabwe into Botswana and commended the Botswana Police for their efforts in combating crime in the country. She explained that council bye-law enforcement officers have powers to impound stray dogs, but noted that they do not have a place to keep them. Deputy City Mayor, Angelina Sengalo explained that street lights that are not working in Somerset extension will be repaired after the contractor engaged in the Sewerage Master Plan has moved out of site. Councillor Sengalo said some council clinics cannot operate 24 hours due to shortage of staff, adding that council has addressed the squatter problem and would now turn its attention to the 18 000 people on SHHA waiting list. She promised Somerset Extension residents that council would assist them to remove scrap vehicles from their yards.

Botswana population confirmed to be 1.6m (BOPA, 08/05) - Botswana population has increased from 1.3 in 1991 to 1.6 last year. The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has released the final results of the 2001 census showing that the population increased from 1 326 796 in 1991 to 1 680 863. Government statistician Guest Charumbira said at the launch of a report on "Population of Towns, Villages and Associated Localities" that this represented a 2.39 per cent increase." The report gives details of all settlements and is sufficient for the delimitation commission," he said.Charumbira said up to August, they would be releasing figures on mortality and fertility rates, adding that although there had been a rise in the mortality rate "it is not as dramatic and as severe as has been expressed in some quarters". He said that life expectancy had dropped to 56.7 years from 65 years but not as low as reported by some international organisations. The government statistician said the census count had not diverted much from the 1991 census estimates, implying that the projections were fairly accurate. Charumbira said the 2001 census was processed much faster because of the collaboration with the private sector, adding that producing a report "eight months after the count is very efficient". The figures show an increase in urbanisation with the population of Gaborone rising from 133 468 in 1991 to 186 007 last year, and Francistown from 65 244 to 83 023. Population density in Gaborone and Francistown grew from 790 to 1 101 and 826 to 1051 people per square km respectively; whereas nationally it is between two to three persons. Some villages around the two cities also grew, resulting in peri-urban areas acting as dormitories for urban centres a pointer to rural urban movement by the population. For example, Mogoditshane grew from 14 246 to 32 843 but excludes the over 5 000 at Sir Seretse Khama Barracks; Mmopane 1 249 to 3512; Tlokweng 12 501 to 21 133, and Morope 519 to 1 456. Those around Francistwon are Borolong 1 257 to 3 003; Tati Siding 2 402 to 4 375, and Tonota 11 129 to 15 617. For big villages - Molepolole has the largest population from 32 390 to 54 561 followed by Maun from 26 768 to 43 776; and Serowe from 30 264 to 42 444.Kanye rose from 31 354 to 40 628 and 25 542 to 36 962 for Mochudi. Although the population of foreigners is not yet available, Charumbira said in 1991 it was about 29 000 and was not expected to have doubled. He said it was difficult to capture those who entered the country illegally and that officials depended on the foreigners to give them the right information about their status.

Tribalism is fuelled by some Batswana, says MP (BOPA, 02/05) - Unlike some people who accused the government and statutory books of fuelling tribalism, the MP for Gaborone West, Robert Molefhabangwe, does not. Instead, he told Parliament on Monday that he believed there was tribalism, which was not promoted by the government but by some Batswana who are jealous, hated each other and were disrespectful. Commenting to the debate on the revised draft white paper on the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into sections 77-79 of the Constitution, Molefhabangwe quoted some documents among them from Pitso Ya Batswana, which he said encouraged tribalism. He said such behaviour should therefore be condemned because it could lead to a civil war, as it was the case in other countries. He expressed some difficulties in supporting the revised draft White Paper because it has failed to address the issue of equality among tribes. He said people need equality in the true sense of the word. This could be achieved when all chiefs are enthroned, he said, adding that the fact that other chiefs would go to Ntlo ya Dikgosi as ex-officio members while others will be elected shows inequality. Another point that Molefhabangwe raised was on the Tribal Territories Act, which demarcates the country on tribal basis. Therefore, it would be pointless to increase the number of dikgosi while the act is not amended as it indicates that there is one kgosi under one territory. He said some tribes will continue to feel discriminated against as long as dikgosi are remunerated on the basis of their tribes as the law stipulates. Instead of pleasing other tribes, the government should try to unite the nation and come up with an idea that would not put some people at loggerheads. Molefhabangwe said government was entrenching colonialism as dikgosi have long lost their duties such as tax collection to the government. He said because of colonialism, regiments and the tradition of announcing the ploughing season have faded. Satar Dada, specially elected MP, said citizen economic empowerment should be given the same platform as Sections 77-79 of the constitution. He said it was time, sufficient time was allocated to the debate on the issue. "We need to make a political decision on economic empowerment because we are very shy when it comes to it. Batswana need jobs. They want a fair share of what they are entitled to. "As we empower people (chiefs) in Section 77, 78 and 79, let us economically empower Batswana on the same way." Dada regretted that Batswana were left behind in several fields among them the construction industry as tenders were mostly given to Chinese companies, which were subsidised by the Chinese government. Batswana should therefore not be expected to compete with such companies because they get loans with high interest rates. Dada, however, applauded Batswana for the manner in which they handled the debate on tribalism. Otherwise, the issue has the potential to ruin the peace and stability that the nation has long enjoyed. "As a nation we should be proud of our consultative machinery and for the way we handled this issue as we made the spirit of nation building a priority," he said. Dada said it was unfortunate that everyone can not be happy. He emphasised the need for a compromise for the sake of peace and stability.

DRC

Storm clouds over congo peace process - vital roles for President Mbeki and the UN (Brussels, International Crisis Group, 14/05) - The Inter-Congolese dialogue held at Sun City in South Africa, which lasted more than seven weeks, finally produced a partial agreement on a transition government for the Democratic Republic of Congo on 19 April. After years of war, the accord reached between President Joseph Kabila and Jean-Pierre Bemba of the MLC (Mouvement pour la libération du Congo) marks an important new political alignment. However ICG's Africa program Co-Director Fabienne Hara said: "Despite the agreement, the negotiations are far from complete and the future of the Democratic Republic of Congo remains uncertain. The talks left the RCD (Rassemblement congolais pour la Démocratie) and its military ally Rwanda isolated, threatening renewed hostilities and even partition. Strong international leadership will be essential to reach an all-inclusive agreement". A new ICG report, Storm Clouds Over Sun City: The Urgent Need to Recast the Congolese Peace Process (the report is only available in French at the moment, a translation of the Executive Summary is attached), calls for South African President Thabo Mbeki to be entrusted with mediating the conclusion of the Inter-Congolese dialogue, but only upon agreement of all the Congolese parties. At the same time the South African leader should be given a mandate to obtain a preliminary accord with the countries that have occupied the Congo (Rwanda, Uganda, Angola and Zimbabwe) on support for the transitional government and withdrawal of their troops. The Sun City talks, while not conclusive, have put important issues on the table - notably Rwanda's security and the broader economic and security topics at the heart of the conflict. United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan is, therefore, urged to appoint a new high-profile Special Envoy to supervise the implementation of the political transition, to ensure cooperation between the various UN institutions involved in Rwanda and in the Congolese peace process (ICTR, MONUC, the expert panel on the illegal exploitation of natural resources in the DRC), and to establish the framework for a conference to conclude a security pact between the states of the Great Lakes region. iCG Central Africa Project Director Dr Francois Grignon said: "Now is the time to press forward on the disarmament of the Rwanda Hutu militias based in the DRC, as well as the withdrawal of the RPA (Rwandan Patriotic Army) from the DRC itself. A UN Special Envoy would play a key role in this, and in helping to address the long-term security of the region, especially the reconstruction of the Congolese state and the rights and responsibilities of that state".

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS
After seven weeks of negotiations at Sun City, a partial agreement was reached on 19 April 2002 between Jean-Pierre Bemba's MLC (Mouvement pour la libération du Congo) and the government of Joseph Kabila. The agreement represents the end of the Inter-Congolese Dialogue in the context of the Lusaka peace accords. However confusion reigns. The negotiations are not complete and the future of the Democratic Republic of Congo remains uncertain. The accord, struck by the majority of delegates from unarmed opposition groups and civil society, and approved by Angola, Uganda and Zimbabwe, is the beginning of a political realignment in the DRC conflict. Most notably it heralds the end of the anti-Kabila coalition and confirms the isolation of the RCD (Rassemblement congolais pour la Démocratie) and its ally Rwanda. The Kabila government and the MLC actually concluded the accord by default, due to the intransigence of the RCD on the question of power sharing in Kinshasa, and, in the background, the failed negotiations between the governments of the DRC and Rwanda over the disarmament of the Hutu rebels known as ALiR (Armée pour la libération du Rwanda). This accord transformed the discussions between the Lusaka signatories into a bilateral negotiation with a Kabila-Bemba axis backed by the international community on one side, and a politically weak RCD, backed by a militarily strong Rwanda on the other. The new partners announced that they would install a transition government in Kinshasa on 15 June, declared the Lusaka accords 'dead' but committed themselves to continuing negotiations with the RCD and Rwanda. The RCD, its cohesion and existence threatened, tried to break its isolation by forming an alliance with the UDPS (Union pour la démocratie et le progrès social) of Etienne Tshisekedi, and is talking up threats of renewed hostilities and partition of the country. It is highly desirable that negotiations with the RCD be finalised before the transition government is installed. President Mbeki of South Africa, as next president of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) and of the African Union (AU), should become joint leader of the process, on condition that he receives a clear mandate from the parties to the dialogue and from the regional countries that have given their support to the Kabila-Bemba partnership, i.e. Angola and Uganda. The neutrality of South Africa has indeed been questioned by the Congolese who were stung by its apparent support for the RCD at Sun City. The Sun City talks may also mark the beginning of a real regional discussion on the security and economic issues at the heart of the Congolese conflict. In particular, the issue of Rwanda's security is finally on the table - the disarmament of the Rwanda Hutu militias based in the DRC - as well as the issue of the Congo's security - the withdrawal of the RPA (Rwandan Patriotic Army) from the DRC itself. These are both part of the Lusaka accords. It is also time to discuss the long-term security of the region, especially the reconstruction of the Congolese state, and the rights and responsibilities of that state. As soon as a political accord on power sharing is reached, the indispensable coordination of all these different dimensions of the peace process should be assured by the appointment of a high-profile Special Envoy of the United Nations' Secretary-General. The mandate of the Special Envoy should be to supervise the implementation of an inclusive agreement on political transition; to coordinate UN activities on DDRRR (disarmament, demobilisation, repatriation, reintegration, and resettlement of armed groups); to ensure cooperation between the various UN institutions involved in the Rwandan and Congolese peace processes (ICTR, MONUC, the expert panel on the illegal exploitation of natural resources in the DRC); and to prepare the agenda for a regional conference on security and sustainable development in the Great Lakes.

RECOMMENDATIONS
To the Signatories of the Lusaka Peace Accords and Members Of The Joint Military Commission:
1. Entrust President Mbeki with mediating the conclusion of the Inter-Congolese Dialogue. This process could build on results obtained by the facilitator of the Lusaka process, Ketumile Masire. It should also be based on a compromise between the power-sharing proposal known as 'Mbeki II' and the accord struck between the Congolese government and the MLC.
2. Give the mediator a mandate to obtain a preliminary accord between Rwanda, Uganda, Angola and Zimbabwe on conditions to be met for them to support a transitional power-sharing agreement in the DRC. Once this agreement is obtained, the new mediator could once again bring together the parties to the Inter-Congolese Dialogue and finalise an inclusive power-sharing agreement.
3. Immediately cease all military deployments that could reignite hostilities, and any resupply of armed groups in the Kivus.
To the Secretary General of the United Nations:
4. Appoint a high-profile Special Envoy for the Great Lakes with the responsibility to guide and press for the application of the Lusaka peace accords and to ensure cooperation between the various UN institutions involved in the Rwanda and in the Congolese peace process.
5. Give the new Special Envoy a concurrent mandate to negotiate between Rwanda, the government of DRC, Angola, Uganda and Zimbabwe on the application of a DDRRR program as well as the permanent withdrawal of all foreign troops from the Congo.
6. Equip MONUC with a specialist conflict resolution team to assist humanitarian aid agencies in gaining access to the Kivu and Ituri regions and to establish reconciliation programs between local communities.
To the Government of the DRC, the MLC and Their Respective Allies:
7. As a crucial test of credibility, immediately arrest and deliver to Arusha the leaders of ALiR who are wanted by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and suspend all supply of ALiR forces on Congolese territory.
Brussels/Nairobi, 14 May 2002
All ICG reports are available on our website www.crisisweb.org

"No real progress" at talks in Cape Town (Irin, 13/05) - The spokesman for rebel group Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD-Goma), Kin Kiey Mulumba, told IRIN on Monday that "no real progress" had been made during talks held among opposition groups and the RCD late last week in Cape Town, South Africa. The informal talks had been held, "to see what can be done to push forward the peace process", following the end of the inter-Congolese dialogue (ICD). Mulumba said it had been decided in Cape Town that new inclusive talks were needed, and that the ICD must resume so that outstanding issues between the parties to the dialogue could be settled. "We need more pressure from the international community now, from [South African President Thabo] Mbeki, Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa, and other heads of state, so that we can move forward. We need much more pressure," he said. Asked what the next step forward would be, he said: "Now we are waiting, waiting to see what the international community will tell us, and for more pressure to build up. Mbeki is doing his best, as is Mwanawasa." He added that he was hoping to resume the ICD within a couple of weeks, but still had had no confirmation from either the Mouvement de liberation du Congo (MLC) or the Kinshasa government of whether they would attend. At the end of the ICD, which was held from 25 February until 19 April, the MLC and the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo forged an alliance whereby the current president, Joseph Kabila, would remain in office in a new government, and the MLC leader, Jean-Pierre Bemba, would become prime minister. RCD-Goma, which was offered the position of the presidency of the National Assembly, rejected the offer and then formed an alliance - entitled the Alliance pour la sauvegarde du dialogue intercongolais - with five unarmed opposition parties. Both the government and the MLC boycotted the Cape Town talks.

Renewal of full-scale peace talks uncertain (Irin, 10/05) - The renewal of full-scale peace talks on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), involving all parties to the inter-Congolese dialogue (ICD), remained uncertain on Friday as South African President Thabo Mbeki held talks with only one rebel group and various political opposition groups in Capetown, South Africa. Mbeki told journalists on Friday that a DRC government envoy with whom he had met earlier in the week had said that Kinshasa felt that instead of going directly into substantive talks, they needed to discuss "modalities", including the format of the meetings and agenda items, South African news agency SAPA reported. "The others, who had not been part of the agreement between the government and the [former rebel] Mouvement de liberation du Congo [MLC] felt nevertheless that they needed to meet, because they were not party to that agreement," the agency quoted Mbeki as saying. Mbeki was expected to continue the informal talks with members of opposition groups, civil society and rebel group Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD-Goma) on Friday. The purpose of the talks was to "assist the peace process so it can resume," Mbeki's spokesman Bheki Khumalo told IRIN on Thursday. Present were all of the parties who participated in the ICD, with the exception of the government and the MLC, he said. Mbeki's presidency minister, Augustin Katumba Mwanke, who held talks with Mbeki on 7 May, said it was too soon to reconvene a meeting with RCD-Goma and political parties who refused to be party to the pact made between the MLC and the government of DRC President Joseph Kabila, French news agency AFP reported. "[MLC President Jean-Pierre] Bemba holds the same view," the agency quoted him as saying. Under the agreement, Kabila will remain president in a transitional government, with Bemba assuming the post of prime minister. RCD-Goma, which was offered the position of presidency of the National Assembly, rejected the offer and then formed an alliance - called the Alliance pour la sauvegarde du dialogue intercongolais - with five unarmed opposition parties, one of them being the Etienne Tshisekedi-led Union pour la democratie et le progres social (UDPS). Meanwhile, US president George Bush told Mbeki on Thursday that he supported his efforts to strike an agreement on the makeup of a transitional government, news agencies reported. "He noted that South Africa can build on the progress made in Sun City between the Congo government and many other parties, and reaffirmed the need for an inclusive agreement," White House spokesman Ari Fleisher was reported as saying by the Associated Press.

Informal peace talks begin in South Africa (Irin, 09/05) - Informal talks between members of the rebel Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD-Goma) and opposition political parties in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) began on Wednesday in Cape Town, South Africa. The talks are being hosted by South African President Thabo Mbeki. Mbeki's spokesman, Bheki Khumalo, told IRIN on Thursday that all of the parties who participated in the inter-Congolese dialogue (ICD), were present in Cape Town with the exception of the government and the former rebel Mouvement pour la liberation du Congo (MLC). He stressed that the talks were informal and said their purpose was to "assist the peace process so it can resume". He added that it was essential that the formal ICD resume in order to obtain an inclusive power-sharing agreement, but that nobody knew when this could happen at this stage. The RCD spokesman, Kin Kiey Mulumba, told IRIN that the meeting was an informal one, "to see what can be done to push forward the peace process". He said his party had been informed that representatives from President Joseph Kabila's government would attend the talks next week. On Tuesday, Mbeki held talks with the Kinshasa government in order to gain its perspective on a resumption of formal talks, news agencies reported. At the end of the ICD, which ran from 25 February until 19 April, when the MLC and DRC government forged an alliance, whereby Kabila would remain president in a new government and MLC leader, Jean-Pierre Bemba, would become prime minister. RCD, which was offered the position of presidency of the National Assembly, rejected the offer and then formed an alliance - entitled the Alliance pour la sauvegarde du dialogue intercongolais - with five unarmed opposition parties, one of them being the Etienne Tshisekedi-led Union pour la democratie et le progres social (UDPS).

Opposition Alliance awaiting resumption of dialogue (Irin, 08/05) - Members of the opposition Alliance pour la sauvegarde du dialogue intercongolais are still in South Africa, awaiting resumption of the inter-Congolese dialogue (ICD), Bizima Karaha, a senior official of the Goma-based Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD-Goma) rebel movement, told IRIN on Wednesday. "The dialogue must take place whether the warmongers continue with the battle or not, because this is the will of the people of Congo," Karaha said, reiterating his optimism that the ICD would resume. He noted, however, that no date has yet been set. The alliance brings together RCD-Goma and five unarmed opposition parties of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), one of them being the Etienne Tshisekedi-led Union pour la democratie et le progres social (UDPS). "RCD wants dialogue more than ever. We [together with other opposition groups] are united for the dialogue, and there will be dialogue," Karaha said. He accused DRC President Joseph Kabila and the leader of the rebel Mouvement de liberation du Congo (MLC), Jean-Pierre Bemba, as having "run away" from the recently concluded ICD in Sun City, South Africa. "All items in the agenda at Sun City were discussed, and there was only one item left, which was the discussion of the new political order, the new constitution and power-sharing," Karaha explained. He said any pressure brought to bear to make them recognise the "agreement" between Kabila and Bemba instead of proper dialogue resuming, "which we believe is the only way for the peace process in Congo", would be "pressurising us to turn our backs on the dialogue itself, and this is not to the interest of the Congolese". Karaha said RCD officials were working in unity towards the achievement of peace in the DRC and described as untrue reports by L'Observateur newspaper that the rejection of the Sun City accord by some senior RCD officials had created a rift between them and the president of RCD, Adolphe Onusumba, and other officials. "The position could explain why Adolphe Onusumba has been sacked and replaced by Moise Nyarugabo, a pro-Kigali element. Already, there has been mention of the presence in Kinshasa of RCD-Goma officials - a high-ranking officer and a few politicians," the newspaper said, quoting "reliable sources". On Tuesday, Kabila told the visiting United Nations Security Council delegation that he was willing to include the RCD in current negotiations between his government and the MLC over the details of the Sun City accord.

Eastern buffer zone has unanimous support, saya UN official (Irin, 08/05) - A plan to create a buffer zone between the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and three of its eastern neighbours has won unanimous support from countries in the region, the UN Special Representative of the Secretary General to the DRC, Amos Namanga Ngongi, said on Wednesday. Summarising the achievements of last week's tour of Great Lakes countries by a UN Security Council delegation, Ngongi said "a major point to bear in mind is the unanimity obtained for a project to create a buffer zone between the DRC and three of its neighbours, Burundi, Uganda and Rwanda". "This is remarkable progress," he said, but cautioned that for the plan to be put into action, all political actors would have to be involved. "The RCD [the Rwandan-backed rebel Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD-Goma)], which controls the frontier zone, must be included in the political process." The RCD did not sign up to the power-sharing deal reached at Sun City in South Africa last month between the government of DRC and the Ugandan-backed rebel Mouvement de liberation du Congo (MLC). The proposal for a buffer zone, as outlined by France's ambassador to the UN, Jean-David Levitte, would involve cooperation between the Congolese armed forces and troops from Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda. The security council delegation put the proposal to regional heads of state during discussions of three interlocking issues: the inter-Congolese dialogue, the disarmament of armed groups in eastern DRC and the withdrawal of foreign troops from DRC. The Rwandan government has said repeatedly that it will not withdraw its troops from Congo until Rwandan Hutu extremists based in DRC have been disarmed and demobilised, while the government of DRC has previously insisted on a total, unconditional withdrawal from its territory of all foreign forces. "We have had the agreement of all countries concerned at the level of the head of state for this idea to be realised when the time is right," said Levitte, who was leading last week's UN delegation. "We envisage, with the total withdrawal of foreign forces, that the three neighbouring countries which have security problems might station troops inside a narrow zone of Congo, to create cooperation between Congolese and Rwandan troops, for example, with the help of MONUC [the UN military mission to the DRC]," he continued. "I think MONUC can deploy observers in this zone as it has done along the immense disengagement line." Ngongi noted that the modalities for the actual implementation of this undertaking would be worked out by MONUC, in cooperation with the Joint Military Commission (JMC). Established under the Lusaka ceasefire agreement, the JMC is composed of two representatives from each of the nine recognised parties to the DRC conflict, as well as representatives from MONUC, the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) and Zambia.

Lesotho

Thumbs up for Maseru polls (Pretoria, BuaNews, 30/05) - The South African government yesterday gave the Lesotho's violence-free weekend national elections a thumbs up. The polls at the neighbouring landlocked country saw the ruling party, Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD), convincingly winning the elections. The LCD beat the opposition Basotho National Party (BNP) by claiming 77 seats in the kingdom's 120-seat Parliament. The BNP scored only 21 seats. The turnout was 68 percent of the 830 000 registered voters. But the expanded Parliament, as a result of the newly introduced proportional representative system, will ensure that smaller political parties that contested the polls enjoy representation in Parliament. Cabinet yesterday gave the mountain Kingdom's polls a clean bill of health, saying 'these elections have helped democracy and human rights in Southern Africa.' 'They results confirmed the correctness of the Southern African Development Community's efforts in the past few years to assist in normalising the situation in that country,' added government chief spokesperson Joel Netshitenzhe. The polls, extensively declared free and fair by observers including the SADC observer mission and the local Council of Churches, has been executed with no or little dispute. These are the second elections to be held in the region in less than six months following the controversial Zimbabwean presidential that drew international criticism following reports of vote rigging, intimidation and imprisonment of both opposition party members and some of that country's finest journalists.

500,000 people in need of food aid (Irin, 29/05) - Nearly half a million people urgently require emergency food aid in Lesotho, according to a joint assessment by the World Food Programme (WFP) and Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO). The FAO and WFP warned that "agriculture in Lesotho faces a catastrophic future". Crop production was declining and "could cease altogether over large tracts of the country " should urgent steps not be taken to reverse soil erosion. It is estimated that just between nine and 13 percent of the country is arable land. The report, based on a crop and food supply assessment mission conducted during April, said domestic cereal supply in 2002/03 is estimated at 74,000 mt, while the total national consumption requirement was estimated at 412,000 mt. "This results in an import requirement of 338,000 mt. Commercial imports are estimated at 191,000 mt and food aid at 147,000 mt which needs to be met by the government and external assistance," the report said. The districts hardest hit by this year's poor harvest are Qacha's Nek, Quthing and Mohale's Hoek, in the southern parts of the country. "Not all individuals will require food assistance for the whole year and, therefore, assistance needs to be carefully targeted and phased so as to avoid disruption of domestic markets," the organisations warned. The assessment mission recommended targeted emergency assistance of about 68,955 mt of food, including maize, pulses (such as peas and beans), vegetable oil and iodised salt. Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili in April declared a state of famine and the government has already allocated about 5,400 mt of maize for distribution to the most vulnerable. "Emergency provision of agricultural inputs, such as seeds, is recommended to enable disaster-affected farming families to restart agricultural production during the next main planting season starting in October 2002. Promotion of seed multiplication and horticultural production are recommended measures to further improve food security at household level," the report said. Erratic and adverse weather conditions contributed to the low agricultural ouput. The report said: "The erratic timings of rainfall and frosts severely affected crops at planting time and during their critical development stages. Heavy rainfall in October and November delayed or prevented planting of crops in many areas and frost in March curtailed the end of the growing season." The government of Lesotho had requested FAO and WFP assistance in reviewing the country's food situation and the outlook for 2002/03. The FAO and WFP assessment mission took place from 25 April to 4 May, covering all 10 districts of the country. "Different approaches to food distributions need to be examined. In less affected areas, self-targeting through food-for-work may be more appropriate than free distribution. In the worst affected areas free distribution will be required," the report said. Lesotho is a landlocked country completely surrounded by South Africa, with a population of about 2 million - more than half of whom live in poverty. The high rate of unemployment and inflation due to the depreciation of the rand against the dollar has meant that although food is available at markets, "the purchasing power of most households is very low". The FAO/WFP report said: "People, particularly in the foothills and mountain areas are surviving through bartering, home brewing, selling livestock, reducing consumption, and taking children out of school. Individuals infected with HIV/AIDS are also forced to reduce consumption, when they should be increasing their intake." Market interventions, such as a 20 percent price subsidy on unsifted maize funded by the Lesotho government, were urgently required.

BNP calls for a forensic audit of elections to cast away doubts (Maseru, Mpheme/The Survivor, 29/05) - The Basotho National Party (BNP) will not accept the results of the weekend general elections in Lesotho unless they are allowed to conduct a full forensic audit. This was said by BNP leader, Major General Metsing Lekhanya at a press conference on Monday afternoon. Lekhanya alleged the results showed a distinct pattern indicating a predetermined results. "The BNP has been advised that consistent deviations of voter patterns under specific conditions have occurred and that this could not have occurred naturally but indicate strong possibility of pre-determined election results," said Lekhanya. He said his party has engaged a forensic audit company which even before elections together with the BNP raised specific issues of concern, but were ignored by the IEC. He said the BNP insists that the final results of the election should not be announced before his party obtains permission that forensic auditors be allowed access to all relevant electoral materials to perform a full audit. Lekhanya could however not point out at specific indications that made the BNP unhappy about the results except for the patterns in the numbers announced for the results. He however said his party agents are still bringing in reports from the constituencies. He said as the results keeps on trickling in, his party and the forensic auditors will continue to analyse data and investigate the matter further while appropriate steps would be taken. He could not say what measures the BNP would take, saying "we'll cross the bridge when we get there". Lekhanya's deputy, Bereng Sekhonyana did not rule out court action as an option, saying other avenues will also be explored. He also appealed to the supporters of his party to remain calm. "We don't want any trouble this time around," warned Sekhonyana. Responding to earlier reports on the foreign media that the BNP will not take its allocated seats in parliament, Lekhanya could not be straight about it, saying, he first wanted his party forensic auditors to be allowed access to election materials, but if all else fail, he said there was no way he would join a system that he does not agree with. "If for some people their fears do not haunt them to join parliament, they are free to do so, but on their own," he added. The call by the BNP that election results are not fair, has raised fears amongst election observers that this could be the start of another election trouble for Lesotho. But Mopheme has learned that some concerted efforts are being beefed up to get independent and neutral mediators to come in-between the BNP and the IEC in finding a balanced solution to the demands of the BNP as well as the alleged data manipulation. Sources close to the party could not however confirm who are being engaged, only speculating some clergy and independent mediators.

Observers say elections were free and fair (Maseru, Mopheme/The Survivor, 29/05) - As polling and counting in the Lesotho's 2002 general elections draw to an end, several election observer missions released their preliminary reports to the media. Most of the reports indicated that, despite some administrative and logistical problems, the elections were conducted in a manner that provided Basotho with the opportunity to freely vote for the parties and candidates of their choice. According to the Commonwealth Observer Group the administrative and logistical problems experienced by the IEC before and during polling did not affect the overall organization of the elections. However, the Commonwealth Observer Group said the counting of votes at the several polling stations was very slow, impeded by lack of light, equipment and other minor administrative issues which resulted in the delayed release of the results. "We are, however, satisfied that, when we were present, the polling stations officials were acting fairly and we welcome the assurances of party agents that they were satisfied with the conduct of the poll," The Commonwealth Observer Group added. They applauded the (IEC), the law enforcement agencies and the political parties for the excellent manner in which they commended themselves during the elections. On the basis of observation on the voting and counting, the OAU Observer Team stated that, in general, the elections were held in a transparent and credible environment which allowed the Basotho to exercise their democratic right in dignity. The OAU called on all political parties to respect the wishes of the people. The Lesotho Council of Non-governmental Organization (LCN) also pronounced May 25 general elections as peaceful and conducive as they allowed voters to cast their votes without fear, coercion, intimidation or violence. The LCN said it was impressed with the conduct of the electorate, the IEC, agents of political parties, media houses and security structures deployed during the polling day. Despite satisfaction on the part of the elections observers that the elections were free and fair the Basotho National Party has raised concern over the freeness and fairness of the May 25 poll saying it has mandated forensic auditors to monitor and investigate results thus far released by the IEC. The Basotho National Party has insisted that no final results should be announced by the IEC before the BNP has obtained permission that forensic auditors be allowed access to all relevant electoral materials to perform a full forensic audit. The BNP indicated that the results released so far indicated a strong possibility of pre-determined election results.

No threat of violence after Lesotho's ruling party victory (Maseru, Sapa-AFP, 28/05) - A landslide victory by Lesotho's ruling party after weekend voting poses no threat of a repetition of the violence which followed a disputed poll in to the southern African kingdom in 1998, observers agreed Tuesday. The May 1998 poll - in which the ruling Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) also won a sweeping victory - was followed by unrest which led to the intervention of troops from South Africa and Botswana in September of that year, ending in 75 lives being lost and widescale destruction. But a new electoral system adopted by Lesotho this time is expected to give the main opposition, the Basotho National Party (BNP), up to 25 seats in an expanded 120-seat parliament, averting the chaos four years ago when it won only one seat out of 80. Under the new system, a mixture of first-past-the-post constituency votes and proportional representation, the more seats the LCD wins in constituencies, the fewer seats are allocated to it under the proportional system. "This system is the critical difference ... it compensates (for the BNP's lack of success in the constituencies)," Secoai Santho, chairman of the Lesotho Network for Conflict Management, told AFP. "Another crucial factor is the professionalisation of the army," said Santho, who has worked with the army and the parties. By Tuesday afternoon the LCD had won a parliamentary majority through constituency seats, and the BNP was runner up in the proportional voting. "Based on the current trend the BNP will get about 20 (proportional) seats in parliament," Alwyn Viljoen of Independent Electoral Commission told AFP. BNP leader Major General Justin Metsing Lekhanya, who headed a military junta from 1986 to 1993, on Monday rejected the results until after an audit but called on his supporters to remain calm. His deputy Berengs Sekhonyana assured AFP: "There is no threat like 1998. We do not feel our struggle should go down that route. We would rather go the legal way." A diplomat in the capital told AFP the 2,000-strong army posed no danger to stability. "The deputy defence chief of the army ... (Tuesday said) his boys are happy and there is no sign of dissatisfaction."

Maseru's ruling party set for sweeping win (Business Day, 27/05) - The ruling party in the southern African state of Lesotho won the first 14 seats in weekend elections by a wide margin, electoral officials said yesterday as observers predicted a landslide victory. "The Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) looks set to sweep the floor," Roger Southall of the Pretoria-based Human Sciences Research Council said at the results centre in Maseru. The LCD had a landslide majority in the last, troubled polls in 1998 in the tiny kingdom, currently confronted with food shortages so severe that 80% of its people face starvation. Lesotho, landlocked by SA, has an unemployment rate of 45%. It is estimated that 24% of the population aged between 15 and 49 have HIV/AIDS. Southall said the main opposition Basotho National Party (BNP) led by former military ruler Major-General Justin Metsing Lekhanya seemed set to come in second again. Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili's LCD also won 11 of 12 party votes yesterday on a second ballot for proportional representation in the 120-member parliament, on the basis of which 40 seats will be allocated. Under a new mixed electoral system, the 14 constituency wins for the LCD translate directly into seats in parliament. "If this trend continues the LCD will dominate parliament with about 62% of the vote on average and the BNP will have about 26% in parliament," said Alwyn Viljoen of the Lesotho Independent Electoral Commission. The balance would be shared by the remaining 17 parties, who are assured more representation after going begging under the first-past-the-post poll system of May 1998. Four years ago the LCD won 79 of 80 seats in the mountain kingdom's last elections, but was accused by opposition supporters of rigging the vote. Faced with massive protests and an army mutiny, the LCD allowed in a military intervention force from SA and Botswana. The subsequent clashes left 75 people dead. The United Nations (UN) has expressed satisfaction with Lesotho's general election, saying its observers' assessment of the poll indicates it was a free and fair exercise. Tony Reis, the UN's chief electoral officer in Lesotho, said: "They had some polling stations reopening in the morning. But this time (afternoon yesterday), our observers have not reported. The Democratic Alliance (DA) which claimed it was the only SA political party that sent an observer delegation to Lesotho has welcomed the election. The party described the poll as "a relatively peaceful election", with a party spokesman saying there were a few incidents in which there were mix-ups in ballot papers. Other polling stations opened late.

Lesotho kingdom votes, hopes for fresh start (Lagos, This Day, 26/05) - Huge numbers of Lesotho citizens voted Saturday under a new electoral system they hope will usher in an era of stability and prosperity after years of political turbulence. Crowds in the impoverished mountain kingdom queued long before dawn to take part in the election, held for the first time under a combined first-past-the-post and proportional representation system designed to give smaller parties a voice in parliament. Lesotho, which is encircled by South Africa, has been in political limbo for the past four years after violent opposition protests and an army mutiny nearly overthrew the government. Free and fair elections in the tiny state will boost southern Africa's democratic credentials, after elections condemned by international observers as highly flawed in Zimbabwe and Zambia in the last six months, analysts said. Voting ended in most of Lesotho at 5 p.m. (11 a.m. EDT) but an extension of several hours was granted to three constituencies where the opening of polling stations had been delayed. Constituency results are expected to begin trickling in from midnight Saturday, but IEC officials said they did not expect a final result before Wednesday. Electoral officials said turnout was high, up to 90 percent of eligible voters in some areas. In the small town of Berea, just 40 km north of Maseru, voters enthusiastically waited for their turn to vote. "I feel this new system will do away with some of the problems of the past. The proportional system will create a balanced parliament which will ensure that everyone gets heard," 65-year-old pensioner Neo Mapeshoane said. Electoral officials said they were pleased with the overall voting process, but said late delivery of equipment and materials had been reported at a couple of polling centers. "It is a very isolated concern," said spokesman Rethabile Pholo, who said counting would begin soon after polling closed. Most voters stood in long queues wrapped in blankets. Women stood chatting with children strapped to their backs. "Our main problem is that the queues are long and we are having to wait for long periods. The process is extremely slow," 40-year-old accountant Motlong Masia said. Electoral officials said they had found no time to educate voters on the system before the poll, and were having to explain how the system worked before voters could cast their ballots. International and regional observers say that if successful, the poll model would be recommended as a solution for the conflict-ridden young democracies of impoverished Africa. "This will be one of the most transparent elections. We have a home-brewed solution. The electoral model itself is reconciliatory," said Mafole Sematlane, a commissioner of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC). An estimated 840,000 voters from a population of nearly two million are expected to vote in 80 constituencies. They will also be casting a second vote for the party of their choice.

Starvation threatens people of Lesotho (Mafeteng, Sapa-AFP, 24/05) - Withered crops, a gaunt pensioner and a bony donkey in southwest Lesotho tell of the starvation threatening 80 percent of the tiny kingdom as voters on Saturday go to the polls after the government failed to act on famine warnings. Prime Minister Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili on April 19 declared a famine and promised 23 million rand (2.3 million dollars) of emergency aid, but warnings of Lesotho's worst crop failures were sounded six months ago. "All parties pay lip service to us but nothing goes into our stomachs. The promises of food are not coming to us," Mathabo Moepo, an emaciated pensioner from Lekoatse in Mafeteng district southwest of Maseru, told AFP. Moepo said she would vote for the Basotho National Party, the main opposition to Mosisili's ruling Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD), in the weekend parliamentary elections. UN World Food Programme (WFP) deputy representative in Lesotho Viney Jain said severe shortages were reported in November by non-governmental organisations doing distribution. The WFP started feeding some 36,000 people in five out of Lesotho's 10 districts last year, after heavy rains, hail and, in some areas drought, devastated crops. "This is far less than those needing assistance," WFP representative Techester Zergarber observed. While 36,000 is a fraction of the 2.6 million people the WFP is assisting in southern Africa, the country with its 2.2 million people has been worse hit than others by the drought. "The effects of the drought and rains in Lesotho are much more dramatic than in any neighbouring country," said Zergarber, explaining that only nine percent of land in Lesotho is arable. Another problem for the country, landlocked by South Africa, is that many Basotho working in South African mines were retrenched over the last decade, depriving it of a major source of income. "Almost three-quarters of miners have come back and there is huge unemployment of at least 30 percent," Zergarber said. "Also a number of migrant workers who were helping their families are now a burden as there is a high prevalence of HIV/AIDS." It is estimated that 33 percent of the people in Lesotho aged between 15 and 49 years have HIV/AIDS. Malebohang Machachamise, from Thabana-Morena in Mafeteng, said there are very poor and sick people in her village. "One is unable to walk and relatives help him," she said. "Sometimes children go to sleep without eating even pap (maize porridge) or cabbage." Lesotho has suffered a steady decline in crop production and has not been self-sufficient in cereal crops since the 1970s, David Hall, the director of Maseru-based socio-economic consultancy Sechaba said. "When there is a downward trend and on top of that there is poor weather, there is bound to be a disaster." He said damaging agricultural practices such as monocropping and overuse of chemicals have exarcerbated the crop decline over the past 30 years. In Lesotho, 80 percent of the population relies on subsistence farming for survival. When he announced the famine, Mosisili said the country needed 200,000 metric tons of maize to feed people. He promised food parcels to the most vulnerable groups, including the elderly and orphans, and a 20-percent subsidy on maize-meal to the rest of the population. The government failed to be proactive about this crisis, charged Rok Ajulu, a professor in political economics, at Rhodes University in South Africa. "Today with modern technology there are early warning systems, why were they not put in place? Famine can be a political tool." The weekend vote is Lesotho's third since independence from Britain in 1966. It is hoped it will consolidate democracy after the results of the last election in 1998 were violently disputed. The unrest led to military intervention by South Africa and Botswana which in turn provoked clashes that left 75 people dead.

Water project boss convicted of bribery (Johannesburg, Business Day, 21/05) - THE former CE of the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority was convicted yesterday of accepting bribes from some of the world's best-known contractors. Masupha Sole was pushed into the Lesotho High Court in his hospital bed to hear Judge Brendon Cullinan convict him on 13 counts of bribery. He accepted bribes from international consultants and contractors from the US, Canada, the UK, Germany and France to induce him to grant them lucrative contracts in the giant Lesotho Highlands Water Project, which supplies water to SA. Sole was flown to Lesotho from Johannesburg on Sunday night for the judgment. He is being held in custody ahead of possible sentencing on Thursday. None of the companies which were found to have bribed Sole are potential contractors on the Gautrain project, according to Jack van der Merwe, project leader for prospective rapid rail network. Nevertheless, Van der Merwe said he would scrutinise the judgment. The Gauteng government has said it would consider disqualifying companies implicated in the bribery case. Cullinan found that Sole received bribes from Sogreah, Cegelec, Coin et Bellier, Spie Batignol, Lahmeyer McDonald Consortium, Dumez, Gibb and Acres. A case is proceeding against Acres and plans are under way for prosecutions against Lahmeyer, as well as Jacobus Michael Du Plooy, an alleged intermediary in the scandal, and Dumez. Lesotho's director of public prosecutions, Leaba Thatsane, said last night it was "a question of who to proceed against next as we go along". No decision had yet been taken on whether to individually charge members of the Highland Water Venture Consortium, including SA contractors Concor and Basil Read, and French firm Bouygues. Associated companies of these firms are part of the Bombela Consortium, which is bidding for the Gautrain project. Cullinan found that as the CE and as an engineer, Sole knew the sources and purpose of the payments made into his bank accounts in Lesotho, Zurich and Ladybrand, through intermediaries. Cullinan said he was satisfied "beyond reasonable doubt" that Sole received payments from the international contractors and that he had agreed to "further their private interests". Cullinan found that Sole accepted bribes from contractors as early as 1988. He acquitted Sole on five counts. The court considered submissions by both crown and defence counsels for a bail application for Sole while he sought senior counsel to plead in mitigation of the sentence. An inquiry was sparked into Sole's activities in 1994 after the authorities found, during the course of a disciplinary inquiry over irregularities in his expense accounts, that he held overseas bank accounts.

Critical election begins in kingdom (Irin, 22/05) - Despite some minor hiccups, the first votes in Lesotho's general election will be cast on Thursday. It will be the first since the disputed poll of 1998 that forced a Southern African Development Community (SADC) military intervention. Advance voters will be the first to choose their representatives in the mountain kingdom on Thursday, the rest of the country's registered voters will vote on Saturday 25 May. Among those who qualified to be advance voters were staff members of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), police, national security services, health services and government officials who would be on duty or out of the country on election day. The May 1998 election results, in which the ruling Lesotho Congress Party (LCD) won 79 out of 80 seats in parliament, were rejected by the three main opposition parties who alleged the polls were rigged. Hundreds of people demonstrated for weeks outside King Letsie III's palace, demanding that the government step down and hold new elections. Widespread arson and looting turned the capital, Maseru, into a ghost town amid a rebellion by members of the armed forces. The Prime Minister, Pakalitha Mosisili, called for a SADC (Southern African Development Community) military intervention to restore law and order. Lesotho's first past the post (FPTP) electoral system meant that a significant portion of people who voted for opposition parties were left with just one representative in parliament. An Interim Political Authority (IPA) was established, with representatives from all the 12 parties that contested the 1998 election, and a new electoral system was devised. Voters will now be asked to cast two ballots for a party and a constituency candidate in a mix of the proportional representation and the FPTP systems. The number of seats in parliament have been increased to 120. IEC spokesman Rethabile Pholo told IRIN that it was "all systems go" for the advance voters and election day. There are fears that cold and wet weather, which hit the country on Wednesday, could continue and hamper the process on Saturday. Lesotho has a vast number of rural voters living in isolated parts of the mountainous country. Pholo said: "We have contingency plans in place in case of unfavourable weather conditions, I would think the measures we have taken are sufficient." Nineteen parties are contesting the election. Lesotho's population is just over two million people, and about 920 000 citizens are registered to vote. The ruling LCD, led by Mosisili, and the Basotho National Party (BNP) led by Justine Metsing Lekhanya appear to be the main contestants for this election. Other parties that are set to figure prominently are the Lesotho People's Congress, led by Kelebone Maope, and the Basotho Congress Party, led by Tseliso Makhakhe, IPA executive secretary Malefetsane Nkhale told IRIN on Wednesday. "On Sunday the political parties held their final rallies and the LCD and BNP rallies were by far the biggest rallies," he said. Nkhahle said unemployment was one of the main issues of the election. According to official statistics, half the population lives in poverty, although a UN Development Programme paper states that independent estimates range as high as 70 percent. Official unemployment figures vary, ranging from 30 percent to 45 percent. HIV/AIDS is a major concern and the country is still in the early stages of responding to the pandemic. Unemployment, the devaluation of the country's currency (the loti) and low agricultural production, due to a number of factors including the lack of arable land, have conspired to force the Prime Minister to declare a state of famine in the country and appeal for urgent food aid. Despite hitches with the printing of ballots, and some cloak and dagger machinations regarding their distribution, prepa rations have been relatively smooth. Pholo explained: "Some politicians were not happy with the mode of transportation [a seemingly dilapidated one tonne truck], from Durban to Maseru, of ballots for advance voters. They said the truck was ready to fall apart [and therefore not a fit and proper mode of transport]. It was only later discovered that the truck was very strong [mechanically sound] but had to be used as decoy to lose some people in Durban who claimed to be party agents and wanted access to the printing plant to view the ballots. "It was discovered that no party had sent people to Durban and the printing company used the vehicle as a decoy [as nobody would suspect it carried such precious cargo]. This was established afterwards, otherwise the rest of the consignment came in on Thursday." But the brouhaha over ballots was not over. "We later discovered that the ballots of 24 constituencies had mistakes on them, these had to be reprinted and arrived in the country this morning [Wednesday] and are presently being distributed," Pholo said. None of the parties had raised any further objections. Said Nkhahle: "It certainly looks like its going to be a smooth election, there does not seem to be anything that will trigger the sort of problems we saw in 1998. The IEC has gone out of its way to be as transparent as possible, so there does not seem to be anything that could cause substantial dissatisfaction on the part of contesting parties. However, one cannot be 100 percent sure." Political parties had "gone out of their way to be much more aggressive in terms of their campaigning" this year. Nkhahle said: "With the assistance of the Japanese [embassy in Pretoria] the IPA was able to purchase campaigning equipment for the parties, loudhailers and PA [public address] systems for vehicles. The Irish consulate financed the printing of election manifestos and the IEC also provided funding towards making up posters and the like. So parties had a range of income sources, even the smaller parties, for their campaigns."

Lesotho and South Africa launch joint commission (Maseru, Mopheme/The Survivor, 15/05) - Lesotho's foreign Minister, Thomas Thabane and his South African counterpart, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma on Wednesday, May 8, 2002 launched the Joint Bilateral Commission of Cooperation Programme (JBCC) between Lesotho and South Africa aimed at uplifting Lesotho from its current status as a Least Developed Country (LDC) within five years. The launch of the programme done at Maseru, included implementation of projects for the JBCC under the economic, good governance, security and stability and social clusters. Thabane indicated that the implementation of the JBCC signified a qualitatively higher form of cooperation between Lesotho and South Africa as opposed to the relationship the two countries had under the now defunct Intergovernmental Liaison Committee (IGLC). "Useful though it was, in the short run, the IGLC was the product of a very difficult relationship between black governments in Lesotho and a white racist government in South Africa," he said. He pointed out that Lesotho and South Africa had, over the years, entered into formal and informal agreements, which included the conclusion of a labour agreement in 1973 as well as signing of the treaty establishing the Lesotho Highlands Water Project in 1986 and the establishment of a trade mission in 1987. While the agreements formed a concrete basis for enhanced cooperation between the two countries, Thabane stated that the circumstances under which they were signed have 'compelled us to revise them and to do so most drastically.' Lesotho's Foreign Minister expressed hope that cooperation of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), the Renaissance Fund, the European Union and others was essential for the speedy implementation of the JBCC. The South African Foreign Minister and Co-Chairperson of JBCC, Dlamini-Zuma said the launch of the programme was a good framework for cooperation between Lesotho and South Africa. She pointed out that Lesotho's graduation from a least developed country by 2005 was important if the total integration of Southern African Development Community (SADC) was to be achieved. Dlamini-Zuma took the opportunity to congratulate Lesotho on her outstanding performance in textile industry under the African Growth Opportunities Act (AGOA), adding that Lesotho was one of the few African countries that did exceptionally well in AGOA. She wished Lesotho well in the coming general elections saying that free and fair elections would bring stability and peace to Lesotho, South Africa and the whole sub-continent. Dlamini-Zuma stated that free and peaceful elections in Lesotho would further cement the special relationship between the countries, and was hopeful that on May 25, 2000 every Mosotho would have an opportunity to choose their leaders without hindrance. She appealed to all political parties to accept the outcome of May 25 elections and respect the choice of the people. The two Foreign Affairs Ministers and Co-Chairpersons of the JBCC launched a programme to facilitate the implementation of the Maloti/Drakensberg Trans-Frontier Conservation and Development area, Geo-Chemical Mapping project, Stone-Cutting project phase I, a road construction project involving the upgrading of the Mokhotlong/Sani Pass/Underberg road infrastructure and the establishment of a permanent boarder post. Other projects included technical assistance in Commercial Production of Livestock and the establishment of the Tikoe Industrial Estate. The Joint Bilateral Commission of Cooperation between the two sister countries was put in place on April 19, 2001 during the visit of the President of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki's to Lesotho. JBCC operates at ministerial and senior government officials levels. Mbeki and Prime Minister Mosisili had then agreed that the institutional mechanism for cooperation between the two countries would be based on social, economic, stability and security and good governance clusters.

Econet launches Maseru network (Financial Gazette, 09/05) - Group chief executive Strive Masiyiwa said this week Econet, listed on the Johannesburg and London stock exchanges, was forecasting rapid growth for its Lesotho operation, just as the firm had done in other regional markets such as Botswana. "When we bid for the licence in Botswana, the adjudicators refused to accept our projections that we could get 100 000 customers in five years and they asked us to reduce it to 60 000. When we celebrated three years of the business, it had more than 200 000 customers," Masiyiwa noted. At the weekend launch of the Lesotho operation by Econet Ezi-Cell Lesotho, more than 10 000 subscribers immediately snapped up the popular Buddie pre-paid product. The Lesotho network is using the latest Global System for Mobile Communications technology, delivering services such as conference calls, international roaming and short message service as well as voice mail. Masiyiwa said the launch of the Lesotho network and the phenomenal growth of Econet's operations in African countries such as Zimbabwe, Nigeria and Botswana were part of the company's contribution to the development of Africa's telecoms. "Our mission is to provide telecoms services to all the people of Africa. I believe we have made a good start," he said.

R2,3-billion agreement for South Africa and Maseru (Sapa, Maseru, 08/05) - South Africa and Lesotho signed a five year agreement worth about R2,3-billion in Maseru on Wednesday that aims to uplift the landlocked kingdom. The agreement, under the auspices of the joint bilateral commission of co-operation programme between Lesotho and South Africa, was signed by Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and her Lesotho counterpart Tom Thabane. This followed the agreement between Lesotho and South Africa concluded by Prime Minister Pakali Mosisili and President Thabo Mbeki in April last year. A joint communique issued after the signing ceremony said the purpose of the agreement was to "uplift Lesotho from its current status as a least developed country within a period of five years". The statement said the officials concerned had been directed to speedily implement the development programme in the areas of economic governance, security and stability, and social development. The projects that were launched on Wednesday include the Maluti-Drakensberg trans-frontier conservation and development area (R155-million), GEO Chemical Mapping project (R1,1-million), a stone cutting project (R2,1-million), technical assistance in commercial livestock production (R2,07-billion) and the development of an industrial estate south of Maseru (R46-million). The programme included a road construction project involving the upgrading of the road infrastructure linking Mokhotlong district in the north eastern highlands to Sani Pass and Underberg in KwaZulu-Natal.

South Africa, Lesotho health ministers sign declaration (Johannesburg, Sapa, 03/05) - R2,3-billion agreement for South Africa and Maseru (Sapa, Maseru, 08/05) - Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang and her Lesotho counterpart, Dr Ponto Sekatle, signed a declaration of intent at the Johannesburg International Airport on Friday. The declaration aims to further co-operation between the two countries within the field of public health. It paves the way for cross-border transfer of patients from Lesotho to South Africa for medical treatment, the exchanging of health experts and the reserving of places in South African medical schools for Lesotho students. The declaration states the two countries will also co-ordinate their immunisation campaigns with the aim of ensuring that South Africa and Lesotho are the first countries within the Southern African Development Community to be declared polio free, by latest 2005. The two health departments will work together in disease surveillance and epidemiology, co-operating in their response to diseases such as tuberculosis, sexually transmitted diseases, HIV and Aids. The declaration furthers the bilateral agreement the two countries formed in April 2001, which aims to assist Lesotho in graduating from the list of least developed countries within a five-year period. "The strategic partnership will strengthen relations that already exist between the two democratic governments and will assist in building co-operation that is more focused for the benefit of all the peoples of both countries," Tshabalala-Msimang said. The declaration is also a forerunner to the Joint Bilateral Commission for Co-operation to be held on May 8 in which the two countries will discuss areas of mutual interest and co-operation.

Malawi

Fight poverty and AIDS, urges Mandela (The Nation, 24/05) - President Bakili Muluzi and former South Afri-can president Nelson Mandela have asked Rotarians to fight poverty and the HIV/Aids pandemic. The two leaders, who are Rotarians too, made the appeal during the official opening of Rotary International District 9210 assembly and conference at Sun ‘n’ Sand Hotel in Mangochi yesterday. The conference, held under the theme “Mankind is our business”, will among other things tackle the role of women in society, children’s education, HIV/Aids and malaria. Muluzi said his government has made poverty reduction and eradication a priority on its development policies and programmes. He, however, said government was constrained by lack of resources although it has “robust, hardworking and peace-loving people.” The president asked the Rotarians to collaborate with government in the provision of basic social necessities. Said he: “We would like to benefit from your wisdom as to how government in partnership with Rotary International or other organizations of goodwill could work together to provide healthcare and supplies, clean water and sanitation, food, housing and education for our people.” He said his government launched the Poverty Reduction Strategy paper as a “focused framework from which government in partnership with the civil society organisations, the private sector and the international donor community will address poverty”. Muluzi also asked the Rotarians to develop innovative strategies for the private sector to play a greater role in the development of the country, pledging that his government would create a conducive environment to business enterprises. He thanked Rotary International of the United States of America for donating an ambulance to Malamulo Hospital. Both Muluzi and Mandela commended Rotary clubs for assisting in poverty reduction. Earlier, guest of honour Mandela, among other things, challenged the delegates to combat HIV/Aids by abandoning taboos and teaching the youth to opt for safe sex. In reference to the theme, Mandela said: “In Sub-Saharan Africa particularly an essential part of that (caring for mankind) would be to involve yourself in the comprehensive partnership in the battle against HIV/Aids. It presents the greatest threat to progress we have faced in centuries. Yet, once more it is a battle we can win if we work in comprehensive partnership.” The Rotary International honoured Mandela with an award of the “Son of Africa” and Muluzi with the Paul Harris Fellow Award in recognition of their contribution to their countries and the world. Before the conference opened, Mandela planted a memorial tree at the venue of the conference. Vice President Justin Malewezi, Rotary District Governor Rafiq Nathanie, Rotary International Representative from America David Roper were among the delegates. The conference has brought together representatives of Rotary clubs in the district comprising Zambia, northern Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi.

Ruling party militants demonstrate against opposition press journalists (Paris, Reporters sans Frontieres, 23/05) - Reporters without Borders has condemned the actions taken by an advisor to the President, Dumbo Lemani. The latter assembled a group of between 1,000 and 3,000 militant members of the ruling party (the United Democratic Front - UDF) on 20 May 2002 in front of the publishing firm Blantyre Newspaper Limited, which publishes two pro-opposition newspapers, the Daily Times, and the Malawi News weekly. The President's advisor incited the crowd to threaten two journalists, Mabvuto Banda and Akimu Kaingana, who had written articles that were published which opposed President Bakili Muluzi's candidacy for a third presidential term in 2004. According to the Malawi Constitution, the Head of State cannot serve more than two terms. "This action is totally irresponsible on the part of the presidential advisor who, logically, should be serving as the guarantor of public safety. The demonstration might have had very adverse consequences for the journalists. One of the targeted journalists later told Reporters without Borders, that he "will now be living in fear for his life," stated Robert Ménard, the organization's General Secretary. Reporters without Borders called upon the Malawi President to issue a public apology and to promise that such attacks on freedom of the press by militant members of his party will never occur again. On the day of the demonstration, all of the journalists with the Blantyre Newspaper Limited shut themselves up in their offices until the crowd dispersed, happily without any serious incident. One employee, however, was assaulted while trying to write down the licence plate numbers of the demonstrators' vehicles. In addition, Reporters without Borders reminded the President that, in November 2001, the Daily Times reported that the UDF had allegedly composed a list of journalists who "are discrediting the party." According to the same newspaper, UDF was said to have used members of its Young Democrats league to assault these journalists. This list is also said to include the names of reporters working with the Daily Times, the Nation and the BBC.

'Unwanted' Indians seeks Malawian identity (Blantyre, Independent Online, 20/05) - After decades of being apolitical and openly discriminated against, a section of about four thousand Indians in Malawi are starting to seek equal rights and full integration into the economic and political life of the poor southern African state. "We want to be identified with this country and the major turning point will be our true integration into the society and political parity," said Rafiq Hajat, an outspoken spokesperson of the community in Malawi. Only two of the country's 193 legislators are Indians. Hajat is a member of the central executive of the ruling United Democratic Front (UDF) of President Bakili Muluzi. He says despite seven years of democratic rule and the removal of discriminatory laws against Asians which barred them from engaging in the key farming and transport sectors, they do not feel secure in the country because they have been denied the right to be Malawian citizens. Asians here still hold British citizenship despite a 1992 immigration law allowing them to seek local citizenship. Hajat, a third generation Indian, claimed that for unexplained reasons, they are still denied Malawi citizenship. "We have become the unwanted children of Africa," Hajat said. The Indians were brought here by the British in the last century to help construct a railway line between Malawi and Mozambique. They stayed behind to run retail businesses which they monopolised for decades. "Asians are seeking an extension of their political and constitutional rights," said Nandin Patel, a history professor at the University of Malawi. Asians were deliberately kept out of the political arena and certain sections of economic life. The late dictator Kamuzu Banda kept the Asians out of agriculture and transport areas for fear they would exploit the country. Until the 1970s, Asians operated as retailers in mainly rural areas of Malawi before Banda decreed that they could move to urban centres of Blantyre, Lilongwe and Zomba to pave the way for indigenous business to operate without competition from wealthy Asians. This led to their exodus to Britain and the USA and by 1979 there were some 4 927 Asians left - down from 11 299 in 1965. "The policy to restrict Indians sowed seeds of mistrust and suspicion. This segregated Indians from the rest of the community," Patel said. But the Indians, taking advantage of the new democratic and human rights order in Malawi, say they now want to fight for equal rights, especially over land. Representatives of Malawi's Indian community have challenged the land policy, arguing that a clause that bars all non-Malawians and foreign firms from owning land while granting freehold status to Malawians only is discriminatory. The policy allows foreign companies and non-citizens to lease land from government or from private land owners for investment purposes only, while foreigners interested in freehold are required to form partnerships with Malawians or attain Malawi citizenship to retain their ownership. A clash broke out last week when Land Minister Thengo Maloya labelled Asians "racists" at a meeting called to discuss the controversial clauses in the planned new land policy. The Asians complained at the meeting that converting of land freehold to leasehold on the basis of nationality, was unfair and would scare away investors instead of attracting them. A prominent Asian lawyer, Krishna Savjani, said all that the Asians wanted was to be sure "that they will continue to function in the country without restrictions". Malawi is seeking to redistribute idle land to thousands of its citizens, under the land policy yet to be passed by parliament.

Two confess to murdering German tourist (Blantyre, African Eye News Service, 20/05) - Two Malawian nationals have come forward and confessed to killing a German tourist. They said they found Nathalie Toumi, 22, of Stuttgart taking photographs of birds on a roadside in Cape Maclear forest near the southern resort town of Mangochi on May 12 and stabbed and strangled her when she refused to give them money. They then stole her bicycle, camera and travel bags, which they hid in a maize field. Police have recovered all the items, said police inspector general Joseph Aironi on Monday. Toumi had been cycling across Africa after cycling in Israel. She had left Germany in September last year. She entered Malawi from Tanzania on April 22. Tourism Minister Ken Lipenga expressed shock at the murder and promised to step-up police patrols in the area. The two suspects, who come from Mangochi, are expected to appear in court on Tuesday. A man who was arrested earlier after a piece of paper with his address was found on Toumi's body, was released when he couldn't be linked to the crime.

Illegal imports of cement by traders (Johannesburg, Business Day, 15/05) - Cement producers Portland Cement and Shayona have threatened to close shop within months unless government intervenes to stem illegal importation of cement into Malawi. The two cement companies have been hit by the illegally imported cement from Zimbabwe to an extent that they have reduced production by almost 50% since January this year. Malawian traders carry US dollars to Zimbabwe for exchange on the black market where each dollar fetches close to Z350 against the official exchange rate of Z55. Using the black market exchange rate, the traders buy cement from third party sellers at about Z350, effectively at $1 a bag. Translated into Malawi kwacha, it means the traders are buying Zimbabwe cement at about 76 kwacha each against Portland's selling price of 490 kwacha a bag. In addition, Malawians fake official documents including the certificate of origin and CD1 form, demanded by commercial and central banks, to evade payment of customs duty at the borders.

Citizen arrested for German tourist's death (Blantyre, African Eye News Service, 13/05) - Malawian police questioned an unidentified man on Monday in connection with the murder of a German tourist over the weekend. Nathalie Toumi, 22, of Stuttgart was murdered and mugged while cycling in a Cape Maclear forest in the southern resort town of Mangochi on Sunday. Toumi's possessions including a bike, cash and travelers cheques were missing when forest security guards found her body. "She was strangled and stabbed by her assailants," said deputy police commissioner Finley Binali. Police arrested the man in Balaka about 100km from the commercial city of Blantyre after a handwritten note with his name and address was found on Toumi's body. "We suspect he was the last person to be with her," said Binali. Toumi was reportedly on a cycling adventure taking in Africa and Israel. She left Germany in September last year and entered Malawi from Tanzania on April 22. Tourism Minister Ken Lipenga expressed shock at the murder and promised to step-up police patrols in the area. Meanwhile Malawian tour operators have accused tour guides of harassing and robbing tourists. In the statement the operators said the guides deliberately misdirected tourists to remote areas where they are mugged.

Lilongwe implements unratified land policy (Blantyre, African Eye News Service, 13/05) - Malawi has started implementing its controversial national land policy even though parliament hasn't ratified it. The controversial policy insists that foreigners owning land renew their residency every seven years, failing which the government will seize the land and give it to landless people. Critics say this will deter foreign investment. The ministry of land has bought Makande Tea Estate in the southern Thyolo district from the Lonrho Company and started registering landless people from neighbouring Mulanje district. Land minister Thengo Maloya defended the land purchase and said the passing of the policy in parliament would "just be a ministerial statement". Chairman of the parliamentary committee on agriculture and natural resources Joe Manduwa said the process was "very irregular". "It is very irregular for the ministr(ies) to start implementing the policy before it has passed through parliament," explained Manduwa, a legislator from the governing United Democratic Front (UDF). The Institute for Policy Interaction (IPI), a human rights NGO, warned that the illegal procedure could spark tribal and ethnic friction. IPI director Rafiq Hajaat said parliament had to debate any delicate areas that policy makers may have overlooked, especially on cultural aspects. "You cannot govern by assumption. Parliament should not be taken for granted," he said. Mulanje district commissioner Hastings Bota confirmed he had been instructed to draw up a list of landless people for relocation to Thyolo.

US government provides food aid (Irin, 09/05) - The United States is to provide Malawi with US $5.4 million in emergency food aid in response to the government's appeal for international assistance to help overcome the country's food crisis. A statement released on Wednesday said the US Agency for International Development (USAID) would provide the UN World Food Programme (WFP) with 11,330 mt of food aid, including 10,000 mt of maize, for shipment to Malawi in June and July. The relief assistance would be distributed through an NGO consortium working closely with district authorities, the National Economic Council's (NEC) Safety Net Programme and the Department of Disaster Preparedness, Relief and Rehabilitation (DDPRR), the statement said. USAID Malawi Assistant Director Dwight Smith told IRIN that the food would benefit 90,000 families or 450,000 individuals. The aid would be used for direct feeding to the most vulnerable, including children, pregnant and lactating mothers, people living with HIV/AIDS and the elderly. The statement said the programme would also be complemented by food for work initiatives to provide food to those who are able-bodied but cannot afford to purchase maize at market prices. In declaring a national disaster in February, the government said that seven million people out of a population of 10 million had no food. Floods, drought and a government decision to sell off its grain reserves - arguing that they were old - contributed to the food crisis. Local maize from this year's harvest is now in local markets and the price has fallen from the official selling price of Mk 850 (US $11.4) to Mk 500 (US $6.7) per 50 kg bag. However, DDPRR commissioner Lucius Chikuni said on Wednesday that 1.5 million people still needed food aid and described the situation as "pretty bad". Due to hungry villagers harvesting maize too early, Malawi is also expected to face a short fall of 600,000 mt of maize in next year's harvest on a projected yield of 1.4 million mt. Meanwhile, President Bakili Muluzi on Wednesday told a rally in Phalombe district, 60 km from Blantyre, that he would re-introduce the "starter pack scheme", which offered free seeds and fertilizers to subsistence farmers to boost food production. He said under the programme, Malawi harvested about 2.8 million mt of maize each year between 1994 and 1999, well above domestic demand. "But problems started when the donors said we should cut the number of recipients for the starter pack from 2.3 million to one million in the Targeted Input Programme (TIP)." He said TIP, which targets the poorest of the poor, was discriminatory in its distribution unlike the starter pack that was provided to everybody.

Zimbabwe chemical firm to move into Lilongwe (Financial Gazette, 09/05) - Zimbabwe's chemical and adhesives maker Trinidad Industries says it will this year expand its operations into Malawi as part of wider efforts to tap the lucrative regional market. Company chairman Danny Meyer said this week his firm, which already has a branch in neighbouring Zambia, would open another in Malawi to replace the network of agents it had relied on to distribute its products there. "We intend going into Malawi by way of establishing a wholly-owned subsidiary this financial year. We will replicate what we have in Zambia and do away with the agents we were using," Meyer told the Financial Gazette. He declined to say when exactly the Malawi operation would be running or how much Trinidad was expecting to generate from the Malawi venture. In Zambia, Trinidad runs a subsidiary company known as Alhampton Technologies (Zambia) Limited, which it wholly owns. The expansion into the region is also meant to hedge the company against possible losses at home, where business and economic conditions are deteriorating by the day. As well as extending operations into southern Africa, Trinidad is planning to penetrate Western European markets, Meyer said. Several Zimbabwean companies, especially those in the financial services sector, have in the past few years widened their operations into South Africa, Botswana and other regional markets in a bid to cushion themselves against the country's battered economic environment. Meyer said Trinidad, which has managed to pay off many off its bigger loans amounting to more than $7 billion in recent years, is also planning to list on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange in the near future. "The company has got itself out of the financial crisis and our ultimate goal is to take it to the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange and make it a regional player," Meyer said.

Donors slow to respond to famine, says CARE (Irin, 07/05) - Funding to fight famine in Malawi has begun to trickle in, but it is still nowhere near what is required to prevent a humanitarian disaster, said aid agency CARE International. Sarah Glyde, CARE International UK programme officer for Southern and West Africa, told IRIN on Tuesday that donors appeared reluctant to assist Malawi. This was despite it being the country hardest hit by drought and famine in Southern Africa. She said: "The response from donors has been very, very slow. Whereas in Zimbabwe the European Commission delegation sent out an e-mail to NGO's requesting them to send in proposals for food aid distribution, nothing like that has happened in Malawi. "We don't know why, it's puzzling. Perhaps it may have something to do with the fact that major donors suspended aid to Malawi, just before Christmas last year, because of allegations of corruption." On 27 February President Bakili Muluzi declared a national disaster. He also made an urgent appeal for food aid as officials warned that 70 percent of the country's 10 million people were at risk of starvation. It is Malawi's worst food shortage in 50 years. The Pan African News Agency (PANA) reported that the Malawian government had on Monday renewed its call for urgent food aid following a lukewarm donor response. Malawi's Vice President Justin Malewezi said the country needed at least US $21.6 million to avert a humanitarian catastrophe but less than US $5 million had so far been forthcoming, PANA reported. Among the recent contribution was that of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation which had Monday donated US $500,000 to the cause. This was enough to provide emergency food aid to two million people - many of them children - who were going hungry in Malawi, CARE said in a statement. The money was part of a US $1 million grant being shared equally between CARE and the international aid organisation Save the Children. CARE has been charged with heading a consortium of NGO's that will distribute food aid in Malawi. The Church World Service (CWS) aid organisation meanwhile has also made an appeal for urgent food relief. "Large numbers of people are threatened with starvation from drought-related food shortages in six countries in Southern Africa - Lesotho, Mozambique, Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and - worst hit - Malawi. "Massive amounts of food aid are needed soon to avert starvation. CWS is urgently seeking support for hunger relief efforts in Malawi," the organisation said. CWS and other aid partners were already helping to provide maize for food and next-season planting to 37,500 farming families, "as well as a highly nutritious cereal mix to 17,000 severely malnourished children". Nutrition education was also being provided to mothers. CARE said that among the factors contributing to the scarcity of food were: a lack of rain, a depleted supply of strategic grain reserves, low production levels and higher local prices for maize and fertiliser. "The high incidence of HIV/AIDS in most of the region and an outbreak of cholera in Malawi have contributed to the crisis. Meteorologists forecast the region will face a drought again next year," the CARE statement said. CARE Malawi country director Nick Osborne believes the crisis could worsen. "Hunger is setting in early and people are dying. June and July are usually the best time of the year, when people have food. They plant again in November. With hunger setting in early, people are weaker and will be less prepared to start working in the fields for next year's harvest. Over the long term, this is going to become an even bigger crisis," he said in the statement.

Mozambique

South Africa sends medical aid to Maputo (Pretoria, BuaNews, 29/05) - At least two private ambulances are fully packed with medical supplies, ready to leave for Mozambique, tomorrow morning. The consignment, provided by private donor Netcare, comprises gloves, surgical knives, surgical clothes, anesthetics, syringes and bandages. It is destined for the Maputo Central hospital, where hundreds of victims of the horrific train accident that killed more 200 civilians and injuring scores at the weekend, are being treated. The hospital is reportedly experiencing an acute shortage of blood and medicines. The South African government pledged medical supplies to the Portuguese-speaking neighbour following a plea for assistance from the Mozambican authorities. The train crash in Moamba district, about 40 kilometres north of Maputo, is the third catastrophe to hit Mozambique in recent years. Two years ago, destructive floods killed scores of civilians and injured hundreds others, while thousands were displaced. At the time of the devastating floods, the country was emerging from the prolonged 'bloody' civil war that saw many Mozambicans falling victim to landmines and other explosive military devices planted across the country. Past severe drought and economic slump also had a destructive hand in depraving the nation, rich in natural gas, of decent humane living over the years. Meanwhile, transport minister Dullah Omar is visiting the hospital today to show support and convey the country's condolences to the bereaved. The minister joined President Thabo Mbeki in sending the country's condolences to the victims' families immediately after the crash. The Mozambican authorities have since launched an inquiry into the accident, believed to have been due to human error.

Mozambique is South Africa's largest African trading partner (Johannesburg, Business Day, 27/05) - Mozambique has now overtaken Zimbabwe as SA's African largest trading partner, official statistics show. Statistics for last year show that trade between SA and Mozambique was R5,72bn, SA/Zimbabwe R5,38bn and SA/Zambia R4,89bn. Over the past three years, Zimbabwe continued to experience a net flight of portfolio investment during the continuing crisis. In 1997 portfolio investment accounted for about 32m net inflows annually. The trend has, however, continued to deteriorate, with the country registering net outflows between $10m15m over the past two years. Investment analysts say the country has experienced a shrinkage in offshore trade finance. "Total trade finance facilities, which averaged 289m during the first four months of 2000, had shrunk by 28% to an average 209,5m over the same period last year," said one analyst. "This reflects a general unwillingness of global financial markets to extend credit to Zimbabwe." Mozambique is turning out to be Africa's fastest growing economy while Zimbabwe is gaining the reputation of being the continent's fastest shrinking economy. This has seen SA turning away from Zimbabwe to Mozambique where the investment climate is hospitable. Investments worth more than R25bn have been channelled into Mozambique by SA companies over the past few years. Addressing a Special National Assembly in Maputo recently, SA President Thabo Mbeki said his country has large investments in Mozambique. "With R25bn investment by South African parastatals and private companies, SA has become Mozambique's largest foreign investor." Zimbabwean companies have also been leaving in droves to set up operations in Mozambique. But SA companies have literally invaded Mozambique. SA has taken over all the breweries in the former Portuguese colony. Mozambique's largest brewer, Cervejas de Mocambique, in which SA Breweries has 78% of the shares, has taken over the country's only other brewery, Laurentina. Australian-based BHP Billiton, the world's largest mining resources company, has aluminium smelter Mozal in Mozambique. The tourism sector is another area where South Africans are big players and recently the Absa group took over Banco Austral, formerly Popular Development Bank. SA's biggest sugar producer Illovo, has vast operations at Maragra sugar project in Mozambique. Cellular services provider Vodacom has also targeted Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Ghana as new areas of investment.

Mozambican, South African police destroy 1.5 tonnes of illegal arms (Maputo, Sapa-AFP, 24/05) - Mozambican and South African police have destroyed about 1.5 tonnes of illegal weapons in Mozambique's northern Nampula province, state radio reported Friday. Among the weapons destroyed Thursday were AK-47 assault rifles, mortars, rocket launchers, pistols, various ammunitions and explosives, the report said. Miguel dos Santos, general commander of the Mozambican police, told Radio Mozambique the operation was part of a national effort to collect all illegal arms, to prevent their use in crimes around the region. South African police provide technical assistance in arms collection and destruction under cooperation agreements between the two forces, Dos Santos said.

SADC launches inter-state political committee (The Herald, 23/05) - The Southern African Development Community (Sadc) launched in Maputo the Inter-State Politics and Diplomacy Committee (ISPDC) to deal with diplomatic and political issues within the region. The ISPDC, which is part of the Regional Organ on Politics, Defence and Security, was officially created during a Sadc foreign ministers meeting held on May 16 in the Mozambican capital. The new body is regarded as another instrument to make the Sadc protocol on political and security co-operation more effective. Addressing the meeting, the Sadc executive secretary, Prega Ramsamy, said that the launching of the ISPDC constitutes a historical landmark in the process of regional integration in Sadc. "I am saying it is a historical landmark because it is in politics and diplomacy that we find the roots of our organisation", he stressed. "Indeed, the pillars of Sadc are found in the struggle for self-determination and freedom undertaken through a combination of protracted liberation struggles and purposeful diplomacy," he added. Ramsamy praised the organisation for its dynamism in approaching the issue of regional integration pointing out that in the 1980s, Sadc member states had diverse socio-economic policies, "but now all countries in the region have moved to market-oriented economic policies". "Most Sadc member states have liberalised their economies, brought down budget deficits, exchange controls have been liberalised, the public sector and overall macro-economic fundamentals have considerably improved", he said. He also reported improvements in the inflation rates in most of the member states during the last few years. "During 2000, eight member states - Botswana, Lesotho, Mauritius, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland and Tanzania - recorded a single digit inflation," he said. Despite the reported economic growth, Ramsamy warned that Sadc's development can only be sustainable and improved in an environment of peace, security and stability. "It is for this reason that the new structure of Sadc, adopted by the heads of state and government in March 2001, and currently being implemented, has a two-fold approach to the issue of regional co-operation and integration," he said. The major emphasis remained on "increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of Sadc policies and programmes to implement more coherent and better co-ordinated strategies for sustainable growth and development" while the second approach involved achieving peace and stability, and was the task of the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security. Ramsamy said the success of a new Sadc would depend, to a large extent, on how the twin objectives of economic and political governance are addressed in a manner that will provide opportunities to all its people on the basis of equity and mutual benefits. On the political front, according to Ramsamy, there is need to consolidate the achievements made so far with regard to democratic principles, the rule of law, accountability, human rights and participatory governance. Coupled with these is the need "to strengthen the political and diplomatic mechanisms for conflict prevention, management and resolution at regional level and to ensure that these mechanisms are used to restore and maintain peace". Ramsamy said that the region needs to develop "not only a risk mapping system to analyse social, economic and political situations, but also coherent, comprehensive and integrated approaches that will address the root causes of conflict".

South African project coming on line (Miningweb, 15/05) - Southern Mining, the South African-listed junior which owns the mammoth Corridor Sands heavy minerals deposit in Mozambique, is expecting to have the project's bankable feasibility study completed by next month. The study will test the viability of the $500 million project, which has the potential to revolutionise the dynamics of the world's titanium feedstock industry for at least the next four decades. Rob Still, the chairman of SMC, says the deposit has a total inferred resource of about 16.5 billion tons, containing more than 7 percent total heavy minerals. To put the size of the project into perspective, the much-vaunted Murray Basin heavy minerals complex in Australia, which has spawned a raft of junior explorers and would-be producers, has only around 100 million tons containing heavy minerals. "Corridor Sands makes the Murray Basin look like a kid's sand pit," said Still. "What makes this thing particularly attractive is that there is no stripping ratio, all the operations are in one place, there are no serious environmental issues and we're only 50 km from the coast," said Still. SMC has also managed to negotiate a favourable tax regime with an investor-friendly Mozambican government and has access to cheap South African-generated electricity. But the sheer size of the project ? the project is large enough to support the projected production levels of a million tons of titania slag for 35 years ? could also be one of its major drawbacks. Still reckons the start-up costs, which include spending on electricity, road and port facilities, as well as working capital, will come in at around $500 million. "It's a great project, but the one drawback is that it can't be started small and grown bigger ? we have to start large" said Still. First hurdle for SMC, which currently owns 100 percent of the project, is to secure the involvement of Aussie-diversified WMC in the project. WMC is scheduled to split into its component aluminium and mining divisions later this year and, although the mining business is expected to spin out $350 million in cash each year, there are some question marks over its appetite for a project the size of Corridor Sands. Issues may also arise over whether by demerging WMC remains compliant with the terms of its participation option in Corridor. (SMC will also have to vet any new partners, given WMC is expected to be taken out after the demerger by one of the diversifieds.) Still says in terms of the agreement WMC will have to make a decision on whether it will go ahead with the project by March next year. That option can be extended by six months at a cost of $8 million. "So you could probably expect a decision [on whether to proceed or not] by January 2004," said Still. Assuming WMC stays on board, the financing requirement of the first phase of Corridor, which will take production up to 375,000 tons of slag a year, will come in at about $500 million. $222 million of that will be financed in the form of equity provided by SMC ($20 million for 36 percent), WMC ($180 million for 54 percent) and South African finance parastatal The Industrial Development Corporation ($22 million for 10 percent). The balance of the funding would come from export credits provided by the South African and various European governments and straightforward project finance. But the ability of a smaller WMC to raise $180 million and the willingness of lenders to chip in somewhere north of $200 million in project finance needs to be tested. With global economic and political uncertainty reigning supreme (just look at the gold price), banks will be loath to take a punt on whether titania slag demand will hold up during the critical first phase of the project. SMC expects to be producing Rutile and Zircon after 18 months and, although the two minerals will ultimately represent only 10 percent of the project's revenues, they will provide welcome cash flows in the early phase of construction before the first smelter comes on line, producing saleable slag. The first smelter will come on line about three years after the first rutile and zircon rolls off the production line, with the remaining two shortly thereafter. Word is that SMC has received letters of intent from pigment producers, ostensibly keen to enter into long-term offtake agreements with SMC. No word yet on who the mystery customers are, but a release from SMC said "offtake contractual negotiations are making encouraging progress". Once that side of the business is in the bag, finance should be that much easier to wrap up. But, just as with Aussie junior BeMax, which has one of the more promising projects in the Murray Basin, financing will hinge on the conclusion of a watertight offtake agreement.

South Africa and Mozambique economic cooperation (Mail & Guardian, 09/05) - The gross domestic product (GDP) of Mozambique is expected to steadily increase by more than 20% from the first half of 2004. This is when a multimillion-rand pipeline, currently under construction, starts pumping natural gas from the Inhambane province in northern Mozambique to Secunda in Mpumalanga, South Africa. Following years of negotiation since the early 1980s with the Mozambican government, synthetic fuels and chemicals giant Sasol has officially begun construction on a natural gas processing plant in the Temane gas field in Inhambane. An agreement has been signed between Sasol and ENH, the Mozambican national oil company, to grant the company pipeline rights in Mozambique, including access to the Temane and Pande gas fields. The South African government and the South African Central Energy Fund (CEF) are also parties to the agreement. The Projecto de Gas Natural consists of a gas field, an 865km pipeline, and the conversion of Sasol's current gas pipeline network - including switching its Sasolburg plants from coal to gas. The pipeline, which will be owned by Sasol and the governments of South Africa and Mozambique, will supply natural gas to more than 600 industrial users in South Africa, as well as to Sasol's factories and processing plants. Over three years Sasol will construct gas production wells, collection pipelines and a gas-cleaning and drying facility, which will be located at the Temane field. Work on the pipeline was inaugurated at a ceremony last week, attended by Mozambican President Joachim Chissano and President Thabo Mbeki as well as several government officials from both countries. According to Sasol CEO Pieter Cox, although the actual building of the gas field and processing plant will be spearheaded by British company Foster Wheeler, "maximum use" will be made of local suppliers during the three-year construction period. The project is also expected to create about 1 000 jobs for locals. Cox says the agreement between Sasol and the two governments has also made provision for the future inclusion of black economic empowerment shareholders. Sasol says it has already signed memoranda of understanding with two prospective groups for local gas-distribution companies in Mpu-malanga and KwaZulu-Natal Speaking at the launch, Mbeki hailed the venture as the successful outcome of cooperation not only between two governments, but also as proof "that government and the private sector can work together constructively". As the main beneficiary of the gas field and pipeline Sasol plans to grow its current gas markets by promoting the Temane field's natural gas as "a new world-class energy source". Each government, however, will get a 25% share of the profits from the project. Sasol plans to pump a fixed capital investment of more than R14-billion to the Mozambican natural gas project.

Mozambique provides success story for Mbeki (Sunday Times, 05/05) - When President Thabo Mbeki speaks to the world's most powerful leaders at the G8 summit in Canada in June, he is likely to capture their imagination by telling them of an African success story in progress. The G8 leaders have asked that African countries meet basic criteria of good political and economic governance to enable rich nations to commit themselves financially to the African recovery programme, Nepad. Mbeki, as one of Nepad's key salesmen, will have to prove that Africa is ready to talk business. His story won't be about South Africa as it is regarded as somewhat of a special case by the First World. Mbeki will talk of Mozambique and show how a country ravaged by war and periodically devastated by floods and drought is leading the way in a new culture of democracy, stability and rapid development. During Mbeki's official visit to Maputo this week, Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano said everything he wanted to hear. On the 10th anniversary of the signing of a peace accord with the Renamo rebels, Chissano says his government has attained "overall peace and stability". Institutions of government, parliament and the courts are "functioning normally" and the country is about to begin a national dialogue on a 20-year vision for growth and development. Speaking at Maputo's High Institute for International Relations about the African recovery plan, Mbeki said that when he wants to illustrate a winning partnership between government and the private sector in Africa, he refers to the Mozal Aluminium Smelter Plant near Maputo, valued at US1-billion (about R10.5-billion). Mozambique, it seems, has discovered the magic formula to attract private investment. On Friday, Mbeki and Chissano launched the Sasol gas pipeline in Temane, which begins 900km of development and job-creation opportunities from northern Mozambique to Sasolburg . Besides these and other mega-projects such as the Lubombo Spatial Development Initiative, the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Park and the Zambezi and Maputo corridors, Mozambique's progress is visible in construction projects all over its capital. The city is being rebuilt and high-rise buildings are rapidly taking the place of crumbling structures. Mbeki's visit this week was about more than sealing ties and increasing cooperation between the two countries. Chissano is a strategic ally and a like-minded leader in terms of Mbeki's agenda for Africa. Chissano can play an essential role transforming the Southern African Development Community. As chairman of the community's organ of security and defence, he has the clout to deal with countries grappling with conflict. During the visit, Mbeki repeatedly referred to what he sees as a cornerstone of Nepad: a "peer review mechanism". "It is Africa's own rating system," says Mbeki, but it is also a way of whipping errant states, which do not meet the criteria for stability, a human rights culture and good governance, into line. The mechanism will allow African countries to punish leaders who flout agreements, such as Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe. Another major proposal to come out of Nepad is the formation of a security council for Africa. Chissano has both the credibility and experience to drive that process or to play a central role in it.

Namibia

Military convoys to continue in Caprivi (Irin, 28/05) - "Bandit" attacks along Namibia's northern border have stopped since the signing of Angola's ceasefire agreement, but the ministry of defence has advised people in the Caprivi region to continue travelling under military escort and avoid journeying by night. A spokesperson said that although the situation in the Caprivi was "back to normal" following the April agreement between the Angolan government and UNITA rebels, the military convoys had not been suspended. Travelling independently by day was "probably not a problem", the spokesperson said. However, "that doesn't say the bandits have refrained from attacks for ever. But, as of now, no serious incidents have been reported". She added that although Namibian troops in southern Angola, deployed to block UNITA infiltration, had been withdrawn, tight security would be maintained along the border. "We are of course watching the situation very closely," she told IRIN. The Namibian newspaper on Monday reported a "partial" suspension of the military convoys in Caprivi. They were introduced in 2000 after attacks - officially blamed on UNITA - on vehicles travelling between Bagani, 200 km east of Rundu and Kongola, 117 km west of Katima Mulilo. However, the military commander for both the Caprivi and Kavango regions, Lt-Col Abed Mukumangeni, was quoted as denying that the convoys had been discontinued.

Poor regional rainfall slashes harvest expectations (Namibia Economist, 27/05) - The Kavango and Caprivi regions in the north-east of the country will see only a third of their normal maize harvest this year due to sparse rainfall. This falls in line with multi-agency warnings that harvests will be below normal throughout Southern Africa this year. An assessment conducted last week showed that communal farmers will only be able to harvest about 27% of their cereal needs this year. The IRIN news agency quoted a government source as saying that maize, which is mainly a dry-land crop in the country, has been badly affected by the poor rainfall this season. According to weather statistics, it had rained in November in the two regions, but then stopped in the second week of December. The Southern African Development Community (SADC) early warning unit estimates a maize deficit for the whole of Southern Africa, with Namibia weighing in at an estimated 177 000 metric tons. The unit's quarterly report states that overall national food security remained adequate in Namibia. However, current private sector plans to import 101 000 metric tons of cereals, comprising 66000 metric tons of maize and 35100 metric tons of wheat, fall short of the total import requirement. The uncovered import gap (currently projected at 105 000 tons) will be filled through further commercial imports in response to market forces, according to the SADC early warning unit. IRIN said that in four north-central regions - Ohangwena, Omusati, Oshana and Oshikoto - only certain pockets have received some rain in March, diminishing expectations of good sorghum and millet harvests. Millet, maize and wheat comprise up to 60% of the population's total calorie intake. The four regions have had rain, but most crops wilted in the flowering stage. The country's commercial farmers were unaffected as they used irrigation systems. Last week, the governors of the four north-central areas reported that people were coming to their office to register for food aid. About 800 people in Omusati and 7000 in Oshana - over 3000 of them orphans - had already registered, they said. Up to 70% of Namibia's population depend on subsistence farming which is complicated by it being the driest country in Southern Africa.

Namibian reporter wins press freedom case in South Africa (Namibian, 21/05) - South Africa's Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein has ruled that the Peninsula Technikon in Cape Town wrongfully expelled a Namibian student who published an article on prostitution on the campus. Max Hamata, who is now a journalist with The Namibian, is considering legal action against the Cape Town-based higher education institution. South African newspapers reported on the Supreme Court's decision over the weekend. Hamata, then a second year journalism student, was expelled after an article he wrote, 'Sex for sale on campus', was published in the Mail and Guardian in September 1998. The Technikon's disciplinary committee found that Hamata had published an untrue and misleading article that had brought "discredit on the Technikon". Hamata launched a series of appeals with the help of the Freedom of Expression Institute. Now, four years later, his battle against his expulsion has succeeded. "I am consulting my lawyers and the Freedom of Expression Institute about further action," Hamata said yesterday. He said the expulsion had been a big blow to his studies. "This ruling is a boost not only for me but also for press freedom. Students are trained to do investigative journalism at the same institution that puts up barriers, and that does not augur well for freedom of the press." Hamata said he felt that the Technikon had been xenophobic by accusing him of not having the interests of South African students at heart. "They used that to justify their injustice," he said.

Cuban-trained lawyers face discrimination (Namibian, 21/05) - A SWAPO parliamentarian has accused the Namibian judicial system of discriminating against Namibians with law qualifications from Cuba. National Council MP Karlous Marx Shinohamba says law graduates from Cuba are not allowed to practice in Namibia "and the reason given is that they have not done common law". Speaking during debate on the Supreme Court Amendment Bill in the National Council last week, the Swapo MP from the Ohangwena Region said his investigations had revealed that lawyers trained in Cuba were taught "almost everything that is taught in common law". Shinohamba wanted an explanation on why Cuban-trained lawyers are not allowed to practice in Namibia. He alleged that 90 per cent of practising lawyers and judges in Namibia are foreigners. The MP also claimed that the bridging courses for non-common law trained lawyers offered by the Ministry of Justice are designed in such a way that none of the lawyers trained in Cuba passed the courses. "And because of that, these lawyers are forced to pursue different fields to the detriment of adequate legal services to all the citizens of our country. This obviously not good for our country," he said. Debate on the amendment bill continues this week.

Angelina Jolie visits Osire refugee camp (Namibian, 15/05) - Goodwill is in the air at Namibia's Osire refugee camp. Between late March and mid April this year, UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie visited and donated food, tents and sports equipment to the nearly 24 000 refugees there. On March 23, Jolie joined the High Commissioner's Representative in Namibia, Hesdy Rathling, at Osire camp while working on her new movie, 'Beyond Borders'. Osire camp, established in 1998, is home to mostly Angolan refugees. There, the Goodwill Ambassador met new arrivals, family groups, leaders of the women's refugee organisation and nurses who briefed her on the running of the camp clinic. After hearing about the enthusiastic sports teams at the camp, Jolie brought hundreds of volleyballs, basketballs, footballs and nets to be distributed to the refugees. This was in line with the discussion she held with High Commissioner Ruud Lubbers on the value of sports activities as a means of maintaining health and morale (Olympic Aid Roundtable, February 9, Salt Lake City). Returning from her day with the refugees at Osire camp, Jolie said: "These people have amazing spirit and determination. I want to come back and spend more time with them." On April 13, Jolie and her production team donated 270 tents and several hundred items of bedding and mattresses to Osire. They also contributed 13,5 tons of food supplies including corn meal, wheat, sugar, salt and beans. In addition, the Goodwill Ambassador made a generous personal contribution to UNHCR for projects benefiting refugees in Osire camp. These included education materials and support for the Women's Centre. Jolie told Rathling she will follow closely events which may allow a safe and peaceful return home for the Angolan refugees she now considers her friends. Before leaving Namibia, Jolie also worked with the UNHCR video team to complete her narration of an updated version of 'We Were There', a 27-minute documentary offering a historical perspective of UNHCR's work over the past 50 years. She appears in the documentary alongside High Commissioner Lubbers, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, Special Representative of the Secretary General for Children and Armed Conflict Olara Otunnu, Nobel Peace Prize winners Desmond Tutu and Rigoberta Menchu, as well as several former High Commissioners. The documentary will be launched for global TV broadcast on World Refugee Day on June 20.

Lands ministry to continue probe of foreign land ownership (Namibian, 10/05) - South African and German nationals own at least 164 farms covering 1,14 million hectares of land in Namibia, according to a preliminary report by the Deeds Office in the Ministry of Lands, Resettlement and Rehabilitation. Lands Minister Hifikepunye Pohamba recently informed Cabinet that South African nationals own at least 82 farms totalling around 805 699 hectares, while Germans own a further 82 farms which total 337 849 hectares. A Cabinet statement this week said the figures represent only a fraction of farms owned by foreign nationals in the country. Many farms owned by foreigners in close corporations with Namibians are still under investigation. Pohamba said commercial farms were transferred into close corporations at "an alarming rate" shortly after Government announced that it would introduce the Commercial Agricultural Land Act in 1995. In 1995 alone, close to 275 farms or six million hectares were converted into close corporations as gifts or donations. Pohamba said Government was investigating the practice of transferring commercial farms into close corporations and intends to tax companies registered as owners of the particular farms. Government announced recently that it would slap a 0,75 per cent tax rate on the value of each hectare of undeveloped land owned by commercial farmers in Namibia and one per cent on land owned by absentee landlords. The move is aimed at compelling farmers to sell excess land to Government for resettlement. The land tax will be backdated to April 1. Through the proposed land taxation, Pohamba said, Government would be able to raise revenue of at least N$18,4 million each year. He said the tax rate for absentee landlords was likely to be pushed up after one year when a re-evaluation of the rates would be done. Pohamba said the tax rate would increase by 0,25 per cent per hectare on each additional farm owned by an individual commercial farmer. When he briefed Cabinet on progress made in the implementation of land tax on agricultural commercial land, Pohamba said the implementation strategy for land tax required four phases for the creation of a valuation roll of all taxable properties. These phases include the property identification exercise, the creation of the valuation roll, objections and the sitting of the valuation court, and billing and collecting. The Minister told Cabinet that the property identification exercise had reached an advanced stage. Ten teams from his Ministry visited the country's 13 regions to collect information which will form the basis of valuations. The Ministry hopes to release the valuation roll for public consumption next month, but inadequate human resources was a stumbling block in its finalisation. In terms of the proposed land tax, farmers will not be taxed on improvements they have made on their farms. Pohamba said Government had identified 12 753 commercial agricultural properties in Namibia and that ownership had been broken up into land owned by Namibians and land owned by non-Namibians. Government has spent over N$70 million on acquiring in excess of 567 000 hectares of freehold farmland since Independence. About 243 000 communal farmers are still waiting for land. Government will need N$900 million to buy 9,5 million hectares to resettle them. According to Government statistics, about 30,5 million hectares is owned by white farmers and only 2,2 million hectares by black farmers. Absentee landlords own a further 2,9 million hectares while the State owns only 2,3 million hectares. Over the last 10 years, land prices in Namibia have increased by more than 200 per cent, on average, from an average N$70 per hectare to over N$300 per hectare. Commercial farmers have not paid land tax since Independence because of a lack of legislation.

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This page last updated 14 June 2002.