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Weekly anb06086.txt #6
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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 08-06-2000 PART #6/6
* Tanzania. Pulling out of COMESA - Tanzania has been praised for
deciding to withdraw from the Common Market for Eastern and
Southern Africa (COMESA) and remaining in the Southern African
Development Community (SADC). Recently, some Zambian politicians
and economists said in interviews in Lusaka, that COMESA's validity
for Tanzania and Zambia was questionable. They had advised their
government to follow Tanzania's example, and stop draining Zambia's
meagre resources into both COMESA and SADC. They want Zambia to
remain in SADC which plays both a political and an economic role,
and to abandon COMESA whose function is only economic. Although
Tanzania had decided to pull out of COMESA last year, officials
were said to be divided over the issue. However, Idd Simba,
Tanzania's minister for Industries and commerce, confirmed two
weeks ago that Tanzania will pull out of COMESA next September.
(Titus Kaguo ANB-BIA,, Tanzania, 5 June 2000)
* Tchad. Feu vert pour l'oleoduc - Le 6 juin, la Banque mondiale
a finalement decide d'apporter son concours financier et surtout sa
caution a l'exploitation du petrole dans le sud du Tchad. Ce projet
qui prevoit un investissement prive de quelque 3,7 milliards de
dollars, porte sur le forage autour de Doba et la construction d'un
oleoduc de plus de 1.000 km a travers le Cameroun. La Banque
mondiale accordera des prets d'un total de 92,9 millions de
dollars. Le projet est fort conteste par de nombreuses ONG qui
denoncent les risques pour l'environnement et reclament un partage
equitable des ressources et des garanties contre la corruption.
Toutefois, le Tchad a vote une loi prevoyant que 80% des royalties
seraient consacrees au developpement, et 10% bloques dans un fonds
special "pour les generations futures". Un comite special sera
instaure pour garantir ces engagements. Il reste qu'on peut
s'interroger sur la validite de ces engagements, et que les trois
quarts des revenus, estimes a pres de 10 milliards de dollars au
total, reviendraient aux petroliers. (D'apres Liberation, France,
7 juin 2000)
* Chad. World Bank says "yes" to pipeline project - On 6 June,
the World Bank approved $193 million in financing to help support
a controversial $3.7 billion oil development and pipeline project
to link oilfields in southern Chad to the coast of Cameroon. World
Bank support has been considered critical to the project's success.
The consortium of companies backing it, led by Exxon-Mobil as
operator, Petronas of Malaysia and Chevron, had said they could not
have proceeded without World Bank involvement. In addition, the
World Bank loans are considered necessary to secure more than $1
billion in outside funding from sources, including export credit
agencies and commercial banks. (Financial Times, UK, 7 June 2000)
* Tunisia-Libya. Ben Ali hails Kadhafi's efforts in Africa -
Tunisia and Libya have appealed to rich developed countries to
redouble their efforts to remove the debt burden which hinders
Africa's development process. In a joint communique issued on 4
June in Tunis, the two neighbours also urged these countries to
help the continent's programme of economic and social reforms and
to fight poverty and marginalisation. According to the document
issued at the end of Tunisian President Zine el Abidine Ben Ali's
two-day visit to Tripoli, the Libyan leader, Col. Moammar Kadhafi,
has "expressed support to Ben Ali's appeal in favour of the
creation of a world solidarity fund of which African peoples and
others can take advantage." On his part, Ben Ali commended Kadhafi
for his efforts to settle African conflicts and to end blood-
letting between Africans. The two leaders launched a join appeal to
Ethiopia and Eritrea to stop the fighting and resort to dialogue
and to peaceful means to settle their conflict. Tunisia and Libya
said they are satisfied with the outcome of the 31 May to 2 June
extraordinary OAU foreign ministers conference in Tripoli. The
meeting was called to review the implementation of the
recommendations of the September 1999 Sirte extraordinary summit
devoted to the creation of an African union and an African
parliament. The two countries also "stressed the significance of
the grouping of Sahelian and Saharan states, as one of the
components of the African unity, and its role in the unification of
the continent's efforts". According to the communique, Tunisia has
decided to become a member of the Economic Community of Sahelo-
Saharan Countries, which groups 11 states from North, West,
Central, and Eastern Africa. (Bouazza Ben Bouazza, PANA, 5 June
2000)
* Ouganda. Appel des Eglises - Le Uganda Joint Christian Council
(Conseil chretien uni ougandais), qui reunit les Eglises anglicane,
catholique et orthodoxe, a fait appel au gouvernement ougandais
pour qu'il se retire de la RDC et cantonne ses troupes "dans les
limites des frontieres ougandaises". Cet appel fait partie des
resolutions passees le 2 juin par les membres de l'UJCC a l'issue
d'une reunion de deux jours a Kampala. (IRIN, Nairobi, 5 juin
2000)
* Zimbabawe. Domestic debt skyrocketing - Zimbabwe's domestic
debt is now skyrocketing by more than Z$98 billion at a time when
the country's economic possibilities are very poor and the currency
continues to weaken against major international currencies. Last
month, economists predicted that the debt would reach Z$100 billion
before August, dashing all hopes of adhering to Finance Minister Dr
Herbert Murerwa's budget proposals for the year 2000. The Reserve
Bank of Zimbabwe which advises the government on expenditure, said
the domestic debt had reached Z$98 billion as of 20 April. The
Reserve Bank also said the government's overdraft at the Bank is
continuing to increase. The International Monetary Fund which last
year suspended its US $193 million balance of payments support for
Zimbabwe's economic recovery programme, has repeatedly asked the
government to curb its excessive expenditure. The chief executive
of the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce has said the
unsustainable domestic debt, a bloated civil service and high
expenditure on defence, means the largest slice of the national
budget goes towards interest on debt and wages and salaries, at the
expense of the important poverty eradication programme. He says
that with about 64% of total expenditure expected to go towards
interest payments this year, the incidence of poverty is expected
to rise even higher. (Dumisani Khumalo, ANB-BIA, Zimbabwe, 22 May
2000
* Zimbabwe. Bureaucracy restricts PAZ's functioning - Barely one
year since it was established, the Privatisation Agency of Zimbabwe
(PAZ) is being hampered in executing its functions properly. PAZ's
marketing and Public Affairs Executive Tapiwa Kamuruko, says the
agency has found it impossible to overcome the bureaucratic
government structures which are affecting the way in which it
carries out its duties. The PAZ has to consult and report back to
a cumbersome string of organisations -- the State-owned enterprise
in question; the appropriate ministry; an inter-ministerial
committee on privatisation; and finally, the Cabinet. Kamuruko says
that PAZ has sent proposals to the government so that procedures
can be simplified and speeded-up. Unfortunately, PAZ is housed in
the Office of the Presidency, a factor which many interested
parties believe effects the autonomy and transparency of the
privatisation exercise. PAZ's functions include advising on all
matters of privatisation, including preparing detailed work plans,
a timetable for privatisation and financial reorganisation of
concerned entities. (Tonderayi Mukeredzi, ANB-BIA, Zimbabwe, 2
June 2000)
* Zimbabwe. Expropriations - 2 juin. Le Journal officiel
zimbabween a publie une liste de 804 fermes appartenant a des
Blancs qui seront expropriees sans dedommagement et redistribuees
aux Noirs sans terre. Les proprietaires qui souhaitent contester
ces expropriations ont jusqu'au 2 juillet pour presenter leurs
arguments par ecrit au ministere de l'Agriculture. Certaines
familles blanches ont commence a preparer leurs affaires, mais le
syndicat des fermiers les a exhortees a ne pas ceder a la panique.
-3 juin. Le principal parti d'opposition, le Mouvement pour le
changement democratique, a rempli les formulaires d'inscription de
ses candidats aux elections legislatives, malgre les allegations de
tentatives d'intimidation et d'irregularites qui entourent le
scrutin. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 5 juin 2000)
* Zimbabwe. Pressure mounts - 2 June: Zimbabwe officially
proclaims the expropriation without compensation of 804 white-owned
farms. Owners are given a month to object. There is no comment from
the Commercial Farmers Union, but lawyers say there is little point
in farmers objecting since they have no legal redress, govern that
Parliament has approved new legislation providing for expropriation
without compensation. 4 June: The Zimbabwean Government launches an
attack on senior judges of British descent. In a series of comments
in the state-run media, the Government accuses judges sitting in
the Supreme and High Courts of being ill-qualified to pass
judgement in politically sensitive cases, on the grounds that they
are not citizens of Zimbabwe. 4 June: The EU has bowed to
Zimbabwe's demands that no British national should be included in
its team of election observers. Political parties announce their
candidates for the election. 5 June: Several High Court judges are
planning to make a public protest today, against the Government's
claims. There are fears that the accusations will be followed by a
direct attempt to have white judges removed from the bench. At
least 250 schools across Zimbabwe have closed down in recent weeks
in the wake of a campaign of political intimidation against
teachers. 6 June: The British Government launches an unprecedented
attack on President Mugabe, charging that he is determined to hold
unfair elections and to ruin the country's economy. 7 June:
President Mugabe warns that all white-owned farms in Zimbabwe could
be taken over by the government. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 7 June 2000)
Weekly News anb0608.txt - End of part 6/6
THE END
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