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Weekly anb10317.txt #7
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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 31-10-2002 PART #7/7
* Swaziland. Royals under fire over "kidnap" - 29 October: Swaziland's
chief justice criticised the royal family for continuing to frustrate a
woman's lawsuit seeking to prevent the king from marrying her daughter.
Lindiwe Dlamini had asked the court to force the royal family to release
her daughter, Zena Zoraya Mahlangu, 18, from a royal guest house. Mahlangu
and two other women were picked up by King Mswati III's aides last month
after the king decided they would be his 10th, 11th and 12th wives. "The
continued protraction of the case is not helping anyone," Chief Justice
Stanley Sapire said at a hearing on 29 October. The court had ordered two
women to meet with Mahlangu to determine whether she was being held against
her will, but they were refused entrance and told the royals were in
mourning over the death of a member of the royal family. In an interview
with reporters on 28 October, Mahlangu said she was ready to marry the king
and nothing would make her change her mind. "I am happy with everything and
I am preparing to take my place in the royal household and be a good wife
to my husband," she said. Sapire said the two women appointed by the court
must speak with Mahlangu by the next court hearing on 31 October to
determine her true intentions. Without her side of the story, Sapire said,
she should be released to her mother's care because women under the age of
21 are minors in Swaziland. (CNN, USA, 30 October 2002)
* Tanzania. $84 million needed for 8,500km road maintenance - Tanzania
needs an estimated $84 million per year to finance maintenance of the
country road network, assuming all those targeted are in maintainable
condition. Tanzania's road network is approximately 8,500km long with
4,430km categorised as paved and 80,570km unpaved. According to the Annual
Report of the Roads Fund Board, an increase of 10 per cent to cater for
development activities will push the total requirement to $94 million per
annum. The report further states that, "on the other hand, the estimated
total collection of fuel levy for financial year 2000/2001 was only $45.8
million which corresponds to only 42 per cent of estimated actual
requirement of roads in maintainable condition." Inadequacy of maintenance
funds means losses to the economy as a whole. The World Bank estimates that
a reduction of $1 in the road maintenance budget causes an increase of $2
or $3 in vehicle operating costs. According to the study, 30 per cent of
the 10,300km trunk roads are in good condition, with 39.2 per cent being in
fair condition and 30.8 per cent in poor condition. (The East African,
Kenya, 28 October 2002)
* Togo. Elections législatives - Le dimanche 27 octobre, près de trois
millions de Togolais étaient appelés aux urnes pour élire leurs députés. Le
scrutin, boycotté par les principaux partis d'opposition, a été reporté à
deux reprises en trois ans. Toutefois, 14 petits partis, également
d'opposition, on maintenant présenté des candidats. Le parti au pouvoir, le
Rassemblement du peuple togolais (RPT) est cependant assuré de remporter
largement ces élections, ses candidats étant pratiquement seuls dans 39
circonscriptions électorales. Le scrutin s'est déroulé dans le calme. Selon
le ministère de l'Intérieur, le taux d'affluence aurait été de 60 à 65%, ce
qui indique que l'appel au boycott n'a pas été écouté. Le scrutin a été
correctement organisé, selon les observateurs, qui estiment cependant qu'il
ne résout rien sur le fond de la vie politique intérieure. Le dialogue
politique intertogolais, lancé en juillet 1999, ne sera pas débloqué par
cette consultation. Rappelons toutefois que le président Eyadéma, au
pouvoir depuis 35 ans, a promis de se retirer en 2003. Mais les opposants
se préparent à faire face à une éventuelle modification de la Constitution
destinée à permettre au président de rester au pouvoir. -29 octobre.
D'après les résultats définitifs des élections, le RPT a obtenu 72 sièges
de députés sur les 81 à pourvoir. Le taux de participation a été de
67,43%. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 29 octobre 2002)
* Togo. Elections - 27 October: Parliamentary elections. The elections
are reported as being carried out in an atmosphere of apparent calm, with a
turnout of over 70%. An appeal had been launched by the Opposition to
boycott the elections. 31 October: The Rally of the People of Togo (RPT)
have won 72 seats out of the 81. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 31 October 2002)
* Tunisie. Grèves de la faim - Deux membres du Parti communiste ouvrier
tunisien (PCOT), Abdeljabbar Madouri et Ammar Amroussia, actuellement en
détention, ont entamé "une grève de la faim illimitée" pour revendiquer
leur "libération immédiate et sans condition", annonce un communiqué du
PCOT du 24 octobre. Les deux hommes motivent leur recours à la grève de la
faim (le premier depuis le 17 octobre, le second depuis le 18) par "la
détérioration de leur état de santé, en raison des mauvaises conditions de
détention et l'absence de soins". Deux autres membres du parti condamnés
avaient été libérés sous condition en septembre dernier pour des raisons de
santé. Le PCOT réitère par la même occasion son appel à la libération de
tous les détenus politiques en Tunisie, "quelle que soit leur appartenance
idéologique". Estimés à un millier par les ONG, dont Amnesty International,
ceux-ci appartiennent pour la plupart au mouvement islamiste tunisien
interdit Ennahdha. Deux personnes de ce groupe sont également en grève de
la faim. (D'après AP, 24 octobre 2002)
* Tunisie. Parti d'opposition reconnu - Le 25 octobre, l'agence
tunisienne de presse TAP a annoncé l'autorisation accordée à un nouveau
parti politique, le "Forum démocratique pour le travail et les libertés"
(FDTL). En fait, celui-ci, présidé par le Dr Mustapha Ben Jaâfar, tente
d'exister depuis une dizaine d'années, en vain jusqu'à ce vendredi. Fondé
en 1994, le FDTL opérait depuis dans la semi-clandestinité. Ce nouveau
"geste" du pouvoir s'adresse à un mouvement sans base sociale, mais qui
tient un vrai discours d'opposition. Désormais, le paysage politique
tunisien compte sept partis d'opposition reconnus, outre le parti au
pouvoir. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 26 octobre 2002)
* Uganda. AIDS death toll - AIDS has killed nearly one million Ugandans
since the disease was first identified in the country in 1983, a government
report has said. The country's health ministry said the figure included
94,755 people aged under 16. A million of Uganda's 24 million people have
HIV. (The Guardian, UK, 25 October 2002)
* Ouganda. Sida: un million de morts - Selon un rapport annuel du
ministère ougandais de la Santé, publié le 24 octobre à Kampala, près d'un
million d'Ougandais sont morts du sida depuis qu'il a été diagnostiqué pour
la première fois dans le pays. Sur les 947.552 décès recensés, 427.153 sont
des femmes, 425.644 des hommes, et 94.755 des enfants de moins de quinze
ans. La prévalence du virus VIH/sida est de 5%. La population du pays est
de 24 millions d'habitants. -- Notons par ailleurs que Mgr Cordes,
président du conseil pontifical Cor Unum (dit "de la charité du pape)
séjournera du 25 au 30 octobre en Ouganda, où il viendra soutenir plusieurs
projets, en particulier en faveur des enfants malades du sida. (ANB-BIA,
de sources diverses, 25 octobre 2002)
* Uganda. Help for Uganda's terminally ill - The lives of thousands of
terminally-ill people in Uganda are being transformed by a ground-breaking
palliative care programme. The programme, established just four years ago,
provides pain relief and care to people with cancer and other terminal
diseases. The scheme has been so successful that the Ugandan Ministry of
Health has decided to introduce a comprehensive palliative care service
across the country. Dr Anne Merriman, medical director of Hospice Africa
which runs the programme, said they had helped many people living with
terminal illness. Average life expectancy in Uganda is just 41 years.
Cancer is a major killer but few people are able to get medical treatment
for the disease. Only a small proportion receive pain relief to help them
cope with cancer and other illnesses. Most die at home after months of
suffering excruciating pain. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 26 October 2002)
* Uganda. Millions missing from Missions abroad - An audit of Uganda's
missions abroad has found that millions of shillings in visa and passport
fees, have not been remitted to the national treasury -- suggesting that
the money may have been misappropriated. A number of missions were also
found to have overshot their expenditures by millions of shillings above
the authorised spending -- an act described by the Auditor General's report
as "either unrealistic budgeting or weaknesses in expenditure control."
Several of Uganda's property abroad such as houses and vehicles are not
insured, not only contravening the law of the host countries, but also
putting at risk property worth millions of dollars. According to the
Auditor General's report to parliament, the main culprits are Uganda's
missions in Europe. For example, none of the country's properties in
Copenhagen, including vehicles, the chancery and official residence, were
insured.Auditor General John F.S. Muwanga said Uganda's High Commission in
London had failed to account for Ush21 million in passport and visa fees
for the past financial year. The High Commission also failed to remit Ush20
million. The money was the balance from the 2001/2002 expenditure.
According to the government accounting regulations, all money not spent
must be returned to the Treasury at the end of every financial year. (The
East African, Kenya, 28 October 2002)
* Zambia. GM food aid rejected - 29 October: The Zambian Government has
finally decided not to accept a donation of GM food for nearly three
million of its people facing famine. The decision was taken after the
Zambian Government despatched a team of scientists around the world to
study the potential effects of GM crops. The food aid was initially offered
by the international community to Zambia and five other South African
countries, but President Levy Mwanawasa referred to the food as "poison".
The Government's controversial decision has sparked a huge political row in
Zambia, with the Opposition claiming people will die as a result. Indeed,
the government's decision will complicate relief efforts, say relief
agencies. The US government says it disagrees with Zambia's
decision. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 29 October 2002)
* Zambie. Refus des OGM - Frappée de plein fouet par la crise alimentaire
affectant l'Afrique australe, la Zambie a confirmé, le 29 octobre, qu'elle
n'acceptait pas de denrées contenant des organismes génétiquement modifiés
(OGM). Les Etats-Unis fournissent 75% de l'aide proposée par le Programme
alimentaire mondial à la Zambie. (La Croix, France, 30 octobre 2002)
* Zimbabwe. Tobacco crop to halve - 24 October: Zimbabwe's tobacco
harvest is expected to halve next year due to the difficulties facing
farmers. Farm disruptions caused by the land seizures have already reduced
this year's tobacco crop to about 162 million kg, from 202 million kg last
year. Now that figure is expected to halve again, with many farmers unable
to transplant their seedlings during the critical pre-rain season between
15 October and 15 November. "We're falling behind," Chris Molam, chief
executive of the Zimbabwe Tobacco Association said. "Farmers haven't been
able to get onto the land. November is looming and we really need to get
the crop out." Economists say the reduction of tobacco output could be
devastating to the country's ailing economy. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 24
October 2002)
* Zimbabwe. Daily News: nouvelle inculpation - Le directeur du seul
quotidien privé du Zimbabwe, The Daily News, a été inculpé pour un article
affirmant qu'un jeune opposant avait été torturé par des policiers. Il est
accusé de "saper l'image de la police". Geoff Nyarota a expliqué qu'"il est
de notoriété publique que Tom Spicer a été torturé", les accusations de
torture ayant été formulées devant un tribunal. (La Croix, France, 25
octobre 2002)
* Zimbabwe. Mugabe wins key by-election - 28 October: Zimbabwe's ruling
party has won a key by-election in the south-west of the country. President
Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF took the seat of Insiza from the opposition
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). Meanwhile the MDC says its offices in
Bulawayo were extensively damaged in an attack. A spokesman for the party
said a crowd of about 100 youths stoned the building on the morning of 28
October, shattering windows. The spokesman described the attack as
unprovoked and said the assailants wore ZANU-PF youth militia
uniforms. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 28 October 2002)
* Zimbabwe. Division chez les fermiers blancs - Le président et le
directeur du Syndicat des fermiers commerciaux du Zimbabwe (CFU) ont
démissionné de leur poste. Tous deux étaient considérés comme des modérés.
En août, des membres du CFU l'avaient quitté pour créer Justice pour
l'agriculture (JAG), favorable à une politique plus ferme à l'égard du
gouvernement. (La Croix, France, 31 octobre 2002)
Weekly anb1031.txt - #7/7 - THE END
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Un homme meurt chaque fois que l'un d'entre nous se tait devant la tyrannie
(W. Soyinka, Prix Nobel litterature)
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Everytime somebody keep silent when faced with tyranny, someone else dies
(Wole Syinka, Nobel Prize for Literature) *
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