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Mozambique Chronology:1-30 June 2000

Ministers condemn external interference in elections
    Keen to consolidate democracy in their sub-region, member states of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) have resolved to bar external forces from influencing national elections. The SADC defence and security committee, which has ended its five-day meeting in Maputo, Mozambique, adopted the resolution calling for peaceful future general elections in the region. The committee, comprising defence ministers of the 14-member organisation, expressed concern at the extent to which some external forces attempted to influence the outcome of Zimbabwe's parliamentary elections in June. Future general elections in the region should be without any undue external influence within the scope of consolidating democracy, the committee stated in a communiqué. According to the communiqué, the SADC Inter-State Defence and Security Committee also noted with concern recent developments around the land question in Zimbabwe. It encouraged all attempts aimed at the resolution of the problem of addressing the imbalanced distribution and use of land, saying that the land issue was also a critical matter in some countries in the region. On Angola, the committee expressed support for the government in Luanda in its efforts to find a lasting solution to the conflict in that country. It reiterated its support for resolutions of the UN Security Council, the Organisation of African Unity and SADC which condemned rebel UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi for not complying with the provisions of the Lusaka peace protocol. Following increased reports of violence and abuse against women and children, the committee urged SADC member states to set up specialised units to deal with such incidents and also create victim support units. (PANA)

World Bank lending down
   World Bank lending took a dive last year amounting to US$15.3 billion dollars in the financial year 1999-2000, which ended on 30 June 2000. The figure is a significant drop from the 29 billion dollars that the Bank committed to client nations during the previous financial year. The bulk of these nations are in Africa and South Asia. Sub-Saharan Africa's biggest borrower was Tanzania with US$330 million dollars last year followed by Zambia at US$270 million dollars. Country-specific factors also influenced the decline in borrowing by the world's poorest countries, several of which were affected by civil unrest and war. During fiscal year 2000 IDA commitments were US$4 billion dollars for 126 projects compared to US$7 billion dollars for 145 projects the previous year. ''Steady improvements in the quality of ongoing projects through better preparation, greater selectivity and more effective supervision mean that billions of dollars for borrowers' projects are being used more effectively, with a much greater beneficial impact on development,'' the Bank notes. A recent study by the Bank shows that in last two fiscal years, 81 percent of dollars lent by the institution - or 72 percent of projects - achieved a satisfactory or better outcome while adjustment lending yielded 93 percent satisfactory or better lending outcomes. The study notes that even in Africa, a continent faced with the greatest obstacles to development - including a devastating AIDS epidemic, civil conflict, low skills base, and adverse terms of trade - 69 percent of dollars lent to the continent yielded satisfactory or better lending outcomes. (IPS)

Brazil cancels debt
   Brazilian president Fernando Henriques Cardoso on 17 July announced the cancellation of 95 per cent of Mozambique's debt to Brazil. He made the announcement in Maputo during the opening session of the Third Heads of State Summit of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP). The amount of debt cancelled is the equivalent of US$$450 million. Brazil is one of the few creditor nations that is not a member of the Paris Club. (AIM)

Maize surplus forecast
   Southern Africa is forecast to have a maize surplus of 1.33 million metric tonnes for the 2000/2001 marketing year, according to the latest bulletin by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Regional Early Warning Unit. This surplus is mostly due to the marked increase in maize output in South Africa, which recorded an exportable maize surplus of 2.27 million mt, and a surplus in Malawi hitting 725,000 mt. The bulletin said that regional maize production is estimated to have increased by 14 percent to 19.48 million mt from the 1998/99 harvest of 17.15 million mt - attributed to significantly increased output in South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia. The region also faces a reduced overall cereal deficit of 679,000 mt compared to 2.19 million mt last year. The cereals are maize, wheat, rice, sorghum and millet. The unit said the total SADC projected cereal availability of 27.04 million mt is insufficient to cover the total estimated requirements of 27.72 million mt. The bulletin said that regional deficits assessed in wheat and rice will need to be covered through imports. Some 1.21 million mt of wheat imports and 540,000 mt of rice will be necessary to cover the projected deficit, said the bulletin. It added that although sorghum and millet deficit is also projected, this is likely to be covered through cross substitution with maize. (IRIN)