SADC discusses small arms

From May this year, the SADC Secretariat will have a specific desk whose responsibilitywill be to look at the proliferation of small arms in the region.

“This will increase a more regional posture of micro disarmament in SADC. The small arms issue is no longer a peripheralagenda.  It is in the mainstream and shall be reported to the Council and  Summit,” said Dr. Angelo Mondlane, SADC acting chief economist, in his openingremarks at the first meeting of the SADC Committee on Small Arms and Light  Weapons.

Mondlane says southern Africa’s economy  will  never  develop as long as the issue of crime, which is exacerbated by the proliferation of small arms, is left untackled.

The conference reviewed the implementation of  the council decisions,the status of  illicit trafficking in small arms and light weapons in the SADC member states. Italso looked into the development of  the SADC protocol on small arms and  its financial  implications and approval of the draft SADC Declaration on Small  Arms. (The Botswana Gazette)

Swiss aid for Mozambique

The Mozambican and Swiss governments have signed an agreement in Maputo recently, under which Switzerland is to grant about US$100 million to support the Mozambican health service over the next three years.

The money is mostly meant for the running costs of the provincial health directorates. A small share will also go towards supporting the operations of the central organs of the health ministry, particularly in the purchase of medicines and laboratory and surgical equipment.

The provincial planning and finances directorates will also benefit from some of this aid in their capacity as managers of the funds. (PANA)

World Bank Releases Funds for Zambian Railways Facelift

The World Bank has released an initial US$2.5 million out of a total pledge of US$30 million for the Zambia Railways’ infrastructure rehabilitation programme, local news reports said recently.

Deputy Minister of Communications and Transport, Mann Muyuni, told The Times of Zambia that the funds were part of the package pledged by the World Bank, which would also cover a retrenchment exercise.

“The Zambia Railways rehabilitation programme is on schedule and the World Bank has so far released initial funds to facilitate the project,” said Muyuni. The ZR facelift would involve major work on the rail track and rolling stock. Muyuni said the rehabilitation programme was expected to start before the end of February.

Muyuni added that the evaluation of tenders for the programme would begin immediately and successful bidders would be duly informed. “Government will then look at the bids for concessions soon after the rehabilitation exercise is completed, probably by the end of the year,” Muyuni explained. (IRIN

US pledges policy consistency on Africa

Despite opposition from congressional Republicans, the George W. Bush administration indicated this month that it would not reverse an executive order by former president Bill Clinton that makes it easier for African nations to secure inexpensive AIDS drugs.

“The HIV/AIDS crisis is a terrible tragedy for countries, families and individuals,” the office of the United States Trade Representative noted in a brief statement.

“USTR is not considering a change in the present flexible policy.” Global trade rules contain a loophole permitting countries to bypass patent protection during national health emergencies. More than 40 international drug companies are challenging this in South Africa where the government is trying to import or manufacture cut-rate generic AIDS drugs. (IRIN)

Mozambican floods linked to climate change 

Responding to the problem of natural disasters caused by climate change “goes beyond the traditional scope of the concept of solidarity”, warned Margarida Talapa, deputy head of the parliamentary group of Mozambique’s ruling Frelimo Party.

This is the second consecutive year that Mozambique has suffered major flooding, and Talapa suspected that climate change was to blame. 

She noted recent floods in places as distant from each other as China, Portugal and Britain, as well as major earthquakes in India and El Salvador.

“If we want to leave our children and grandchildren a viable planet, like the one we received from our ancestors,” said Talapa, “then we must pull back from the brink with the greatest of urgency. It is very late, and some of the damaging effects are already irreversible”.

Disasters such as the Mozambican floods should not be viewed as isolated phenomena, to be dealt with mainly with national capacities, she stressed. “As the global phenomena that they are they should involve global capacities and resources”. (AIM)