| UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA - AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER |
Edition: #13 3 March 1997
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ZAMBIA NEWS ONLINE is written by Zambian journalists in Zambia and brings you th e news from their point of view. It is assembled and edited by South Africa Cont act, the former anti-apartheid movement in Denmark, publishers of i'Afrika, a qu arterly magazine concentrating on Southern Africa.
ZAMBIA NEWS ONLINE joins MALAWI NEWS ONLINE in providing up to date news from ou r established network of journalists in Southern Africa. These newsletters will be followed, in the very near future, by individual news updates From other coun
tries in the region.
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In this edition:
Feature
ZAMBIA STRUGGLES TO COPE WITH INFLUX OF REFUGEES
1. CALLS FOR KAUNDA TO STEP DOWN FAIL TO GAIN GROUND
2. a - ZAMBIA LOSES THREE MPS IN AS MANY MONTHS
2. b - MMD WINS FIRST PARLIAMENTARY BY-ELECTION
3. SQUATTERS VOW TO FIGHT BACK
4. LOCAL GOVERNMENT WOES CONTINUE
5. CATHOLICS CONDEMN BUDGET
6. ZDC HEADED FOR DOOM
7. ZAMBIAN HOTELS BELOW STANDARDS
8. SOCCER FANS DISAPPOINTED AGAIN
Feature:
ZAMBIA STRUGGLES TO COPE WITH INFLUX OF REFUGEES
When rebel forces in Zaire launched a military assault on that country's
government troops in October last year, few Zambians paid much attention
to the incident. Many dismissed the attacks as the work of a few bandits.
But now, barely four months on, the effects of that military operation
are beginning to be felt in the very heart of Zambia. The war can no longer be ignored by Zambians and especially not by those living in areas
bordering Eastern Zaire where the war is at its most tense.
The advances by the rebel troops of the Alliance for Democratic Forces for
the Liberation of Congo-Zaire (ADLF) in Eastern Zaire has forced many
residents to flee the region to seek refuge in either Tanzania or
Zambia. Initially there was only a trickle of Zairean refugees arriving in Zamb ia, but by early February the numbers began to swell to alarming proportions. Z ambian residents in border areas began to show concern and the government and ha stily put contingency measures into place. This concern increased further when n umbers of Zairean soldiers began fleeing into Zambia.
One month after the main stream of refugees started arriving in Zambia,
however, Zambia still was not fully prepared to cope with the new refugee proble m. Facilities such as accommodation and food were inadequate, resulting in comp laints among the refugees, some of whom sneaked away from the designated refugee centres and made attempts to return to Zaire.
The major entry point for the refugees has been Mpulungu, a small port on
the southern tip of Lake Tanganyika shared by Zambia, Zaire, Burundi and Rwanda. Many of the hundreds of refugees came into the country by ship through Mpulung u after spending up to two weeks in transit on the lake.
Local authorities in Mpulungu offered a small community hall to the United
National High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) to be used as a transit centre for the refugees but this, of course, soon proved inadequate. Too
small and with too few sanitation facilities for the many hundreds of men, women and children. Crowding also raised concern that diseases could easily spread am ong the refugees, some of whom were already exhibiting signs of cholera.
The UNHCR flew in South African-based experts and rushed in tents to ease
the accommodation crisis in Mpulungu. Irish Aid International funded
the construction of more toilets and the Catholic Church pulled in 60 tonnes of food, blankets and cooking pots. This somewhat eased the problems in the camp, b ut as more refugees poured in it became evident that the situation was slipping out of control. Refugees began leaving the camp to seek help from local Mpulung u residents. Some of the refugees who managed to arrive in Zambia with possessi ons of value, sold these off to earn money to supplement what the UNHCR was offe ring.
Some women fell prey to local men who took them in with offers of marriage
while some who could afford cheap residential accommodation in Rest
Houses, paid for the facility just to get away from the crowded camp. The
local Red Cross officials were unable to cope with the need to restrict the move ments of the refugees. Doctor Mulenga, chairman of the Red Cross
co-ordination committee, said that without a security fence around the
community hall, which is in the middle of the town, it was virtually
impossible to keep everyone within the area.
This free movement of the refugees resulted in a serious lack of
accountability for each person who came into the camp. The Red Cross
officials could not quite tell whether all those who arrived were still
within the area. No roll call was held with the only verification of the
presence of the refugees coming when food was distributed.
Local residents and the UNHCR also raised concern about this situation. The loc al residents were particularly worried that because there were soldiers among th e refugees, seeing the possibility of a counter-offensive being mounted against
the rebels from Zambian soil with this in turn inviting a rebel attack on Zambia . These fears were, however, allayed by government ensuring that the screening of all Zaireans coming into the country was thorough and that all soldiers were promptly taken to separate areas of confinement.
The UNHCR's concern was the possibility that some of the arriving refugees had c ontagious diseases that could easily spread because the local people were mixing freely with the new arrivals. The UNHCR were also concerned at the proximity of the transit camp to the border with the war still raging in Zaire. UNHCR co-or dinator, Lorenzo Witherspoon, said the ideal situation would be to move the refu gees as quickly as possible further away from the border.
Another transit centre was set up in Kasama, the provincial capital of
Northern Province and as the number of refugees swelled in Mpulungu some were tr ansported the 250 kms to the new camp. However, this did not quite solve the pro blem. The refugees at the Natende Camp in Kasama still did not have adequate fa cilities, sanitation being the worst problem. Again the Irish Aid stepped in to help by constructing more toilets.
The initial plan was to move the refugees further away to an established
refugee camp in the North-western Province of the country. An initial group of refugees was transported but later it was decided that the transit camp in Kasam a be turned into a permanent camp to save on costs of
transportation.
Despite the conditions in the camps, however, the Zambian government was able to contain whatever diseases that some refugees got either in transit
From Zaire or after their arrival in Zambia. The clinical officer in charge of the Mpulungu district hospital, Martin Nama, said that because of the many diarr hoea cases among the arriving refugees it was initially feared that these were c ases of cholera. But this was disproved after laboratory tests were carried out .
Against this background, some of the refugees began feeling that that they
could no longer stand such living conditions. On one occasion, the refugees com plained bitterly about getting too little food. Many of the dispirited refugees began to yearn for home. Some demanded
that they be taken back to Zaire, to areas still controlled by the
government. But because such a demand could not be immediately fulfilled,
some of them began to attempt getting back on their own. The government,
through the police, however, began to monitor their movements more closely. Poli ce check points were placed along the route from Mpulungu to Kasama and many hav e been stopped.
While the UNHCR is trying to ease the burden of the refugees, the government has joined other governments in the region in trying to find a political solution t o the war in Zaire. Before then, however, more refugees are bound to arrive in Z ambia and the humanitarian responsibility to provide them with the basic needs l ooms ever larger.
STORIES
1. CALLS FOR KAUNDA TO STEP DOWN FAIL TO GAIN GROUND
DESPITE an intensive media campaign by some members of UNIP to force or
compel party leader Kenneth Kaunda to step down, the 72-year-old is still firml y in his seat. The party's former general secretary
Benjamin Mibenge and Kaunda's former economic advisor, Arnold Chooka, have been pressing for support from other members to replace Kaunda but the effort has so far been met with firm resistance.
Many senior members have not only reaffirmed their support for Kaunda, but
have also called for the expulsion of both Mibenge and Chooka from the
party. UNIP boycotted last year's presidential and parliamentary elections in p rotest against an alleged lack of compromise on constitutional issues.
2.a - ZAMBIA LOSES THREE MPS IN AS MANY MONTHS
Three members of parliament, including a cabinet minister, have died since
the MMD was re-elected into government three months ago. The first MP, Dr
John Simaponda, died in a South Africa hospital only weeks after retaining
his Itezhi Tezhi seat. He did not even attend one sitting of the new session.
The other two, are Paul Kaping'a, the Transport and Communications Minister and the MP for Petauke Potipher Mumbi. Kaping'a died in a London hospital while Mum bi died in a South Africa hospital. Both had been ill.
2.b - MMD WINS FIRST PARLIAMENTARY BY-ELECTION
The ruling MMD has regained the Itezhi-Tezhi parliamentary seat in this
term's first by elections. The MMD candidate, Bates Namuyamba, won the seat wit h 2,547 votes while his nearest rival got 205 votes.
Meanwhile, a prediction by UNIP president Kaunda that the MMD government
would not last three months in power, has fallen through with no signs of the go vernment falling. UNIP and other parties are, however, pursuing a legal battle in the supreme court to challenge President Chiluba legibility to contest the el ections.
3. SQUATTERS VOW TO FIGHT BACK
A group of squatters in the Southern Province of Choma have threatened not
to allow anyone to settle on a farm from which they have been evicted. The squa tters, comprising about 35 families, were evicted from the farm by court bailiff
s who burnt their homes and destroyed their 15
hectare maize field.
The farm belongs to a white settler who would like to start developing it. He wo n a court order to evict the squatters but they have vowed not to move. A lawyer for the squatters, Lucy Sichone, says that her clients will not allow anyone t o settle on the land.
4. LOCAL GOVERNMENT WOES CONTINUE
Local government councils across Zambia have begun to feel the pinch. This is be cause they have lost their main source of revenue - houses - through a president ial directive ordering them to sell off the properties.
Also, in the past month, many councils have been hit by a wave of strikes which have crippled operations as workers demanded salary increases. Although the str ikes have fizzled out, there is still growing concern that many council will fai
l to pay their workers the 15 per cent salary increment which has now been agree d to. Before the salary increase, workers in some councils went for up to eight months without .
5. CATHOLICS CONDEMN BUDGET
A wing of the Catholic church in Zambia has condemned the national budget as bei ng "hollow and lacking in substance to tackle the concerns of the majority of un der-privileged Zambians". The Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace stated that government had failed to show concern for the "massive poverty" that 80 per cent of Zambians face.
But Finance Minister Ronald Penza says that the the commission members
should not "hide behind God's shield" and should instead join politics if they f elt they could offer better solutions. He also said that no amount of talking w ould get Zambia out of its current economic problems.
6. ZDC HEADED FOR DOOM
The Zambia Democratic Congress (ZDC), which looked like the most formidable oppo sition party in the run-up to last year's presidential and parliamentary electio ns, now seems headed for doom.
The party, which won only two of the 150 parliamentary seats in the
elections, is failing to hold a national convention as demanded by some
members, in order to replan the party's course of action. It has also run
into financial problems, resulting in some of its property being auctioned
off for creditors to recover money owned to them.
7. ZAMBIAN HOTELS BELOW STANDARDS
Government is concerned about the low standards at many hotels in the
country and has called for an immediate improvement if tourism is to improve. To urism Minister Amusaa Mwanamwambwa says that hoteliers should constantly update their structures to match the changing trends around the world.
He said that whilst appreciating that it is expensive to put up structures
of acceptable standards, it was also important that this was done if the
sector was to become one of Zambia's major income earner.
8. SOCCER FANS DISAPPOINTED AGAIN
Hardly two weeks after showering the national soccer team and the coaching
staff with praise for the victory over Malawi, soccer fans in the country
are now calling for the dismissal of coach Fred Mwila. This follows Zambia's 0-
0 draw with Mauritius in an Africa Cup qualifying match.
Although the match was played away from home, many Zambians are not happy
with the result because Mauritius is considered a small team that should be beat en anywhere. But the government, through the sports ministry, has
called on fans to be patient. Sports minister Samuel
Miyanda says that the play ers did their best and
should be given time to improve on their skills.
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Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar
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