Southern Africa

Making a dent in South Africa’s drug culture

JOHANNESBURG, 17 June 2013 (IRIN) - In pink tracksuit and big sunglasses, Nomvula Mokanyane, premier of South Africa’s Gauteng Province, delivered a combative warning to the drug dealers of Eldorado Park that had the crowd buzzing: “Leave, your days are numbered!” But then a distraught mother, urged to speak but unable to, brought everyone back down to earth with the news that her addict daughter had just died. full report

Fears of a malaria relapse in Madagascar

 ANTANANARIVO, 7 June 2013 (IRIN) - Madagascar’s recent gains in the battle against malaria are likely to be reversed because funding problems have interrupted prevention activities. full report

Deported from South Africa, Zimbabweans struggle at home

 HARARE, 6 June 2013 (IRIN) - Maxwell Zimbume, 37, left his job at a beverage company in Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare, at the height of the country’s economic crisis in late 2008. His salary was not being paid regularly and had become almost worthless due to hyperinflation. Like hundreds of thousands of other Zimbabweans, he decided to try his luck in neighbouring South Africa. full report

Analysis: AU prepares its shock troops

 JOHANNESBURG, 31 May 2013 (IRIN) - A newly sanctioned African Union (AU) force for quick deployment in conflicts such as in Mali is being promoted as a stop-gap measure ahead of the planned formation of the “rapid deployment capability” (RDC) African Standby Force (ASF). full report

Responding to Namibia's drought crisis

 JOHANNESBURG, 30 May 2013 (IRIN) - Namibia, already the driest country in sub-Saharan Africa, is experiencing a severe drought, with some regions receiving the lowest seasonal rainfall in three decades, according to figures released by the country’s meteorological service this week. full report

Digital jobs offer skills, promise to Africa's unemployed youth

 JOHANNESBURG/NAIROBI, 28 May 2013 (IRIN) - Although Africa’s economy has expanded rapidly in recent years, it has not kept pace with the growth of its youth population or their need for jobs. full report

Careless food storage sidelines Swaziland’s hungry

 MBABANE, 23 May 2013 (IRIN) - Mounds of food aid intended for Swaziland’s food insecure were recently found rotting in the government’s main storage warehouses at the Matsapha Industrial Estate, about 25km east of the capital, Mbabane. full report

The anatomy of a Mozambique land deal

 NIASSA, 22 May 2013 (IRIN) - A multi-million dollar “ethical” plantation development in northwestern Mozambique - the initiative of a clutch of Scandinavian faith-based organizations - has faced alleged acts of sabotage by the very people it was designed to assist, illustrating the divisions between foreign benefactors and local communities. full report

Microcredit helps small businesses buck the system in Madagascar

 TOLIARA, 16 May 2013 (IRIN) - Justine Sija, 60, begins her day at 4am, when she buys catch from local fishermen to hawk on the streets of St Augustin Village, in Madagascar’s southern Atsimo-Andrefana Region. The work is hard, but in the last year, access to microcredit has boosted both her business and her hope for the future. full report

Cape Town's asylum seekers struggle to get documented

 CAPE TOWN, 16 May 2013 (IRIN) - When Jean Baptiste*, a medical student from Lubumbashi, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), arrived in South Africa in September 2012, he headed straight for Cape Town, where he knew he would be able to stay with his brother. No one at the border told him that it was no longer possible to apply for asylum in Cape Town. full report