Floods devastate south-eastern AfricaThe heavy rains began in January. In February, cyclone Eline swept across Madagascar and south-eastern Africa, bringing the worst flooding in decades. Then came cyclone Gloria. By mid-March, they had left at least 800 people dead and disrupted the lives of over 2.5 million people in Botswana, Namibia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe. As a result, the region's development will be hindered for years to come.
Villagers in Mundial, Mozambique, awaited rescue after the Limpopo River burst its banks. Photo: AFP / Corbis Mozambique was hit the hardest. Almost one million of its 17 million people lost their homes and some 500,000 Mozambicans will need food aid for six months in a country that had been self-sufficient in food production since 1997. Losses in crops, property, bridges, long stretches of major roads and other infrastructure were put in billions of dollars. The flooding also displaced many of the country's one to two million landmines, turning areas that had been considered safe into potential minefields. Countries struggling with their own crises came to Mozambique's aid, donating hundreds of tons of food and millions of dollars worth of medicine. South Africa led Africa's rescue and relief efforts, using seven helicopters to rescue 13,000 people and delivering over 600 tons of food. Malawi, one of the region's poorest countries, donated 50 tons of maize and sent two helicopters to rescue over a thousand flood victims. Western donors were accused of ignoring the crisis in Mozambique until television crews beamed images of flood victims stranded in trees. "The response [of Western donors] was far too slow," said Malawi's President Bakili Muluzi at an emergency meeting of the 14-member Southern African Development Community (SADC) in March. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan concurred, but called the donor countries' subsequent response to the disaster "very generous," with more than $107 mn pledged to Mozambique by early March. Flood damage to crops and infrastructure caused at least 100 deaths and affected some 250,000 people in Zimbabwe. About 200,000 people in Madagascar will depend on food aid for months and in north-eastern Botswana, over 70,000 people lost their homes. In South Africa's Northern Province, scores of people drowned and tens of thousands were left homeless, as were some 1,500 people in Malawi. By mid-March, Madagascar, Zimbabwe and Botswana had received contributions of about $900,000, $700,000 and $300,000 respectively. Far more is required, however. Zimbabwe said in mid-March that it needed $22 mn in immediate humanitarian assistance and to rebuild destroyed infrastructure. Mozambique put its reconstruction costs at some $250 mn. SADC leaders called on major creditor countries to cancel Mozambique's $8 bn debt. Instead, the Paris Club of bilateral creditors and the World Bank announced the suspension -- but not the cancellation -- of debt-service payments falling due this year. |
At a summit meeting held in January in Libreville, Gabon, 21 African heads of state pledged to halve poverty by 2015, reduce unnecessary spending and improve education, health and basic infrastructure. They promised to step up the fight against AIDS and renewed their appeal for the cancellation of Africa's debts. Participants included then Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Mr. Michel Camdessus, and African Development Bank President Omar Kabbaj. The leaders adopted the Libreville Document, which endorsed the IMF and World Bank's concessional lending policies. Mr. Camdessus said the Declaration would serve as "the bible for action for the IMF and the World Bank in the years to come."
In the last quarter of 1999, world commodity prices began to recover from the record lows of the last two years, rising by 3.4 per cent. However, overall prices of sub-Saharan Africa's non-energy commodities fell by 3 per cent, said the World Bank's January Global Commodity Markets report. Cotton and cocoa fell 11 and 9.8 per cent respectively in the last quarter of 1999. Although cotton prices were up in January and February 2000, the price of cocoa continued to fall. This year's average price for cocoa may be close to the 1999 average of about $1.12 per kilogramme.
The good news for some of Africa's producers was the increase in price for sugar (8.3 per cent), aluminum (4.0 per cent) and copper (3.5 per cent). But, after posting fourth-quarter gains, the price of robusta coffee fell to a six-year low in January. By the end of February, the price had dropped to 46.8 cents per pound from an average of 63.3 cents per pound in the fourth quarter of 1999, according to the International Monetary Fund. The Association of Coffee Producing Countries is reportedly considering a retention scheme to boost prices.
Declaring that "Africa does matter to the United States," President Bill Clinton opened the four-day National Summit on Africa in Washington on 17 February. The non-governmental conference brought together business, religious, political, civil and human rights leaders to consider ways to strengthen US-Africa economic, political and cultural ties. Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi and Organization of African Unity Secretary-General Salim Salim also attended.
Policy recommendations adopted by delegates included accelerated debt relief, stronger support for African peacekeeping efforts and full payment of US arrears to the UN. Delegates called for a massive US economic development programme for Africa modeled on the Marshall Plan. Participants urged increased funding for HIV/AIDS education and treatment programmes and US accession to the global treaty banning land mines.
