JOHANNESBURG, 30 November 2007 (IRIN) - CONTENTS

ZIMBABWE: Brinkmanship over constitutional talks GLOBAL: Hoping for a deal on the road to Bali ZIMBABWE: Expats keep families afloat ZAMBIA: Prepare for floods now, urge aid agencies SOUTH AFRICA: Social Grants - dependency or development? ZIMBABWE: A shot in time - govt scores immunisation success SOUTHERN AFRICA: Vouchers to help drought-hit farmers

ZIMBABWE: Brinkmanship over constitutional talks

Zimbabwe's main opposition, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), threatened to pull out of talks with the ruling ZANU-PF party over its refusal to give way on key demands for political reform.

Leading members of the main faction of a divided MDC met this week in South Africa to discuss a possible boycott of elections next March if laws limiting freedom of assembly and the independent media remain on the statute books, MDC treasurer Roy Bennett told IRIN.

Full report: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75516

GLOBAL: Hoping for a deal on the road to Bali

The United Nations Climate Change Conference on the Indonesian island of Bali in December is not expected to achieve any dramatic breakthroughs on saving the planet from global warming, a senior official of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) told IRIN. But it could well produce an important timeframe for cutting greenhouse gas emissions, predicted Rajendra Pachauri, the IPCC chair.

The Bali climate conference will look at a new deal to be put in place after 2012, when the first phase of the Kyoto Protocol (KP), a commitment made in 1997 by 36 industrialised countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least five percent against the baseline of 1990, expires.

Full report: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75534

ZIMBABWE: Expats keep families afloat

The scale of migration to Britain by Zimbabweans escaping their country's economic and political woes has reached the point where, with typically wry humour, London is referred to as "Harare North".

An estimated three million Zimbabweans, a quarter of the total population, have packed their bags and left home. Most, typically the semi-skilled, have opted for neighbouring countries, but many others have chosen Britain's green, if damp, pastures.

Full report: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75536

ZAMBIA: Prepare for floods now, urge aid agencies

Aid agencies have called on Zambia's government to step up disaster preparedness to deal with possible widespread flooding forecast by the meteorological department this rainy season.

"We need to start making all the necessary preparations to mitigate the impact of the expected floods," said Annie Ritavin, country programme officer for the UK-based development agency, Oxfam, in Zambia. "We are currently conducting an assessment exercise of the most prone areas to determine the possible humanitarian needs, as part of the concerted efforts on emergency preparedness at national level."

Full report:

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75555

SOUTH AFRICA: Social Grants - dependency or development?

As South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC) party gears up for its annual conference in little more than two weeks, many wonder if a possible change in leadership will signal an accompanying change in social policy, especially social grants - one of the most important and controversial weapons in the fight against poverty.

As of April 2007, more than eight million South African children under the age of 14 were benefiting from a R200 (US$30) monthly grant to caregivers earning less than R800 (US$115) per month, according to new research.

Full report: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75572

ZIMBABWE: A shot in time - govt scores immunisation success

Zimbabwe's crumbling health sector has received a boost with the launch of a week-long campaign called Child Health Days (CHDs), delivering a polio vaccine, vitamin A supplementation and basic childhood immunisation to two million children.

"The majority of people that are going to benefit from such programmes are ordinary people who can no longer afford to pay the health fees," said Itai Rusike, Executive Director of the Community Working Group on Health, a network of civic and community-based organisations.

Full report:

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75579

SOUTHERN AFRICA: Vouchers to help drought-hit farmers

A voucher system to access agricultural inputs could put farmers in disaster-hit Mozambique, Swaziland and Lesotho on the road to recovery, according to a senior UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) official.

The vouchers - with cash values between US$15 and US$75, depending on the country - allowed farmers to purchase inputs at mobile trade fairs organised by the FAO. Previously, the FAO and other relief agencies provided a pre-selected combination of seeds and tools.

Full report:

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75584

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