World Bank African placed operations under one head
Southern Africa faces food shortage
World Bank African placed operations under one head
New York (USA) 9th February 2000
The World Bank has placed the whole of its African division under one Vice President, instead of two.
A statement by the bank on Monday said Callisto Madavo, who was one of the two vice presidents in charge of Africa will, from May 1, assume sole responsibility for the bank's work in Africa.
His co-vice president for Africa, Jean-Louis Sarbib, will be in charge of the bank's Middle East and North African region.
Following the changes, the two vice presidents issued a statement assuring that the changes will not immediately affect bank staff or clients.
"Having one vice president instead of two will be a natural follow-through to the very successful efforts all of us have made since 1996 to build a strong organisation serving Africa along new lines," they said.
Madavo, a Zimbabwean with a doctorate in economics, joined the World Bank in 1969. He was appointed Vice President of the African region in April 1996.
With its high poverty level, Africa remains the focal point of the World Bank's development work. The Africa region is the largest unit of the bank with 1,400 staff.
GRi…/
Southern Africa faces food shortage
Blantyre (Malawi) 9th February 2000
Most countries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region face a food shortage this year because of extended dry spells or excessive rain, the Famine Early Warning System (FEWS) said in a statement on Tuesday.
Severe dry spells in countries such as Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe, especially towards the end of December delayed the planting season. And most farmers who planted with the early rains had to replant as their first crops wilted, the statement said.
Maize, the staple food for most of the region was one of the crops likely to be hard hit by the fickle season with Zimbabwe and Malawi’s harvest likely to be much lower than last season's. This could result in communal households experiencing food insecurity soon after harvest.
Below normal rainfall in most parts of Zambia forced many farmers to delay planting their crops beyond the normal planting time of between late November to mid-December, FEWS said. Some farmers were still planting in early January.
An increase in the demand for maize drove the market prices up by an estimated 19 per cent in December in the southern region of the country and by an estimated 27 per cent in the central and Northern regions.
By the end of November last year, Mozambique's cereal stocks had dropped to 360,000 metric tons compared to 460,000 metric tons in September.
In its update on food security in the region, FEWS said the current rainy season was not conducive to agriculture development.
Most forecasters suggested that the rainfall would be "normal to above-normal" for much of the rain season which generally begins around November through to March.
GRi…/