Vision 2050 SADC ponders future - Knowledge for ... need to develop the SADC Vision 2050 to other SADC Heads of State and Government during an Extraordinary Summit held in Lu-anda

by Joseph Ngwawi

SADC IS defining a new development blue-print that is expected to shape southern Africa’sregional integration agenda until 2050.

The SADC Vision 2050 aims to provide aframework for a long-term vision for SADC asthe region seeks to position itself in a context ofemerging global and continental issues such asclimate change, democratisation of the UnitedNations and increasing financial instability.

According to the SADC chairperson, AngolanPresident Jose Eduardo dos Santos, the intentionis to set in motion a development agenda thattakes into account the dynamics of events and is-sues affecting not only the southern African re-gion, but also the rest of the world.

"We propose that our organisation holds, atthe highest level, an extended reflection aboutour vision and our strategic objectives in a long-term horizon," he said.

Dos Santos stressed that this should miti-gate potential threats from emerging global is-sues, and ensure that the strategic objectives ofSADC are not endangered.

The Angolan president warned that withouta common position on emerging global issues“we run the risk of suffering from their unde-sirable effects both in all our countries and inthe region as a whole.”

The direction of economic growth in severalSADC member states is influenced by trends inglobal commodity prices due to relatively highdependence on the export of commodities,mainly minerals including crude oil, gold, dia-monds and platinum, as well as tobacco, sugarand cotton.

For example, the global crisis of 2008/09 re-sulted in a reduction in mineral value in nineeconomies in southern Africa.

The most affected sectors in 2009 were oiland mining, because of their sensitivity toglobal GDP changes, thus Angola, Botswana,DRC, Mozambique and Namibia were nega-tively affected.

other countries such as Lesotho, Madagas-car, Mauritius and to a lesser extent Swaziland,which are heavily dependent on the export ofincome-sensitive products such as clothing andtextiles, were severely affected in terms of re-duced export returns and shrinking employ-ment.

Dos Santos presented a concept paper onthe need to develop the SADC Vision 2050 toother SADC Heads of State and Governmentduring an Extraordinary Summit held in Lu-anda in June.

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SADC ToDAy Vol. 14 No 4 June 2012

Policy 3

TRADE 4

infRAsTRucTuRE 5

BioDiVERsiTy 6

climATE chAngE 7

EnERgy 8-9

AfRicAn union 10

gEnDER 11

cooPERATion 12

TouRism 13

ElEcTions 14

EVEnTs 15

hisToRy ToDAy 16

Vision 2050SADC ponders future

2 SoutHern AfrICA Today, June 2012

The concept was referredto Member States for furtherconsultations and contribu-tions.

“Inputs from this processwill be consolidated and sub-mitted to Council and Summitat the next meeting in August2012,” said a final commu-niqué from the ExtraordinarySummit.

SADC is in the process ofengaging consultants to un-dertake an independent mid-term review of the RegionalIndicative Strategic Develop-ment Plan (RISDP), its 15-year regional integrationplan.

The objective is to analyseSADC’s performance andidentify the challenges en-countered and lessons learntduring the implementation ofthe RISDP from 2005 to 2010.

An initial desk assessmentof the RISDP carried out bythe SADC Secretariat at the be-ginning of 2012 has revealedthat all sectors have been ableto fully or partially reach mostof the outputs and targetswithin the stated timeframes.

SADC has developed,adopted and approved criticalpolicies, protocols and frame-works, established imple-menting institutions andincreased its visibility sinceimplementation of the RISDPstarted in 2005.

Issues identified by thedesk assessment as some ofthe main challenges to be ad-dressed in the next 10 yearsof implementing the RISDPinclude the need to: facilitateimplementation at MemberState level; ensure effectivestructures for Secretariat andMember State cooperation;deepen consultation at Mem-ber State level; ensure realis-tic targets; complete theongoing RISDP evaluation;and, tackle human, financial

and technical resources con-straints at the SADC Secre-tariat.

The desk review also iden-tified the need for: strengthen-ing monitoring andevaluation; mainstreamingRISDP crosscutting issuessuch as gender and climatechange; improvement of thethink-tank capacity of the Sec-retariat; maintaining SADC asa platform for common pan-African and global positions;and ensuring more effectiveand efficient stakeholder par-ticipation.

Human resources con-straints have been identifiedas a major impediment to im-proving the Secretariat’s per-formance.

The Extraordinary Summitnoted that the Regional Infra-structure Development MasterPlan is being finalised. Thiswould form the basis for im-plementing infrastructure net-works in the key sectors suchas energy and transport in-cluding maritime corridors,information communicationtechnologies, tourism andwater infrastructure, takinginto account the specificities ofthe island member states.

Summit approved a pro-posal to include specific pro-grammes to develop theinfrastructure connecting themaritime island states of theSADC region as part of the in-frastructure master plan.

“It is unfortunately a com-mon occurrence that Africancontinental organisationssometimes neglect the infra-structure needs of its maritimespace,” the Seychelles ForeignMinister, Jean-Paul Adam, ob-served.

The long-awaited launchof SADC’s infrastructure mas-ter plan is expected to allowthe region to establish an effi-cient, seamless and cost-

effective transboundary infra-structure network to supportsocio-economic developmentin Member States.

A vibrant transport net-work can accelerate regionalintegration as well as ensurethat the SADC Free TradeArea (FTA) launched in 2008and the impending SADCCustoms Union are success-fully implemented throughaddressing delays at borderposts and promoting the freemovement of goods and serv-ices across southern Africa.

Some of the programmesthat the plan would target in-clude the Kazungula Bridgelinking Botswana, Namibia,Zambia and Zimbabwe; theproposed Zimbabwe-Zambia-Botswana-Namibia powertransmission line that links thefour respective countries,dubbed ZiZaBoNa; and theBenguela railway line throughAngola and Zambia.

The Luanda ExtraordinarySummit also directed theCouncil of Ministers, and inparticular the SADC Ministersresponsible for Finance andInvestment, to expedite theprocess for the establishmentof the SADC DevelopmentFund, which would, amongother things, ensure the avail-ability of adequate levels of re-sources to fund regionalinfrastructure programmes.

The march towards re-gional integration in southernAfrica has been delayed by theslow pace of implementationof projects and programmesdue to lack of adequate fund-ing.

This has been partlyblamed on the current fundingstructure of SADC whereMember States contributeabout 40 percent of the annualbudget, with the remaindercoming from International Co-operating Partners. r

Vision 2050, sADc ponders future

C O N T I N U E D F R O M P A G E 1

SADC HAS reinforced its sup-port for South African HomeAffairs Minister, NkosazanaDlamini-Zuma for the topAfrican Union (AU) Commis-sion post.

Elections to choose the newAU Commission chairpersonwill be held at the forthcoming19th AU Summit set forEthiopia in mid-July.

Dlamini-Zuma is contestingagainst the incumbent JeanPing of Gabon. The election tochoose the AU chairperson wassuspended at the previous AUsummit when no winneremerged after several rounds ofvoting.

Ping’s failure to secure two-thirds of the vote, even as thesole candidate in the last round,was seen as a vote of no-confi-dence as there was much dis-quiet among many AU leadersover his handling of recent con-flicts on the continent in IvoryCoast and Libya.

SADC has said the time forsouthern Africa to lead the AUCommission is now, since allother regions in Africa havehad the opportunity to occupythe top AU post.

Nigeria, through Vice-Presi-dent Mohammed NamadiSambo, has already thrown itssupport behind Dlamini-Zuma,and SADC member states havebeen lobbying other Africanleaders for support for theircandidate.

Kenya has said publicly thatthey want to retain the statusquo as they have their man,Erastus Mwencha, as deputychairperson.

If elected, Dlamini-Zumawould become the first womanto lead the AU commission. r

sADc supportsDlamini-Zuma fortop Au post

tHe SADC Electoral Advi-sory Council (SEAC) has beentasked with encouraging ad-herence to principles andguidelines governing the con-duct of elections.

The 15-member SEAC,which was inaugurated inApril 2011, is mandated to ad-vise SADC on electoral mattersand issues pertaining to en-hancement of democracy andgovernance.

Adopted in August 2004 atthe Summit of SADC Heads ofState and Government in Mau-ritius, the principles andguidelines contain proceduresto be followed by SADC ob-server teams and minimumstandards that a Member Stateshould follow if its election isto be declared free and fair.

The electoral guidelinesaim to enhance the trans-parency and credibility ofelections and democratic gov-ernance as well as ensuring theacceptance of election resultsby all contesting parties.

They are, however, notlegally binding and are sub-servient to national law provi-sions.

It is not mandatory for aMember State holding elec-tions to invite a SADCElectoral observer Mission(SEoM) to observe its elec-tions. Section 3.1 of the princi-ples and guidelines states thata SEoM will have a role only“in the event a Member Statedeems it necessary to inviteSADC to observe its elections.”

In addition to ensuringadherence to the SADC elec-toral principles and guide-lines, the SEAC is expected toencourage the development,improvement and review of

electoral laws and regulationsin SADC Member States, anddevelop strategies on han-dling electoral disputes in theregion.

First conceived in 2005, theSEAC is a statutory body cre-ated under the SADC Inter-State Politics and DiplomacyCommittee (ISPDC) to adviseMember States on electoralmatters.

The ISPDC reports to theMinisterial Committee of theorgan (MCo) on Politics, De-fence and Security Coopera-tion, made up of the ministersresponsible for foreign affairs,defence, public security andstate security from the SADCMember States. The MCo re-ports to the Summit of SADCHeads of State and Govern-ment.

The SEAC is guided byvarious SADC documents, in-cluding the SADC Principlesand Guidelines GoverningDemocratic Elections, and, asan official SADC body, is ableto engage with countries at alllevels, both governmental andnon-governmental.

SEAC is composed of onerepresentative from eachMember State, selected andappointed by the MCo from alist nominated by govern-ments.

To avoid conflict of inter-est, SEAC members cannot beserving Members of Parlia-ment or cabinet ministers; theycannot be active in party poli-tics or sit on any election man-agement body.

They must be individualsof the highest reputation withexperience in democracy andgovernance issues and must beover 40 years of age.

Retired Tanzanian judgeJohn Tendwa is the inauguralchairperson of the SEAC. Hon.Tendwa leads 14 other formerjudges, ambassadors, profes-sors and civil society officialsfrom the SADC region ap-pointed to the SEAC.

other members are An-golan diplomat Virgilio Mar-ques de Faria; ProfessorAppollinaire Malumalu ofthe Democratic Republic ofCongo; Abel LesheleThoahlane of Lesotho; Malaw-ian judge, Justice MaxonMbendera; orlanda Rafael ofMozambique; Prof. GerardTotemeyer of Namibia; Sey-chelles Supreme Court judge,Justice Bernadin Renaud;Zambian lawyer, Gertrude

Imbwae; and Zimbabweanambassador, Prof. Hasu Patel.Botswana government’s firstchoice candidate, Gloria So-molekae relinquished the postafter being appointed a Spe-cially Elected Member of Par-liament and Assistant Ministerof Finance and DevelopmentPlanning. Botswana is still tosubmit a replacement.

The South African govern-ment redeployed its first nom-ination, Ambassador AjayBramdeo and, is therefore, stillto submit the name of a re-placement.

Mauritius and Swazilandare still to submit their nomi-nees while Madagascar isunder suspension from activeparticipation. r

SoutHern AfrICA Today 3

P O L I C Y

sEAcAdvisory council to encourage adherence to sADc electionprinciples and guidelines

tHe SADC Principlesand Guidelines GoverningDemocratic Elections outlinethe responsibilities andcode of conduct for electionobservers as well asexpectations from countriesholding elections.

The charter sets out thefollowing basic principles forthe conduct of democraticelections which SADCMember States should follow,although not mandatory:• Full participation of the

citizens in the politicalprocess;

• Freedom of expression;• Political tolerance;• Regular intervals for

elections as provided forby the respective nationalconstitutions;

• Equal opportunity for allpolitical parties to accessthe state media;

• Equal opportunity toexercise the right to voteand be voted for;

• Independence of thejudiciary and impartialityo f t h e e l e c t o r a linstitutions;

• Voter education;• Acceptance and respect

of the elections resultsby political partiesproclaimed to have beenfree and fair by thecompetent nationalelectoral authorities inaccordance with the lawof the land; and

• Challenge of the electionresults as provided for inthe law of the land. r

sADc Principles and guidelinesgoverning Democratic Elections

neGotIAtIonS on an eco-nomic agreement betweenEastern and Southern Africa(ESA) and the European Union(EU) advanced in May whenthe two parties agreed to startimplementing an interimagreement.

The interim Economic Part-nership Agreement (EPA) be-tween the EU and four Easternand Southern African states –Mauritius, Madagascar, Sey-chelles and Zimbabwe – cameinto effect on 14 May follow-ing several years of painful ne-gotiations.

The agreement provides ac-cess to the EU market free ofimport duties and quotes forexports from the four coun-tries, which will, in turn, be re-quired to gradually open theirmarkets to European exportsover a 15-year period, with ex-ceptions for certain productsthe countries consider sensi-tive.

The agreement covers pro-visions on rules of origin, de-velopment cooperation,fisheries, trade defence instru-ments and dispute settlement. The ESA group comprises Co-moros, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Er-itrea, Madagascar, Malawi,Mauritius, Seychelles, Sudan,Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Comoros, Madagascar,Mauritius, Seychelles, Zambiaand Zimbabwe concluded aninterim EPA with the EU at theend of 2007, and the first fourcountries signed in August2009 in Mauritius.

The four countries havenow completed steps towardsratification so the agreementcan be applied.

All the four countries thathave operationalized theagreement are also SADCMember States.

EPAs are trade and devel-opment agreements that the

EU is currently negotiatingwith the six African,Caribbean and Pacific (ACP)regions. These regions areSADC, ESA, the EconomicCommunity of Central AfricanStates (CEMAC) and the Eco-nomic Community of WestAfrican States (ECoWAS), andgroups representingCaribbean and Pacific nations.

They seek to replace thetrade chapters of the 2000Cotonou Agreement betweenthe EU and the ACP countries.

In 2000, ACP countries andthe EU opted for a more ambi-tious trade and development

relationship covering not justtrade in goods, but also serv-ices, trade-related rules, in-vestment and developmentcooperation.

Negotiations for such com-prehensive trade and develop-ment agreements started in2002. However, it became cleartowards the end of 2007 that itwould not be possible for allACP regions to finalise nego-tiations before the end of theCotonou trade regime on 31December 2007.

A series of interim agree-ments were concluded to min-imise trade disruption for

ACP countries arising fromthe expiry of the Cotonoutrade regime in 2008 whilemaintaining progress towardscomprehensive regional EPAs.

The entry into force of theinterim EPA with the four ESAcountries is seen as a steppingstone to a wider and morecomprehensive deal currentlyunder negotiation between theEU and the whole ESA region. However, membership of thevarious negotiating groupsdoes not reflect the member-ship of the Regional EconomicCommunities (RECs). For ex-ample, the ESA group is notmade up of all countries ineastern and southern Africa.

Similarly, the SADC negoti-ating group, consisting of An-gola, Botswana, Lesotho,Mozambique, Namibia, Swazi-land and the United Republicof Tanzania, is also not madeup of all SADC Member States.

Speaking at a ceremony tomark the start of the EPA im-plementation process betweenthe EU and ESA, the EU TradeCommissioner, Karel de Guchtsaid the agreement with thefour countries was a result of“hard work of negotiations”from both sides.

“With this trade deal wehope to accompany the devel-opment of our partners inEastern and Southern Africaand open up better and lastingbusiness opportunities,” hesaid. r


T R A D E

Africa-Eu negotiations first Economic Partnership Agreement operational…

sADc member states negotiating the EPAs with Eu

...as negotiations continue in sADc

DISCuSSIonS Are still on-going between the EuropeanUnion and the SADC group toproduce a comprehensive Eco-nomic Partnership Agreement(EPA) between the two regions.

Various issues have stallednegotiations, including how tonavigate the complex and nu-merous trade arrangements insouthern Africa while main-taining coherence within theregion.

other challenges are howto deal with services, invest-ment and other trade-relatedissues such as rules of origin,as well as some textual provi-sions of the interim EPA textthat seem to favour one partyover another.

The SADC negotiatinggroup comprises Angola,Botswana, Lesotho, Mozam-bique, Namibia, Swazilandand the United Republic ofTanzania.

South Africa participates inthe SADC group but only asan observer as the country al-ready has a trade agreementwith Europe.

The other SADC countries– Madagascar, Malawi, Mauri-tius, Zambia and Zimbabwe –negotiated under the Easternand Southern Africa group(ESA), while the DemocraticRepublic of Congo is in theEconomic Community of Cen-tral African States (CEMAC).

This fragmented approach,where SADC and otherAfrican regions are negotiat-ing under different groups, isseen as one of the major stum-bling bloc to the negotiationprocess. Experts argue that acomprehensive deal couldhave long been reached if thewhole of Africa had negoti-ated as a single group. r

SADC Group eastern and Southern economic Community Africa (eSA) of Central African States

(CeMAC)

Angola, Botswana, Mauritius, Madagascar, Democratic Republic Lesotho, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia and of CongoNamibia, Swaziland Zimbabweand Tanzania

Note: South Africa is an observer in the SADC Group

tHe CHIrunDu one StopBorder Post between Zambiaand Zimbabwe has more thanhalved waiting times for trans-port operators and improvedthe general flow of persons andgoods in line with SADC’s re-gional integration agenda.

According to a progress re-port on the implementation ofthe North-South Corridor pro-gramme by Tripartite Taskforcefor SADC, the Common Marketfor Eastern and Southern Africa(CoMESA), and the EastAfrican Community (EAC), theChirundu one-stop border has,since its inception in November2009, addressed issues of delaysat the border and facilitatedtrade among member states.

For example, waiting timeshave been reduced by an aver-age 50 percent for freight trans-port and 83 percent forpassenger transport. It nowtakes about a day for haulagetrucks to clear immigration andcustoms formalities at the bor-der compared to three days pre-viously.

It takes even less for passen-ger vehicles – an average 30minutes from more than threehours previously.

The report noted that furtherreductions in crossing timeswas possible through additionalchanges such as improved com-munications between the Zam-bian and Zimbabwean sides ofthe border.

Under the one-stop borderpost scheme, travellers arecleared just once for passageinto another country in contrastwith the current situation wheretravellers have to be passed onboth sides of the border.

CoMESA-SADC-EAC se-lected Chirundu a few yearsago as one of the border postsfor the pilot phase of the one-stop-border initiative that aimsto facilitate trade and move-ment of goods and services ineastern and southern Africa,

border post linking SouthAfrica and Zimbabwe, and theKasumbalesa post betweenZambia and the DemocraticRepublic of Congo.

Beitbridge and Chirunduare considered to be amongsub-Saharan Africa’s busiestborder crossings with hun-dreds of southward or north-ward commercial truckspassing through the two bor-der posts every day.

Under the North-SouthCorridor initiative, CoMESA,EAC and SADC have identi-fied border post refurbish-ment as one of the initiatives


I N F R A S T R U C T U R E

chirundu one stop Border Post a huge success

and Chirundu has become anew benchmark for regional in-tegration.

This development addressesissues of delays as well as pro-moting the smooth flow ofgoods through the removal ofoften perceived “restrictive” op-erational procedures at borders.

In the long run, the one-stop border post concept seeksto harmonize customs and im-migration laws at border postswithin the eastern and south-ern region.

other ports of entry identi-fied for implementation of thisconcept include the Beitbridge

shire-Zambezi waterways to boost trade in southern AfricatHe eStABLISHMent ofthe Shire-Zambezi waterwaysinvolving three countries fromsouthern Africa is expected toboost trade in SADC anddeepen integration amongmember states.

Malawi, Mozambique andZambia – the countries devel-oping the Shire-Zambezi wa-terways – in April received agrant from the African Devel-opment Bank (AfDB) throughthe SADC Secretariat to con-duct a feasibility study on thenavigability of the waterways.

The waterway project en-tails the construction of an in-land port to provide a directwaterway transport system be-tween Nsanje in southernMalawi and the port of Chindein Mozambique, which areabout 238 kilometres apart.

The project offers an alter-native route to the Indianocean for landlocked SADCMember States through Zam-bia, Malawi and Mozam-bique.

The proposed inland portwould have a lifespan of more

than 50 yeastevers and be de-signed to handle differenttypes of vessels, with a carry-ing capacity of up to 48 con-tainers.

on completion, theport could be expected tohandle more than 10,000 con-tainers annually, therebyreducing transport costsfor exporters and importersfrom landlocked SADCMember States that presentlyuse Durban port inSouth Africa as the route tothe sea. r

to improve infrastructure andincrease intra-regional trade ineastern and southern Africa.

More than US$1.2 billionhas been raised to implementthe North-South Corridorproject, which traverses eightcountries in eastern andsouthern Africa.

Planned programmes in-clude the construction of morethan 8,000 kilometres of road,rehabilitation of 600km of railtrack and upgrading of theDar es Salaam port in theUnited Republic of Tanzania –one of the biggest and busiestports in Africa. r

Goods trucks at Chirundu border post


B I O D I V E R S I T Y

versity, Africa must continuewith broad-based action in sup-port of biodiversity.

“Some important advanceshave been made in this regionto promote biodiversity andsustainable use,” he said,adding that a number ofcountries in Africa have beensuccessful in integrating biodi-versity into poverty reductionstrategies and involving localcommunities in protectedareas management.

“None of these are easy vic-tories. They require tradeoffsamong the interests of differentsectors of society. They can bepolitically difficult to achieveand we would therefore like tosalute these efforts.”

While remarkable progresshas been recorded in Africa,there is need for intensified ef-forts by all stakeholders toscale up interventions and en-sure that Africa and the rest ofthe world are able to meet thedesired targets by 2020.

For example, a number ofpeople around the world stillremain unconcerned about theongoing loss of life on earth.This is largely because the ma-jority of people and policy-makers remain unaware of theirreplaceable contributionsthat biodiversity makes tohuman wellbeing.

As a result, there is greatneed to intensify efforts thatencourage the reduction of di-rect pressures on biodiversity.

Countries must also step upefforts to promote sustainableuse of the environment by safe-guarding different ecosystems.

Ecosystems are critical tohuman life as they provide avariety of goods and servicesupon which people depend.

An ecosystem is a biologicalsystem consisting of all theliving organisms in a particu-lar area and the non-living orabiotic components withwhich the organisms interactsuch as air, soil, water, andsunlight.

Key processes in ecosys-tems include the capture oflight energy and carbonthrough photosynthesis, thetransfer of carbon and energythrough food webs, and the re-lease of nutrients and carbonthrough decomposition. r

by Kizito Sikuka

AfrICA IS making steadyprogress towards reducing thedirect pressures on biodiversityand promoting sustainable useof natural resources by safe-guarding different ecosystems.

Executive Secretary of theConvention on Biological Di-versity secretariat, Braulio deSouza Dias, said this progressshould be maintained and im-proved to ensure that by 2020the ecosystems are resilientand continue to provide essen-tial services, thereby securingthe planet's variety of life andcontributing to human wellbe-ing and poverty eradication.

The 2020 goal is part of theUnited Nations Strategic Planfor Biodiversity and is also oneof the key targets of the AichiBiodiversity Targets adoptedin 2010 to address the underly-ing causes of biodiversity lossby mainstreaming biodiversityacross all sectors.

The Aichi Biodiversity Tar-gets, for example, identify fivestrategic goals and 20 ambi-tious, yet achievable targets.

Their purpose is to inspirebroad-based action in supportof biodiversity during thedecade from 2011 to 2020 by allcountries and stakeholders,promoting the coherent and ef-fective implementation of thethree objectives of the Conven-tion on Biological Diversity –conservation of biodiversity,sustainable use of biodiversity,and fair and equitable sharingof the benefits arising from theuse of genetic resources.

Speaking at a recent regionalworkshop for Africa on updat-ing national biodiversity strate-gies and action plans held inEthiopia, de Souza Dias said de-spite the challenges of reducingthe direct pressures on biodi-

• Goal A o Address the underlying causes of biodiversity loss by main-

streaming biodiversity across government and society

• Goal Bo Reduce the direct pressures on biodiversity and promote

sustainable use

• Goal Co Improve the status of biodiversity by safeguarding ecosys-

tems, species and genetic diversity

• Goal Do Enhance the benefits to all from biodiversity and ecosys-

tem services

• Goal eo Enhance implementation through participatory planning,

knowledge management and capacity building. r

Aichi Biodiversity goals

united nations Decade on Biodiversity

foLLoWInG tHe 2010 In-ternational year of Biodiver-sity, the UN declared2011-2020 as the Decade onBiodiversity, intended to pro-mote and raise awarenessabout the Strategic Plan forBiodiversity and the AichiBiodiversity Targets.

The targets are specificgoals that are related to thebroad themes and goals ofthe Strategic Plan.

The plan’s objective is toensure countries “take effec-tive and urgent action tohalt the loss of biodiversityin order to ensure that by2020 ecosystems are re-silient and continue to pro-vide essential services,thereby securing theplanet's variety of life, andcontributing to human well-being and poverty eradica-tion.” r

2020Towards biodiversity protection

African leaders endorsed thecandidature of Namibia to hostthe Green Climate Fund, andagreed to lobby the AfricanUnion to support Namibia andensure that the African conti-nent has a sole candidate.

An endorsement by the AU,which is widely expected,would put more weight toNamibia’s application as therehas been some unwritten con-sensus among the global com-munity that such a fund besituated in a developing coun-try, where the effects of climatechange are felt most acutely ashigh levels of poverty reducethe capacity to adapt.

The Seychelles Foreign Af-fairs Minister, Jean-PaulAdam, said that Namibia is anideal candidate to host the cli-mate fund as middle-incomesmall countries are often ex-cluded from climate changefunding due to their relativelyhigh per capita Gross Domes-tic Product.

“Namibia’s bid representsan important step in our questfor fairness in terms of interna-tional development mecha-nisms,” he said, adding thatsouthern Africa and the entireAfrican continent “must be ac-tivists in the fight against cli-mate change.”


SADC LeADerS have en-dorsed a bid by Namibia tohost the secretariat for theGreen Climate Fund to be es-tablished by the United Na-tions Framework Conventionon Climate Change (UNFCC).

The fund, announced in De-cember 2011 at Durban, SouthAfrica during the 17th Confer-ence of the Parties (CoP17) toUNFCC, seeks to support cli-mate change mitigation andadaptation actions in develop-ing countries.

The fund is expected to raiseand disburse about US$100 bil-lion a year by 2020, startingwith US$30 billion from 2012 tohelp the global community ad-dress issues of climate change,according to UNFCC.

Six countries in differentparts of the world have ex-pressed interest in hosting thefund – Namibia, Mexico, Re-public of Korea, Germany,Poland and Switzerland.

The decision on the hostcountry is expected to be madelater this year and presentedfor endorsement at the climatechange conference set forDoha, Qatar in December. Theprovisional secretariat is inBonn, Germany.

At the SADC ExtraordinarySummit in June in Luanda,chaired by Angola, southern

sADc supports namibia’s bid to host green climate fund

rIo De Janeiro, Brazil willhost the United Nations Con-ference on Sustainable Devel-opment to be held from 13 to22 June.

Dubbed Rio+20, the meet-ing comes 20 years after the1992 Earth Summit in Rio,where United Nations mem-bers adopted Agenda 21 – acomprehensive blueprint ofaction to be taken globally, na-

tionally and locally by UN or-ganisations, governments andmajor groups in every area inwhich humans directly affectthe environment.

It also comes a decadeafter the 2002 World Summiton Sustainable Developmentheld in Johannesburg, SouthAfrica.

In preparation for Rio+20,southern Africa is guided by

the Africa position that wasadopted in october 2011 byAfrican ministers responsiblefor the environment. The com-mon position calls for industri-alized countries to fulfilprevious commitments andpledges to help Africa’s effortsin achieving sustainable devel-opment. r

All set for Rio+20

This pro-active approachmay include intensifying ef-forts to access the fundthrough jointly identifyingprojects that would be suitablefor financing.

Research has shown thatmost financiers tend to favourregional projects over individ-ual country projects as jointprojects have wider impactand promote regional integra-tion.

Examples of regional proj-ects that SADC could considerfor financing under the GreenClimate Fund include the Ingahydropower station in theDemocratic Republic ofCongo, the Mphanda Nkuwahydropower project inMozambique, and the Kudugas project in Namibia.

Although there has beensome scepticism about themagnitude of the figures andthe conditions to access thefunds, the establishment of thefund represents another steptoward addressing climatechange in developing coun-tries.

The Green Climate Fund isexpected to promote the para-digm shift towards low-emis-sion and climate-resilientdevelopment pathways byproviding support to develop-ing countries to limit or reducetheir greenhouse gas emis-sions and to adapt to the im-pacts of climate change.

The Board consists of 24members, with equal represen-tation of developing and de-veloped countries, and will besupported by an independentsecretariat to administer thefunds. The World Bank wouldserve as interim trustee for thefirst three years.

The establishment of theGreen Climate Fund was initi-ated at the 2010 climate changeconference held in Cancun,Mexico. sardc.netr

C L I M A T E C H A N G E

Namib desert


ACCeSS to energy is widely regarded as the “missing” MillenniumDevelopment Goal (MDG) and debate among development experts isthat poverty eradication and the general global socio-economic con-dition would improve if energy were to be identified as the ninthMDG.

The global community adopted eight MDGs in 2000 to improvethe general socio-economic conditions in the world, particularly indeveloping countries. These goals range through gender, education,health, poverty and the environment.

While remarkable progress has been recorded to implement someof the agreed goals, most countries are still not on track to meet thedesired targets by 2015 due to various factors such as limited re-sources as well as addressing new and emerging challenges includ-ing climate change.

However, development experts argue that the oversight of energyin the original MDG list has had an impact on how the world respondsto issues of sustainable development and poverty reduction.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), for ex-ample, says that energy is central to sustainable development andpoverty reduction efforts.

Energy affects all aspects of development – social, economic, andenvironmental, including livelihoods, access to water, agriculturalproductivity, health, population levels, education, and gender-re-lated issues.

“None of the Millennium Development Goals can be met withoutmajor improvement in the quality and quantity of energy servicesin developing countries,” the UNDP observes.

In this regard, there is need for the global community to inten-sify efforts that improve access to energy as a critical tool in theattainment of most MDGs, especially Goal 1 seeking to reduce byhalf the proportion of people living in poverty by 2015.

SADC’s population totals about 270 million and, according tosome estimates, just 30 percent have access to energy in the form ofelectricity, mostly in urban areas.

This figure falls to an average of two percent in rural areas, wherethe majority of the people live – far from the 35 percent consumptionlevel that African leaders pledged to achieve at their 8th Session ofthe African Union Summit in 2007.

The majority of people in southern Africa still rely on traditional en-ergy sources including wood or other biomass such as crop waste asthe dominant fuel for cooking. This comes at a huge cost to the envi-ronment as families continue to cut down trees for much-needed fuel.

Therefore, attaining energy self-sufficiency would go a long wayin improving SADC’s chances of reaching the MDGs and creatingopportunities for people to prosper.

Energy and poverty eradicationAccess to modern energy facilitates economic development by pro-viding more efficient and healthier means to undertake basic house-hold tasks and undertake productive activities more generally, often

more cheaply than by using the inefficient substitutes, such as can-dles and batteries.

Modern energy can power water pumping, providing drinkingwater and increasing agricultural yields through the use of machin-ery and irrigation. Improving access to clean energy fuels will alsoensure that women's burden to provide water and food for theirfamilies is reduced.

Energy and access to educationIn rural communities in SADC, as in other developing regions of theworld, children commonly spend significant time gathering fire-wood, fetching water and cooking instead of attending school.

Access to improved cooking fuels or technologies would, there-fore, facilitate school attendance. Electricity is also important for ed-ucation since it improves communication, particularly throughinformation technology and by ensuring availability of basic needssuch as lighting.

Energy and gender equality Improved access to electricity and modern fuels reduces the phys-ical burden associated with carrying wood and frees up valuabletime, especially for women, widening their employment oppor-tunities.

In addition, street-lighting improves the safety of women andgirls at night, allowing them to attend night schools and partici-pate in community activities. Data from the Southern African Re-gional Universities Association (SARUA) shows that more menthan women enrol for tertiary education, despite the fact that thelatter makes up more than half of the SADC population.

Education facilitates the empowerment of women and men toparticipate more fully in development processes and decision-mak-ing by equipping them with these skills.

Millennium Development GoalsAccess to Energy – the “missin


Energy and healthMost foods require adequate cooking and improved access to energyallows households to boil water, thereby reducing cases of water-borne diseases.

Reducing household air pollution through improved cookingfuels and stoves decreases the risk of respiratory infections, chronicobstructive lung disease and lung cancer which have been linked tothe fumes from burning coal.

Improved access to energy advances communication and trans-port services, which are critical for emergency health care.

Electricity and modern energy services support the functioningof clinics and hospitals, which can reduce maternal and child mor-tality, improve healthcare and address other diseases such asmalaria, cholera and HIV and AIDS.

Energy and the environmentTraditional stoves and open fires are the primary means of cookingand heating for about 70 percent of SADC’s population and expo-sure to smoke causes thousands of deaths annually, with womenand young children the most affected.

This smoke also affects the environment and contributes to cli-mate change. Modern cooking fuels and more efficient cook stovescan relieve pressures on the environment caused by the unsustain-able use of biomass.

Through the Programme for Biomass Energy Conservation(ProBEC), SADC in partnership with the German government throughGIZ, are promoting efficient, energy-saving wood stoves in the region.

Experience in Malawi has shown that half a drum of cookednshima, a thick maize meal porridge that is the staple food in mostSADC countries, can use up to 170kg of firewood on an open firewhile the same quantity of nshima uses 14 kg of wood when pre-pared on the energy-efficient stoves promoted by ProBEC. r

ng” MDG

Goals and Targets

goal 1 Eradicate extreme poverty and hungerTarget 1: halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of peo-

ple whose income is less than us$1 a dayTarget 2: halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of peo-

ple who suffer from hunger

goal 2 Achieve universal primary educationTarget 3: Ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls

alike, will be able to complete a full course of primaryschooling

goal 3 Promote gender equality and empower womenTarget 4: Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary ed-

ucation preferably by 2005 and in all levels of educationno later than 2015

goal 4 Reduce child mortalityTarget 5: Reduce by two-thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the

under-five mortality rate

goal 5 improve maternal healthTarget 6: Reduce by three-quarters, between 1990 and 2015, the

maternal mortality rate

goal 6 combat hiV and AiDs, malaria and other diseasesTarget 7: have halted by 2015, and begin to reverse the spread of

hiV and AiDs Target 8: have halted by 2015, and begin to reverse the incidence

of malaria and other major diseases

goal 7 Ensure environmental sustainabilityTarget 9: integrate the principles of sustainable development into

country policies and programmes and reverse the loss ofenvironmental resources

Target 10: halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without sus-tainable access to safe drinking water Target11: haveachieved, by 2020, a significant improvement in the livesof at least 100 million slum dwellers

goal 8 Develop a global partnership for developmentTarget 12: Develop further an open, rule-based, predictable, non-

discriminatory trading and financial system (includescommitment to good governance, development andpoverty reduction – both nationally and internationally)

Target 13: Address the special needs of the least developed countries Target 14: Address the special needs of landlocked countries and

small island developing states Target 15: Deal comprehensively with debt problems of develop-

ing countries through national and international meas-ures in order to make debt sustainable in the long run

Target 16: in cooperation with developing countries, develop andimplement strategies for decent and productive work foryouth

Target 17: in cooperation with pharmaceutical companies, provideaccess to affordable drugs in developing countries

Target 18: in cooperation with the private sector, make availablethe benefits of new technologies, especially for informa-tion communication.

www.undp.org


A F R I C A N U N I O N

by Danai Majaha

tHe AfrICAn Union (AU)and representatives of theAfrican Diaspora have agreedto set up multi-stakeholderworking groups to strengthencooperation in the fields ofeconomics and technology col-laboration, including meas-ures to promote widespreaduse of renewable energy prod-ucts and technologies and re-search in agriculture.

This came out of the firstGlobal African Diaspora Sum-mit organised by the AU Com-mission and held in SouthAfrica from 23-25 May.

It was agreed that workinggroups, comprising expertsfrom the continent and its Di-aspora, be set up before thenext summit, focusing onmeasures to strengthen eco-nomic cooperation and scienceand technology.

Some of the areas identifiedrequiring cooperation in-cluded infrastructure develop-ment in Africa, improvementof transport links amongAfrican countries as well asmeasures to bolster trade andinvestment into and amongmember states.

Another working groupwould also be formed to tacklechallenges faced by Africa inthe area of tourism promotionagainst the backdrop of thenegative international public-ity about the continent.

In the area of science andtechnology, the summit re-solved to set up a committeeto promote research into re-newable energy technologies,infectious diseases and agri-cultural production.

Africa’s regional integrationagenda is presently affected bylow-level connectivity of infra-structure networks and pooraccess to energy and informa-tion services.

The uptake of renewable en-ergy products and technologieshas been slow in Africa despiteabundant resources to producesuch products. For instance, re-search has shown that mostcountries on continent receivemore than 2,500 hours of sun-shine per year since there issunshine all year round.

It has been noted that whileknowledge on solar energytechnology is widespread onthe continent, its use is stilllimited due to prohibitive in-stallation costs.

With all their advantages,solar systems are not cheap toinstall; a typical home systemin the region costs anywherebetween US$500 andUS$1,000, according to theAfrican Development Bank.

Held under the theme “To-wards the Realisation of aUnited and Prosperous Africaand its Diaspora”, the summitalso came up with a pro-gramme of action that will seethe direct involvement of theAfrican Diaspora in develop-ment efforts on the continentand its cooption as the conti-nent’s sixth region.

It was also resolved to ex-plore the possibility of creat-ing an African InvestmentFund to address developmentchallenges confronting Africa.The continent’s total infra-structure needs alone are esti-mated at about $60 billion inthe next 10 years.

The summit agreed to en-courage AU member states toestablish more formal rela-tions with Caribbean andLatin American nations,which are home to millions ofpeople of African descend.

A proposed Diaspora Advi-sory Board would addressoverarching issues of concernto Africa and its Diaspora such

developed sought to build onthe resolutions of the 18th AUSummit held in Ethiopia inFebruary where African lead-ers agreed to speed up infra-structure development, whichis regarded as one of the pil-lars of the continent’s eco-nomic integration agenda.

According to the Declara-tion on the Programme for In-frastructure Development inAfrica issued in February,African leaders agreed to in-crease public financing of infra-structure, implement majorpower projects such as hydro-electricity, oil refinery and gaspipelines, accelerate the con-struction of missing links andmodernization of railways, andincrease the capacity of ports.

The declaration committedAfrican countries to develop-ing new and renewable en-ergy resources to provideclean, reliable and affordableenergy as well as nuclear en-ergy for peaceful use.

The AU has also identifiedincreased intra-African tradeas another important pillarof its regional integrationagenda, and targets the estab-lishment of a continental freetrade area by 2017. r

as reparations and follow upon commitments made by theWest at the 2001 World Con-ference Against Racism, RacialDiscrimination, Xenophobiaand Related Intolerance(WCAR).

The rich Western nationsand multilateral financial insti-tutions pledged, among otherissues, to promote investmentin their former African coloniesin order to eradicate povertyamong victims of racism, andto develop capacity-buildingprogrammes for Africans andpeople of African descent in theAmericas and around theworld.

Speaking during the clos-ing session of the summit,South African President, JacobZuma said the outcome of themeeting should serve to moti-vate continent’s citizens thatthe destiny of Africa lies in thehands of Africans, whether athome or abroad.

“The resolutions we havetaken in the summit demon-strate that Africans are morethan capable of successfullytaking their destiny into theirown hands,” Zuma said.

The summit and the subse-quent programme of action

Africa and its Diaspora take steps to strengthen cooperation

Members of AU and African Diaspora


by Mukundi Mutasa

SADC MeMBer States haveagreed on measures to acceler-ate progress towards the tar-get of equal representation forwomen and men in politicaland other decision-makingstructures by 2015, includingthe development of nationalaction plans.

During a two-day workshoporganized by the SADC Gen-der Unit in Johannesburg,South Africa with the theme of“Balancing the Scale towards50:50 by 2015”, the delegatesdeliberated on how SADCMember States can betteraddress the issues of gender in-equality national decision-mak-ing.

The gender parity goal ofequal representation by 2015 isprovided for in the SADC Pro-tocol on Gender and Develop-ment and, although theprotocol is yet to enter intoforce, this is aligned with tar-gets set by the African UnionSummit of Heads of State andGovernment in 2004 and theSADC Summit of Heads ofState and Government in 2005.

The workshop aimed to fa-cilitate the sharing of experi-ences by Member States onmeasures that have been put inplace to accelerate the achieve-ment of gender parity by 2015,while providing a platform forthe Member States to developtheir National Roadmaps withconcrete actions to be taken toimplement the 50:50 Frame-work by 2015.

Delegates were drawn from14 SADC Member States ex-cluding Madagascar whichis currently suspended. TheSADC Gender Unit’s develop-ment partners were also repre-sented.

The meeting resolved toinitiate consultations at Mem-

ber State level to galvanise na-tional efforts through domes-tication of various regionaland international commit-ments made by countries withregard to gender equality andthe empowerment of women.

Member States also resolvedto finalise the process of devel-oping national roadmaps thatoutline activities and pro-grammes they plan to embarkon as they move towards meet-ing the 2015 deadline.

The process towards devel-oping the national roadmapscommenced during the work-shop when the stakeholdersfrom Member States developeddrafts that were discussed there.

Member States agreed tofurther develop the draftroadmaps through a processof national consultations to en-sure input is sought from allstakeholders and key partners.

Most countries identified lobbyand advocacy as the main ac-tivity they would embark onduring the next three years toensure there is national consen-sus on the need for equal repre-sentation and participation ofwomen and men in decision-making structures.

They also agreed tostrengthen capacity-buildingprogrammes for women andgender training for key na-tional structures and institu-tions, as well as engage allpolitical parties to adopt gen-der parity strategies, activelyshare best practices, and en-sure tracking of results.

The SADC Secretariat andits cooperating partners such asthe Southern African Researchand Documentation Centre(SARDC) and SADC Parlia-mentary Forum were encour-aged to strengthen research toaddress impediments to the fulland equal participation ofwomen in decision-making; en-

sure systematic collection, col-lation, analysis and presenta-tion of data on women inpolitical and decision-makingpositions; intensify efforts toshare good practices andexperiences; and strengthenadvocacy and lobbying pro-grammes through parliamentsin the region. r

MonIQue oHSAn-Bellepeau, GoSK, wasappointed acting Presi-dent of Mauritius on 31March 2012 followingthe resignation of formerPresident AneroodJugnauth, becomingSADC’s first womanHead of State.

The second is H.E. JoyceBanda, the new President ofMalawi, who was sworn intooffice just one week later, on7 April, and was profiled in aprevious edition of SouthernAfrica Today.

Madame Bellepeau is aformer journalist, born inMauritius in 1942, and wasthe first newsreader and re-porter of the national televi-sion, from 1965-67, returningto that post from 1987-93.

During a 30-year career inthe public and private sector,she worked for various agen-cies and organizations includ-ing the Mauritius Chamber ofCommerce, and was a com-pany director until her ap-pointment as Vice Presidenton 13 November 2010.

She became the country’sfirst woman vice-presidentwhen she was elected unani-

member states develop national actionplans towards gender equality targets

Profilemonique ohsan-Bellepeau

mously by all members of theNational Assembly followingthe death of Vice PresidentAngidi Chettiar.

She joined the MauritianLabour Party in 1990 and be-came a member of the Cen-tral Executive Committee.She was a Member of Parlia-ment 1995-2000, and Princi-pal Parliamentary Secretary1997-2000. She was Presidentof the Labour party from2007-2010.

Mrs Bellepeau was edu-cated in Quatres Bornes, Mau-ritius, and is the daughter ofBartholomée ohsan, who wasa founding member of theparty.

She was married to Mr.Joseph yves Bellepeau andhas two sons.

In 1997, she was awardedthe insignia of Grand officerof the order of the Star andKey of the Indian ocean(G.o.S.K.). r

G E N D E R

H.E. Monique Ohsan- H.E. Joyce BandaBellepeau


C O O P E R A T I O N

SADC HAS revealed plans toreview its 2006 agreement withInternational CooperationPartners (ICPs) as part of ef-forts to strengthen SADC-ICPcooperation and facilitate moreeffective functioning of thepartnership structures.

The review of the WindhoekDeclaration on a New SADC-ICP Partnership, announced bySADC Executive SecretaryTomaz Augusto Salomão dur-ing a midterm review workshopof the SADC-European Devel-opment Fund regional strategyheld in Botswana, aims to bringnon-state actors into the main-stream of regional integration.

“We will accelerate effortstowards a comprehensive re-view of the Windhoek Declara-tion with a view tostrengthening SADC-ICP co-operation and to facilitatingthe effective functioning of thepartnership structures. Agreater level of conversationswould be required to place theNon State Actors into themainstream of regional inte-gration,” Salomão said.

He, however, did not dis-close when the planned reviewwould start and how long it isexpected to take.

The Windhoek Declarationon a New SADC-ICP Partner-ship was adopted at a SADCConsultative Conference inNamibia in 2006 and hasguided cooperation betweenSADC and the ICPs by estab-lishing an institutional struc-ture for dialogue on political,policy and technical issues,thus improving coordinationbetween the parties to ensuremore effective developmentcooperation.

This has also ensured align-ment, harmonisation andstreamlining of operational pro-cedures, rules and other prac-

SADC HAS signed a Memo-randum of Cooperation withthe Government of Japan thatprovides a framework fordeeper ties and closer cooper-ation.

“The scope of cooperationunder this memorandum willcover various areas that in-clude infrastructure, trade, in-vestment, tourism, energy,information communicationtechnology, agriculture, envi-ronmental issues and politicaldialogue, among others,”SADC said in a statement afterthe agreement was signed inGaborone in April.

Japan is already actively in-volved in SADC’s water andsanitation programme as wellas in science and technology,and infrastructure develop-ment.

The memorandum followsthe Japan-SADC InfrastructureInvestment Seminar held inTokyo in March during which

tices in the delivery of develop-ment assistance to SADC, aswell as synergies and comple-mentarity of support providedat national and regional levels.

The partnership frameworkwas necessitated by a shift inthe European Union’s develop-ment policy. The EU has since2005 had a new developmentpolicy, the European Consen-

sus on Development, that de-fines the values, objectives,principles and modalities of EUdevelopment aid.

Under the new develop-ment policy, EU member statesresolved to increase nationalaid budgets to at least 0.7 per-cent of Gross National Incomesof the respective donor coun-tries by 2015, a target that was

the two partiesagreed to set up aproject identificationand follow-up mech-anism as part ofmeasures to strengthen the im-plementation of infrastructureprojects in southern Africa.

It was agreed, among otherissues, that the project identi-fication and follow-up mecha-nism would consist ofrepresentatives from theGroup of SADC Group of Am-bassadors based in Tokyo (as-sisted by the SADCSecretariat) and the Japanesegovernment (assisted by theJapanese business commu-nity).

The follow-up mechanismshould be developed and incor-porated into the annual plan-ning cycle of the SADCSecretariat in order to ensurecontinuity of projects.

The Japanese governmentreaffirmed its support for

SADC infrastructurewithin the frame-work of the TokyoInternational Confer-ence on African De-

velopment (TICAD) IV and theyokohama Declaration and Ac-tion Plan of 2008.

The projects were to be pre-sented to the TICAD Ministe-rial Follow-up Meeting held inMay in Senegal as well as tothe next SADC Council ofMinisters meeting scheduledfor Mozambique in August.

The long-awaited launch ofthe SADC Regional Infrastruc-ture Master Plan later this yearis expected to guide develop-ment of key infrastructuresuch as road, rail and ports.

The master plan wouldallow the region to develop anefficient, seamless and cost-effective trans-boundaryinfrastructure network thatpromotes socio-economicgrowth in Member States. r

sADc to review Windhoek Declaration on anew sADc-icP Partnership

sADc, Japan strengthen cooperation

not realized previously andmay now be out of reach due tothe financial crisis in Europe.

SADC and the ICPs havemade various commitments interms of implementation ofSADC’s Regional IndicativeStrategic Development Plan(RISDP) and the Strategic In-dicative Plan for the organ onPolitics, Defence and SecurityCooperation (SIPo).

The RISDP and SIPo areSADC’s 15-year developmentblueprints outlining regionalpriorities in the area of tradeand economic liberalisation;infrastructure development;food security; human and so-cial development; conflict pre-vention; and stability, peaceand security. r


T O U R I S M

Experience southern Africa sADc to review role of RETosA

hence push them out of busi-ness.

In spite of this, SADC coun-tries have continued to imple-ment the yD to improve airsafety and promote economicgrowth.

With regard to arrivals, theyD has the capacity to boosttourist arrivals as an open-skies policy would ensure thatvisitors from other sourcemarkets do not encounter anytravel challenges caused byfewer airlines servicing a par-ticular route because a coun-try is not open to foreign

airlines.The ministers urged

Member States to continueimplementing other infra-structure development andborder facilitation projectsalong SADC corridors toboost tourism in the re-gion. r

SoutHern AfrICA is mak-ing significant progress to-wards the full implementationof the yamaoussoukro Decision(yD) on Air Transport Liberali-sation, according to SADCtourism ministers meeting inGrand Baie, Mauritius.

The ministers noted thatenactment of policies that en-dorse the yD implementationis necessary to boost tourism inthe region, as well as appropri-ate legal and institutional re-forms that facilitate theliberalisation of the skies.

“Member States havemade substantial progresswith reforms leading to theenacting of policies thatendorse yD implementa-tion, appropriate legal andinstitutional reforms to fa-cilitate the liberalisationprocess, and that furtherliberalisation of the skies

was necessary if efficient andcost effective access to tourismdestinations is to be realised,”the ministers said in a state-ment after their meeting.

Adopted some few yearsback, the yD encourages coun-tries to deregulate their airservices and promote regionalair markets open to transna-tional competition.

However, there have beensome fears that this liberalisa-tion of the skies could exposenon-competitive national carri-ers to operational standardsthat they are unlikely to meet,

vened by December 2012 “toreview the outcomes of theREToSA evaluation process,with the view to implement-ing its resolutions on the mat-ter without delay.”

SADC has an abundance ofnatural wonders that give theregion a comparative edge.However, little has been doneto harness this potential andboost arrivals.

For example, most SADCMember States still have gapsin tourism infrastructure andlack the capacity to invest insuch facilities. Some countriesalso have poor internationalflight frequencies and internaltransport links.

Meanwhile, a report onsouthern Africa tourism sectorperformance presented to theministers has called for a re-view and harmonization of theexisting frameworks and strate-gies for tourism growth and de-velopment in the region.

This is in light of the fact thatthe regional tourism environ-ment is facing growing compe-tition from emerging touristdestinations. It is, therefore, im-perative that the region con-fronts such challenges faced byformulating and implementinga regional tourism growth anddevelopment strategy.

The ministers said there isneed to expand the joint mar-keting of the SADC region asa single but multi-faceted des-tination in emerging marketssuch as Brazil, China, Indiaand Russia, for which aroadmap has to be developedshowcasing SADC tourismpackages in those markets.

The ministers also approvedthe new REToSA destinationbrand with the catch-line “Ex-perience Southern Africa” to belaunched and rolled out bySeptember 2012. r

SADC HAS resolved to re-view the role of the RegionalTourism organisation ofSouthern Africa (REToSA) toensure that the body becomesmore effective in promotingtourism in the region.

REToSA is a SADC bodyresponsible for the promotionand marketing of tourism inthe region.

It brings together 14 Mem-ber States – Angola, Botswana,the Democratic Republic ofCongo, Lesotho, Madagascar,Malawi, Mauritius, Mozam-bique, Namibia, South Africa,

Swaziland, United Republic ofTanzania, Zambia and Zim-babwe – to provide a unifiedplatform to market the re-gion’s tourist attractions.

Meeting in Grand Baie,Mauritius at their annualmeeting, SADC ministers re-sponsible for tourism under-scored the importance ofregional cooperation in jointmarketing of SADC within theframework of REToSA.

The ministers said there isneed to re-examine, amongothers, the structure of RE-ToSA, its financing, resourc-

ing, priorities and institutionalpositioning to ensure that itserves Member States and thesector effectively in order todeliver on its mandate.

The ministers approvedand directed that a study beconducted to provide an in-depth analysis of how to re-structure the organisation tobecome more effective, with aview to improving the re-gion’s competitiveness as atourism destination.

As a way forward it was re-solved that an extraordinaryministerial meeting be con-

sADc making progress to liberalise air transport


E L E C T I O N S

Some of the concernsraised by Lesotho stake-holders on the electoralprocess included allega-tions of discrepancies re-garding party acronymsand candidate names on

ballot papers, problems withthe voters’ roll, intimidationduring the electoral processand media polarisation.

The SEoM was officiallylaunched on 12 May 2012, byEbrahim in the presence ofSADC Executive Secretary,Tomaz Augusto Salomão andother stakeholders in Lesotho.

More than 70 observersfrom the SADC Secretariat, An-gola, Mozambique, Namibia,South Africa, Tanzania andZimbabwe were deployed inall the districts of Lesotho.

The SEoM launch was atthe invitation of the IEC andwas consistent with provi-sions of the SADC Principlesand Guidelines GoverningDemocratic Elections. r

“It is SEoM’s overallview that the elections wereconducted in an open andtransparent manner. SEoMwas impressed by thepatience of voters who wereable to express their franchisepeacefully, freely and un-hindered in all polling sta-tions,” the head of themission and South AfricanDeputy Minister of Interna-tional Relations and Cooper-ation, Ebrahim IsmailEbrahim, said.

AnGoLAn PArLIAMen-tArY elections are set for 31August, according to a decreeby President Eduardo dosSantos.

Dos Santos also announcedthe appointment of EdeltrudesCosta as interim president ofthe National Electoral Com-mission (CNE). The formerCNE president had to stepdown after opposition partieschallenged her appointmentsince she was not a judge. An-golan law requires that a judgeleads the commission.

Nomination of candidateswas expected to run from 31May to 19 June, according tothe country’s ConstitutionalCourt.

Angola’s National Assem-bly has 220 members, electedfor a four year term, 130 mem-bers by proportional represen-tation and 90 members inprovincial districts.

A new Constitutionadopted in 2010 stipulatesthat the president is no longerelected directly, but by theNational Assembly, and thathe or she is always the presi-dent of the party that ob-tained the highest number ofvotes in the parliamentaryelections.

The last parliamentaryelections held in September2008 were won by dos Santos’Popular Movement for the Lib-eration of Angola (MPLA). r

Angolan elections set for 31 August

X

National Assembly to deter-mine how many seats eachparty deserves to receive.

Using this system, the DCgot an additional seven seats tobring its total to 48 or just 40percent of the 120 parliamen-tary seats. This fell short of the61 needed to form a govern-ment.

Mosisili resigned after theleaders of ABC, LCD and Ba-sotho National Party (BNP)agreed to form an alliance thatgave them an absolute majorityin parliament and the right toform a coalition government.

The agreement saw ABCleader Thomas Thabane be-coming prime minister whileLCD president MothetjoaMetsing became deputy primeminister. BNP leader TheseleMaseribane, whose party gotfive seats, was appointed Min-ister of youth, Sports andRecreation in a 19-membercabinet announced on 15 June.

The 67-year-old Mosisilihas been the Prime Minister ofLesotho since May 1998.

More than 900 candidates,comprising of 942 who werenominated by 18 parties and21 independents, took part inthe elections.

The elections were de-scribed as credible, free andfair by the SADC Election ob-server Mission (SEoM).

by Joseph Ngwawi

tHe DeMoCrAtIC Con-gress (DC) of former PrimeMinister Pakalitha Mosisiliswept to victory in nationalelections held on 26 May inLesotho but failed to secure awide enough margin to form agovernment.

The DC won 41 of the 80contested constituencies againstabout 26 seats for the main op-position All-Basotho Conven-tion (ABC) led by formerForeign Minister Thomas Tha-bane, according to final resultspublished by the IndependentElectoral Commission (IEC) ofLesotho.

The former ruling party,Lesotho Congress for Democ-racy (LCD) could only manage12 seats while the PopularFront for Democracy (PFD) ledby Lekhetho Rakuoan got oneseat.

However, due to Lesotho’scomplicated electoral system,the DC failed to win enoughvotes to form a new govern-ment.

Lesotho has a "mixed mem-ber proportional representation"electoral system under whichmost Members of Parliamentare chosen in constituencies, butthe remainder are allocated ac-cording to party lists.

Under this system, 80 par-liamentarians in single-mem-ber constituencies are chosenusing the first-past-the-postsystem while the remaining 40are elected from one nationalconstituency using party-listproportional representation.

The latter is used to deter-mine the number of seats eachparty would receive if the sys-tem was fully proportional.The total number of votes caston the party ballot is dividedby the 120 seats at stake in the

opposition alliance forms new government after inconclusive lesotho elections

Voters in Lesotho

Events Diary June-August 2012

June7, Ethiopia Launch of 5th Global Environment Outlook (GEO 5)

GEO 5, published by the UN Environment Programme(UNEP), provides an analysis of the state of and trends inthe global environment, and the world’s performance inmeeting key internationally agreed goals to promote the en-vironment. The analysis for the SADC region was producedby Southern African Research and Documentation Centre(SARDC), UNEP’s Collaborating Centre for Southern Africa.

13-22, Brazil UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20)The conference in Rio de Janeiro offers an opportunity forthe global community to renew its commitments to promot-ing sustainable development and address new and emerg-ing challenges such as climate change. The conference willreview progress since the first Earth Summit held in Rio deJaneiro in 1992 and the World Summit on Sustainable De-velopment in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 2002.

26-28, Germany Africa Energy ForumEnergy experts will explore ways that Africa, as one of thefastest emerging markets in the world, can meet increaseddemand for energy to ensure sustainable development.

July2-5, South Africa Bridges Africa

The conference will discuss the opportunities and chal-lenges in the development and maintenance of bridgesand road networks in Africa.

6-13, Seychelles 49th RETOSA Board MeetingThe Regional Tourism Organization of Southern Africa(RETOSA) will meet to discuss strategy for promotingtourism in southern Africa. Delegates from 14 RETOSAmember states will discuss issues relating to regionaltourism growth and strategy, including regional tourisminfrastructure and a tourism master plan for the region.

11, Namibia ZIZABONA conferenceThe conference seeks to attract investors to the ZIZ-ABONA project. The transmission lines link four SADCcountries – Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana and Namibia– and seek to reduce congestion on the central corridor.

15-16, Ethiopia 19th African Union SummitAfrican Heads of State and Government will meet for the19th Ordinary Session of the African Union, preceded byconferences on “Boosting Intra-African Trade” and “2012Year of Shared Values”.

16-19, South Africa Mining CongressAfrica The congress will focus on mining projects and accessing

funding and finance in Africa and ensuring effective pro-duction and implementing best practice in mining.

19-20, China 5th FOCAC Meeting The 5th Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Coopera-tion (FOCAC) is expected to adopt a series of new meas-ures and targets for China-Africa developmentcooperation for the period 2013-2016 and a strongerfocus on regional development and youth development.

AugustTBA, Mozambique SADC Summit

SADC leaders meet annually in August/September to dis-cuss issues aimed at promoting regional integration anddevelopment. The Summit is preceded by meetings of sen-ior officials and Council of Ministers.

27-30, South Solar Africa Africa Energy experts will converge and discuss on how to

increase the uptake of solar energy.


E V E N T S

SADC TODAY Vol 14 No 4 June 2012

SOUTHERN AFRICA TODAYis produced as a reference source of

activities and opportunities in the Southern African Development Community, and a guide for

decision-makers at all levels of national and regional development.

Southern African Development CommunitySADC Secretariat, SADC House, Private Bag 0095,

Gaborone, BotswanaTel +267 395 1863 Fax +267 397 2848/318 1070E-mail [email protected] Website www.sadc.int

SOUTHERN AFRICA TODAY is published six times a year by the SouthernAfrican Research and Documentation Centre (SARDC) for the SADC Secretariat

in Gaborone, Botswana, as a reliable knowledge source on regional development.Articles may be reproduced freely in the media and elsewhere, with attribution.

EDITORMunetsi Madakufamba

EDITORIAL COMMITTEEJoseph Ngwawi, Kizito Sikuka, Egline Tauya, Admire Ndhlovu, Stalin Tazvitya, Phyllis Johnson, Patience Ziramba, Ndiyavhonga Ndou, Tanyaradzwa Chiwara,

Danai Majaha.

EDITORIAL ADVISORHead of Corporate Communications Unit, SADC

Leefa Penehupifo Martin

SOUTHERN AFRICA TODAY is supported by the Norwegian Ministry of ForeignAffairs, in support of the SADC Energy Thematic Group of International CooperatingPartners, which is chaired by Norway.

© SADC, SARDC, 2012

SOUTHERN AFRICA TODAY welcomes contributions from individuals and or-ganizations within the SADC region in form of articles, photographs, news items andcomments, and also relevant articles from outside the region. The publishers reservethe right to select or reject items, and to edit to fit the space available. The contentsdo not necessarily reflect the official positions or opinions of SADC or SARDC.

SOUTHERN AFRICA TODAY is published in English, Portuguese and French, andis available electronically at www.sardc.net Knowledge for Development, linkedto www.sadc.int

DESIGN & LAYOUTTonely Ngwenya

PHOTOS AND ILLUSTRATIONSP1 human-3d.com, filmwerkstatt.com, informafrica.com, namport.com,

amazingvictoriafalls.com; P5 talkzimbabwe.com; P6 zeitnews.org, usmra.com,si.edu.gif, cbd.int; P7 hiteforums.com, enderra.com, craftingchaos.com, tekearth.com;

P8 solarfine.com; flickr.com; P10 Mukundi Mutasa; P12 rollingout.com, looksharpstore.co.nz.gif, kpmsupply.com; P13 airplane-pictures.net,

offshoreodysseys.com,postcolonialwen.org, animaldiscoveryonline.com; P14 library.thinkquest.org, mg.co.za; P16 zazzle.co.nz, focusinafrica.com

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www.sardc.net <http://www.sardc.net>Knowledge for Development

A shared future within a regional community

5 June Liberation Day Seychelles16 June Youth Day South Africa18 June National Day Seychelles23 June Corpus Christi Seychelles25 June Independence Day Mozambique26 June Independence Day Madagascar29 June Independence Day Seychelles30 June Independence Day DRC

1 July Sir Seretse Khama Day Botswana2 July Public Holiday Botswana

Heroes Day Zambia 3 July Unity Day Zambia 6 July Independence Day Malawi 7 July Saba Saba Industry Day Tanzania16 July President’s Day Botswana17 July Public Holiday Botswana

King’s Birthday Lesotho 22 July Birthday of late King Sobhuza Swaziland

6 August Farmers Day Zambia 8 August Nane Nane Peasant Day Tanzania9 August National Women’s Day South Africa 13 August Heroes Day Zimbabwe14 August Defence Forces Day Zimbabwe 15 August Assumption Day Madagascar, Mauritius,

Seychelles 17 August SADC Day* All19 August Eid-Ul-Fitr** Mauritius, Tanzania26 August Heroes Day Namibia 27 August Public Holiday Namibia

* SADC Day is not a public holiday but a commemoration of signing the SADCTreaty on 17 August 1992**Exact date depends on sighting of the new moon

H I S T O R Y T O D A Y

PUBLIC HOLIDAYS IN SADCJune-August 2012

SIr SereTSe Khama Day is a national holidayto honour the founding President of Botswana,Seretse Khama, who was born on 1 July 1921 atSerowe, the son of Sekgoma Khama and grandsonof Kgosi (Chief) Khama III of the Bangwato people. He became theChief after their deaths, at the age of four, with his Uncle TshekediKhama acting as regent. He led his country to independence on 30 September 1966, endingits status as a British “protectorate” and becoming Botswana’s firstPresident. He was active in the Frontline States grouping of southernAfrican leaders who opposed apartheid in neighbouring South Africaand supported the liberation movements in the region. He was a lead-ing advocate of regional integration and the SADC headquarters is lo-cated in Gaborone, Botswana. Khama died on 13 July 1980, soon after participating in the forma-tion of SADC’s precursor, the Southern Africa Development Coordina-tion Conference (SADCC) on 1 April that year. He was survived by hiswife, Ruth, and four children, one of whom, his eldest son Chief SeretseKhama Ian Khama, became President of Botswana in 2008.

Remembering Seretse KhamaMozambique independence50 years since formation of FRELIMO in 1962The FronT for the Liberation of Mozambique (FRELIMO) wasfounded in Dar es Salaam in then Tanganyika in June 1962 whenthree nationalist organisations merged into one broad-basedliberation movement under the leadership of Eduardo ChivamboMondlane. FRELIMO launched the armed struggle for independence fromPortugal two years later, on 25 September 1964, when cadres trainedin Algeria went into action for the first time in the northern provinceof Cabo Delgado after infiltrating across the border fromTanganyika (which had merged with Zanzibar a few months earlierto form the United Republic of Tanzania). By 1965, the military action against the Portuguese colonial armyhad been extended to neighbouring Niassa province, and FRELIMOwas able to open fronts in the Tete region two years later. In response, Portugal committed more and more troops, militarysupplies, and military aid funds to the territory. Mondlane was assassinated on 3 February 1969 with a parcelbomb sent to him in Dar es Salaam by the Portuguese securitypolice, the PIDE. Samora Machel became president of FRELIMO in1970 and directed the liberation struggle to its completion,negotiations, transition and independence on 25 June 1975,becoming the first President of Mozambique. He affirmed Mozambique's support for the liberationmovements in Angola, South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe, andhis FRELIMO government provided a rear base and other facilities,especially for neighbouring Zimbabwe and South Africa. His unrelenting support for liberation of neighbouring countriescaused him to be a target of apartheid South Africa, and he waskilled when his plane crashed just across the South African borderon 19 October 1986, believed to have been drawn off course by afalse beacon. FRELIMO and the other liberation movements received supportfrom the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) LiberationCommittee based in Tanzania, which coordinated internationalfinancial and material support. A turning point in the struggle for Mozambique’s independencewas the coup d’etat in Portugal on 25 April 1974 when thePortuguese Movement of the Armed Forces overthrew the militaryregime in Lisbon. This was caused in part by the discontent of conscripts sent tofight in Portugal’s “overseas territories” in Africa, particularlybecause they were losing the war against FRELIMO inMozambique. Negotiations between Portuguese and FRELIMO representativesled to the conclusion of an independence agreement signed inZambia on 7 September 1974, now commemorated as Victory Day,marking the start of a transition headed by Prime Minister JoaquimChissano, who was later President from 1986 to 2005. H.E. Armando Emilio Guebuza, now President of

Mozambique, joined FRELIMO at age 20 and rose quickly tobecome a member of the top leadership, the Politburo, and a topcommander in the war. Guebuza was elected President in 2004and re-elected in 2009.

Vision 2050 SADC ponders future - Knowledge for ... need to develop the SADC Vision 2050 to other SADC Heads of State and Government during an Extraordinary Summit held in Lu-anda

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