SADC STAKEHOLDERS meet in Mauritius in
April for high-level consultations on the poverty
and development challenges facing the region.
The SADC International Consultative Conference
on Poverty and Development is a highlevel,
multi-stakeholder dialogue at ministerial
level and involving senior business and civil society
leaders from the region to engage in policy
dialogue, forge consensus, and review
progress of the SADC economic integration
agenda, with emphasis on poverty eradication.
The theme of the conference is “Regional
Economic Integration: A Strategy for Poverty
Eradication towards Sustainable Development”
and discussions will focus on strategies, commitments
and resources needed to accelerate
SADC's economic targets to facilitate implementation
of the UN Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs).
INFORMAL CROSS Border
Trade (ICBT) is a key livelihood
in southern Africa and many
people are making a decent living
from this type of business,
according to a recent survey
done in six SADC Member
States.
ICBT, largely driven by
Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises
(SMMEs), is often
perceived as not only economically
non-viable but also as
socially undesirable.
The study reveals that
small-scale cross border trade,
commonly referred to as ICBT,
has become a profitable enterprise
for many citizens to the
extent that some have elected
to leave formal employment to
concentrate on their operations.
WHILE THE international
spotlight has focused on Zimbabwe,
its neighbours in
Botswana quietly changed
their President almost unnoticed,
in a planned transition
through an election in Parliament.
Festus Mogae, who has been
president for the past 10 years,
resigned on 31 March, handing
over to the former vice-president,
Ian Khama, who is the
eldest son of the late founding
President and father of the nation,
Seretse Khama.
Ian Khama has been vicepresident
for the past decade,
and chairperson of the ruling
Botswana Democratic Party
(BDP) since 2003. He is a graduate
of Sandhurst, the officer
training college in Britain, and
was previously commander of
the Botswana Defence Force
(BDF).
