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Mozambique Chronology:1-30 March 2000

   A historic assembly of 140 parliamentarians from member states of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) was convened by the SADC Parliamentary Forum, in Cape Town, South Africa, to lay the groundwork for accelerating the integration of decision-making structures in the 14 countries constituting Africa's most vibrant regional economic bloc.

    The conference, from 17 to 18 April 2000, debated the political-economic challenges facing the continent and the possibility of setting up a regional parliament to further the ideals of integration and democratisation.

    Deputy South African President Jacob Zuma, delivering his keynote speech, said the conference should contribute to the debate on how SADC positions itself in a world of "accelerating globalisation ".

    Zuma prodded members, including Speakers of the national assemblies, to determine whether parliaments were playing the roles expected of them in upholding democracy and defending fundamental human rights in southern Africa.

    "Have they been able to stand up to the executive to avoid abuse of parliament itself? Have they been able to prevent wars and massacres... ?", he asked.

    African parliaments had not taken sufficient advantage of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) resolution to create an African Court to ensure observance of human rights on the continent but he hoped that SADC would begin to seriously discuss the matter during the on-going debate on the role of parliaments.

    Zuma said the Parliamentary Forum, formed in 1996, provided a vehicle for interaction between parliaments and civil society but added that questions should be asked whether parliaments were accountable to the electorate. He called for openness in carrying forward the debate on democratisation and integration.

    Zuma expressed concern about continuing conflict on the continent, citing it as an impediment to development and unity as envisioned by leaders calling for an African renaissance. "Can we succeed in having Africa reborn in the face of conflict; of massacres, certainly it can only remain a slogan" he said.

    Southern Africa has two major conflicts in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which has involved eight African countries; and Angola, a 25-year-old civil war impacting on several of its neighbours.

    Zuma urged parliamentarians to seek African antidotes to African problems, saying traditional decision-making structures should be integrated into the modern parliamentary system to reflect a truly indigenous approach to law making. South Africa was currently formulating a policy on traditional leadership relating this to existing western style parliamentary governments.

    Most countries on the continent had adopted the Westminster parliamentary model but needed to focus on systems relevant to their own African conditions, he said.

    sayIng counmes wI{n no genaer polIcIes snoula oe gIven a tIme rrame III WhICh to ao so. Governments in the 14- member economic bloc signed a declaration on Gender and Development in 1997, setting a target of 30 percent women in decision-making processes by the year 2005. Mwansa, presenting recommendations from the committee on Conflict Resolution, Democracy and Gender, urged the various countries in the region to engage in a dialogue on the issue of gender balance in national assemblies as in most cases governments were willing to include more women in parliament but their efforts were sometimes compromised by male-dominated political parties. The committee felt that the Forum should focus on peace building rather than conflict resolution. Some members argued that the Forum may not have the capacity to venture into involving areas of conflict resolution and should instead prioritise goals that were within its current capabilities to achieve.

    Frene Ginwala, Speaker of the South African Parliament and current Chair of the Foruin, said with a combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of more than US$180 billion, SADC had become the "most vibrant economic bloc on the continent" representing "countries that refuse to remain in the periphery of development".

    She said parliaments had a duty to ensure that provisions of the treaty establishing SADC were met and that the promises made to the 190 million-plus population of the region were fulfilled by governments.

    Ginwala reminisced on the impact of apartheid on South Africa and most of the countries that now constitute SADC, saying the region had much to celebrate since the end of that era. Symbolically, Ginwala said the conference was being held in the old assembly chamber where the founding laws of apartheid were enacted "bringing so much suffering to the peoples of South Africa and the region " .

    "Today Integration is an important aspect of both African unity and the African Renaissance" she told the conference which was supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Representatives of European Parliamentarians for Africa (A WEP A) and non-governmental organisations were present as observers.