The African Union, rising out of the completed mission of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) to achieve political independence across the African continent, was appropriately launched in South Africa less than a decade after the end of apartheid and the first democratic elections.

Following the achievement of political independence as envisaged by the founding fathers of the OAU in 1963, it was now necessary to refocus the continental body. The OAU was transformed into the AU, with an even tougher mandate of seeking Africa’s economic development, positioning Africa as a global player and delivering its population from the manacles of poverty.

NEPAD is the development framework of the AU, presented as a long-term vision of an African-owned and African-led development programme. It is a pledge by African leaders, to eradicate poverty and place the continent on a path of sustainable development, as well as facilitate countries, both individually and collectively, to participate actively in the global economy.

Often confused as a separate and competing organisation to the AU, NEPAD is in fact its implementation plan, open for adoption by member countries based on their individual circumstances.

NEPAD’s long-term objectives as stated in its Programme of Action The Strategy for Achieving Sustainable Development in the 21st Century, are to:

• eradicate poverty in Africa
• promote the role of women in all activities.

• to reduce the proportion of people living in extreme poverty by half between 1990 and 2015.

Given the options at the regional, continental and global levels, it is up to individual countries to adapt implementation plans within the confines of their national circumstances. The ultimate objective is to bring about poverty eradication and human advancement within the context of an ecologically and democratically sustainable environment.

This is to be done within internationally agreed principles, as adopted at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro and restated at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa in September.

The World Summit, which brought together over 40,000 delegates and 100 world leaders, made several resolutions that seek to achieve development through sustainable means, although there was a notable lack of enthusiasm from the North and criticism for lack of progress since Rio.

The African Union foresees stronger regional groupings to facilitate the continent’s place in global affairs, and it is expected that the current restructuring of SADC will better position it to play a more effective supporting role for member countries.

The transformation of SADC institutions began last year with the clustering of sectors previously coordinated by member states into four directorates for central management at the SADC headquarters in Botswana. Originally scheduled for completion in December 2002, the process has been extended by one year to December 2003 to allow more time for tasks such as the Regional Indicative Development Plan. This plan, to be presented to SADC Council of Ministers in February 2003, will outline strategic priorities for the region.

In Angola, the guns have finally fallen silent, and while it is never part of African tradition to celebrate the death of a person, the demise of long-time guerrilla fighter Jonas Savimbi early 2002 marked a major turning point for southern Africa in general and Angola in particular. Following the departure of their leader of more than three decades, his rebel movement agreed to a long overdue peace agreement, signed on 4 April with the government of President José Eduardo dos Santos.

The government has since embarked on what appears to be a successful demobilisation exercise, reintegrating former guerrilla forces into the society. The challenge of rejuvenating the economy is the next hurdle, albeit surmountable. Angola’s wealth in petroleum and diamonds is unparalleled in the region. With other untapped mineral resources and fertile lands, it must only be a matter of time before Angola’s economy emerges from the ravages of war.

While peace appears to have returned to Angola, it may be premature for any celebrations in its northern neighbour, the DRC. The peace process has been a stop-and-go affair, with agreements signed between government and some rival groups leading to the withdrawal of government-allied troops from Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe, while the Rwandan army continues to support its allies through a physical presence in the DRC. Latest reports of renewed fighting in some rebel-dominated territories put a damper on prospects for peace in 2002.

However, reports from South Africa, where negotiators were engaged in last minute talks to keep up the momentum gained early in the year, say a power-sharing agreement has finally been signed. If it holds, the agreement will see the formation of a transitional government to be headed by President Joseph Kabila, with four vice-presidents drawn from government, the Rwanda-backed Rally for Congolese Democracy, the Uganda-backed Movement for the Liberation of Congo and other smaller opposition groups.

While all foreign troops have officially pulled out of the DRC, events in the war-prone country have been further complicated by the unenthusiastic attitude of the United Nations, which has been slow in deploying a credible peace-keeping force. Clearly much more excited about blame-apportioning as seen in its recent “report on illegal exploitation of resources in the DRC” rather than committing peace-keepers, UN commitment to peace in Africa has not matched that of African protagonists.

On the back of positive developments in Angola and DRC, the SADC summit, held in the Angolan capital Luanda in October, had every reason to hail the moment that “guns fall silent” in the region. Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa, now the Deputy Chairperson of SADC, summed it up in closing the summit when he said: “Together we must face the challenge to keep the guns silent in the entire SADC region – silent for good”.

And with such a promising turn of events in the region, the summit, chaired by host President Dos Santos, focused on other emerging challenges, notably the anticipated drought in the region.

About 14 million people in Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe are at high risk of starvation in the period to March 2003. Southern Africa is threatened by the worst drought in almost a decade. In July, SADC launched a joint appeal for food aid, as well as playing an advisory role on the emergent issue of food grown from Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO).

Member countries were advised to assess their own situation in accepting or rejecting GMO food, which comes mainly from the United States of America. Most countries which rejected GMO food, eventually accepted it with conditions such as making sure that all grain is milled before distribution to avoid contamination with local varieties. Zambia has remained steadfast that it will not feed its people on genetically modified food, only accepting it for the thousands of refugees it plays host to.

Food security, HIV/AIDS and poverty are some of the socio-economic challenges that are transboundary in nature and thus require a collective approach at the regional and continental levels. These developments may have put into context the point South African President Thabo Mbeki has been making – that poverty is the biggest facilitator of HIV/AIDS. And if poverty exacerbates the spread of AIDS, then hunger would just be the last stroke.

The drought has hit southern Africa at a critical moment, when the region is battling with a disaster posed by HIV/AIDS. Preliminary research has shown that hungry HIV-positive people are more likely to succumb to opportunistic infections faster than those with a balanced diet.

The March presidential election in Zimbabwe, during which emotions reached boiling point about the country’s controversial land reform programme, further heightened the diplomatic stand-off with former colonial power Britain.

The pre- and post-election periods attracted the attention of regional and international players. Won by President Robert Mugabe’s ruling Zimbabwe African National Unity – Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), the election was as hotly contested on the ballot paper as it was in the world media. Despite disapproval from local opposition and several European countries and the US, as well as the autonomous SADC Parliamentary Forum, ZANU-PF won the election and remains the ruling party, with full support from fellow SADC governments.

In May, Lesotho quietly held its legislative election, which despite contestations from the loosing parties, was not as eventful and violent as the 1998 poll which left the capital Maseru in ruins. Seen as an opportunity to heal the wounds of Lesotho’s recurrent political problems, the election passed with no incident. Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili’s ruling Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) claimed a majority victory.

If Lesotho’s election passed quietly, then Seychelles legislative poll in December went almost unnoticed. The ruling Seychelles People’s Progressive Front (SPPF) led by President France Albert Rene won a majority in the legislative election held on 4-6 December, trouncing its main rival the Seychelles National Party (SNP). Seychelles is a tiny archipelago in the Indian Ocean with a population of about 100,000. The country joined SADC in 1997, along with DRC.

For most of southern Africa, the events and processes in 2002 have rooted the conditions necessary for planned socio-economic and political endeavours, and the tone has been set for 2003. (SARDC)

SARDC has been reporting on SADC from a regional perspective since 1990. SANF can be reproduced in print or broadcast with credit to SARDC and the author.