# port

title:
Programa malawiano de subsistência cereal fortalece segurança alimentar

abstract:
A REVIRAVOLTA no Malawi, de um país deficitário em
alimentos para um produzindo
excedentes cereais e vencendo
défices alimentares demonstra
que os países regionais podem
ter capacidade para terem
segurança alimentar se
aplicarem políticas correctas.

body:
A REVIRAVOLTA no Malawi, de um país deficitário em
alimentos para um produzindo
excedentes cereais e vencendo
défices alimentares demonstra
que os países regionais podem
ter capacidade para terem
segurança alimentar se
aplicarem políticas correctas.
O programa de subsistência
cereal que foi introduzido em
2005 viu o governo a aumentar
a provisão de sementes de
milho e fertilizantes para
pequenos camponeses em mais
de 75 porcento.
Como resultado, o Malawi
triplicou a produção de milho
de 1.2 milhões de toneladas
para 3.4 milhões de toneladas
na época agrícola de 2007/2008.
A política de intervenção do
governo - uma re-introdução de
subsídios de fertilizantes e
sementes que começou em 1999 -
é profundamente apoiado pelo
Presidente malawiano, Bingu wa
Mutharika, que também serve
como Ministro da Agricultura.
Começando em 2005, o
governo distribuiu senhas
para pequenos camponeses
permitindo que comprassem
dois sacos de fertilizantes de 50
quilos, equivalente a US$7, um
quinto do preço do mercado.
Acrescido a isso, o governo
providenciou senhas para a
compra de sementes suficientes
para o plantio de meio acre cada.
Como resultado, a média de
produção dos camponeses
aumentou para duas toneladas
por hectare de 0.8 toneladas em
2015.
Na época agrícola de
2007/2008, o programa de
subsídios custou ao governo
US$62 milhões ou 6.5 porcento
do seu orçamento total.
O programa foi inicialmente
criticado por economistas e
agências multilaterais
que argumentaram que
a expansão de subsídios
podia piorar o
défice orçamental e
criar distorções no
mercado.
Mas os recentes sucessos de
Malawi em virar o sector da
agricultura e assegurando a
segurança alimentar do país
tem confundido os críticos. De
facto, o aumento fenomenal da
produção de milho poupou
ao país US$120 milhões
anuais que tinha gasto em
2005 importando ajuda
alimentar.
Como destacado pelo vice-
Ministro de Agricultura do
Malawi, Frank Mwendifumbo,
a importante lição para os
fazedores de políticas na região
é de que os subsídios
governamentais são necessários
para o crescimento na agrícola.
Tal intervenção está em linha
com a Declaração da SADC
sobre Agricultura e Segurança Alimentar que foi adoptada
pelos Estados membro da
SADC na Tanzania.
Dentre os objectivos a médio e
longo prazos, os líderes da SADC
acordaram em assegurar que
todos os Estados membro
progressivamente aumentar a
alocação de financiamento
agrícola em pelo menos dez
porcento dos orçamentos
nacionais dentro de um período
de cinco anos.
Na época agrícola de
2008/2009, o Malawi planeia
gastar US$186 milhões num
ambicioso programa de
subsídios de insumos agrícolas
para 1.7 milhões de camponeses,
anunciaram recentemente as
autoridades agrícolas.


title:
Moçambique visa liderar “revolução verde”

abstract:
MOÇAMBIQUE VISA liderar
uma “revolução verde” na
África sub-Sahariana, usando a
ciência e inovação para
melhorar as variedades de
culturas e aumentar a produção.
Inaugurando, em Setembro,
um conferência sobre
Biotecnologia, Fomento e
Sistemas de Sementes para
Culturas Africanas, em Maputo,
Moçambique, o Ministro
moçambicano de Ciência e
Tecnologia, Venâncio Masingue,
declarou que precisa-se uma
“revolução verde” para
desenvolvimento na região.

body:
MOÇAMBIQUE VISA liderar
uma “revolução verde” na
África sub-Sahariana, usando a
ciência e inovação para
melhorar as variedades de
culturas e aumentar a produção.
Inaugurando, em Setembro,
um conferência sobre
Biotecnologia, Fomento e
Sistemas de Sementes para
Culturas Africanas, em Maputo,
Moçambique, o Ministro
moçambicano de Ciência e
Tecnologia, Venâncio Masingue,
declarou que precisa-se uma
“revolução verde” para
desenvolvimento na região.
“Incorporando a ciência na
agricultura em Moçambique é
chave para a modernização da
economia e prover empregos na
zonas rurais e urbanas. Esta é a
razão porque a ciência melhora
as vidas das pessoas,” disse
Massingue.
Ele disse que a tentativa do
país em fazer uma “revolução
verde” pode ser possível se os
cientistas fomentar variedades de
culturas de alto rendimento para
aliviar a fome nas zonas rurais.
Moçambique alocou mais
de US$30 milhões para a
distribuição de sementes e fertilizantes, e o governo está
olhando para parcerias do
sector privado para alargar o
programa de sementes.
O Presidente moçambicano,
Armando Guebuza, declarou que
o seu governo está caminhando
rumo à “revolução verde” para
aumentar e diversificar a
agricultura e aumentar a
produção de alimentos.
Calisto Bias, Director do
Instituto Nacional de Pesquisa Agrícola de Moçambique, disse
que a pesquisa desempenha
um papel importante no
desenvolvimento e promoção
de novos produtos agrícola.
“O uso de sementes
melhoradas é quase baixa em
Moçambique e África em geral.
As empresas de sementes
sempre queixam-se do
pequeno mercado comparado
com o custo de produção,”
disse Bias.


title:
Projecto agrícola rural de Angola recebe
injecções financeiras

abstract:
UM PROGRAMA de seis anos
visando melhorar o rendimento
dos camponeses angolanos e o
acesso aos mercados recebeu
uma concessão de US$6.4
milhões da Fundação Bill e
Melinda Gates.

body:
UM PROGRAMA de seis anos
visando melhorar o rendimento
dos camponeses angolanos e o
acesso aos mercados recebeu
uma concessão de US$6.4
milhões da Fundação Bill e
Melinda Gates.
O projecto, que será gerido
pelo governo angolano, espera
abrir novas oportunidades de
mercados para os camponeses
rurais em Angola.
O projecto PRORENDA,
como será conhecido, é uma
iniciativa única concebido para
beneficiar pequenos camponeses
no planalto central de Angola, 60 porcento dos quais diz-se serem
mulheres, incluindo viúvas de
guerra e mulheres chefes de
famílias vulneráveis.
Os beneficiários também
incluem pessoas com deficiências
recebidas durante o conflito civil
angolano de 27 anos,
Ligando pequenos
camponeses do planalto central
para grandes mercados urbanos
de culturas como batatas,
cenouras e cebolas, o projecto
procura aumentar os
rendimentos de mais de
51.000 famílias de pequenos
camponeses.


title:
Eleições zambianas livres e transparentes SADC

abstract:
OBSERVADORES
ELEITORAIS louvaram a
condução das eleições
presidenciais de 30 de Outubro
na Zâmbia, dizendo que o
p rocesso esteve em
conformidade com os padrões
regional e internacional.
A Missão de Observação
Eleitoral da SADC (SEOM),
liderado pelo Permanente
Secretário de Defesa da
Suazilândia, John Kunene, disse
que as eleições foram “pacíficas,
livres e transparentes” e
reflectiram a vontade do povo
zambiano.

body:
OBSERVADORES
ELEITORAIS louvaram a
condução das eleições
presidenciais de 30 de Outubro
na Zâmbia, dizendo que o
p rocesso esteve em
conformidade com os padrões
regional e internacional.
A Missão de Observação
Eleitoral da SADC (SEOM),
liderado pelo Permanente
Secretário de Defesa da
Suazilândia, John Kunene, disse
que as eleições foram “pacíficas,
livres e transparentes” e
reflectiram a vontade do povo
zambiano.
“É o ponto de vista global da
SADC que as eleições foram
conduzidas de uma forma
aberta, transparente e
professional,” disse Kunene.
“Não foram observados
ou reportados actos de
intimidação pelo país,”
acrescentou Kunene.
A SEOM implorou aos
diferentes partidos políticos a
aproximarem-se das relevantes
instituições da Zâmbia para
resolve rem quaisquer
reclamações.
A SADC louvou ainda a
Comissão Eleitoral da Zâmbia
(ECZ) pela gestão profissional
das eleições e o cometimento
para produzir resultados
eleitorais cerdíveis e
legítimas.
A União Africana (UA) disse
que as eleições foram pacíficas e
a contagem dos votos e
transmissão dos resultados foi
conduzido de forma
transparente.
O Chefe da missão de
observação eleitoral da UA
e Ministro dos Negócios
Estrangeiros das Maurícias, Anil
Gayan, disse que as eleições
foram em conformidade com os
princípios da UA governando
eleições democráticas em África.
“Em geral, as eleições foram
livre, transparentes e justas,”
disse a missão da UA, citando
poucos problemas que
necessitam de ser retificadas em
futuras eleições.
As eleições foram ganhas por
Rupiah Banda, o antigo
presidente interino e candidato
do Movimento para a
Democracia Multipartidária
(MMD). Segundo os resultados
finais anunciados pela ECZ no dia
1 de Novembro, Banda ganhou a
presidência com 40.09 porcento
do voto, seguido de Michael Sata
da Frente Patriótica (PF) que
conquistou 38.13 porcento.
Hakainde Hichilema do
Partido Unido para o
Desenvolvimento Nacional
(UPND) ganhou 19.73 porcento,
enquanto Godfrey Miyanda do
Partido da Herança (HP) obteve
menos de um porcento do voto.
As eleições foi provocada
pela morte do incumbente Levy
Mwanawasa que faleceu em
Agosto.
A afluência foi de 45.43
porcento, representando 1.8
milhões de pessoas de um total
de 3.9 milhões de eleitores
registados


title:
PERFIL
Rupiah Banda, Presidente da Zâmbia

abstract:
O QUARTO presidente da Reúplica
da Zâmbia, Rupiah Banda, é um
veterano político que está nos serviços
públicos há mais de 50 anos.

body:
O QUARTO presidente da Reúplica
da Zâmbia, Rupiah Banda, é um
veterano político que está nos serviços
públicos há mais de 50 anos.
Nascido aos 19 de Fevereiro de
1937, Banda esteve entre um grupo
de jovens líderes do Partido de
União de Independência Nacional
(UNIP) que ganhou a independência
da Zâmbia em Outubro de 1964, sob
a liderança de Kenneth Kaunda.
Com 27 anos de idade, tornou-se o
primeiro embaixador da Zâmbia no
Egipto. Foi um posto significante visto
que Cairo era uma importante capital
africana durante a liderança do
revolucionári líder egípcio, Gamal
Abdel Nasser, que fou um apoiante
chave das lutas para a independência
da Zâmbia e região.
Banda, um economista de
profissão, recebeu vários postos
diplomáticos, incluindo de
representante da Zâmbia nas Nações
Unidas deste os finais dos anos 60 até
aos princípios dos anos 70.
Em 1975, foi nomeado Ministro
dos Negócios Estrangeiros por
Kaunda num período crítico da
história da África Austral, numa altura quando Moçambique e Angola
ganhavam a sua independência.
Entre 1982 e 1986 serviu como o
presidente do Conselho das Nações
Unidas sobre a Namíbia, que era
efectivamente o governo da Namíbia
enquanto a questão do disputado
mandato da África do Sul sobre o
território estava sendo resolvido.
Em 1988, foi de novo eleito
deputado do parlamento e serviu na
Assembleia Nacional até 1991,
quando o governo da UNIP perdeu
as primeiras eleições
multipartidárias da Zâmbia.
Em 1994, foi nomeado Ministro
das Minas do Estado e mais tarde
tornou-se Governador Sénior de
Lusaka em 1998.
Demitiu-se da política em 2002
para juntar-se ao sector privado, mas foi chamado de volta para o posto de
vice-Presidente pelo falecido
Presidente Levy Mwanawasa após
as eleições presidenciais de 2006.
Banda foi eleito no dia 15 de
Setembro como candidato
presidencial do seu partido, o
Movimento para a Democracia
Multipartidária (MMD), para as
eleições de 30 de Outubro que ele
ganhou em frente aos outros três
candidatos.


title:
PERFIL
Kgalema Motlanthe, Presidente da África
do Sul e Presidente da SADC

abstract:
O NOVO
PRESIDENTE da
SADC é Kgalema
Motlanthe, o
Presidente interino da
África do Sul e vice-
Presidente do partido
no poder, o Congresso
Nacional Africano
(ANC).

body:
O NOVO
PRESIDENTE da
SADC é Kgalema
Motlanthe, o
Presidente interino da
África do Sul e vice-
Presidente do partido
no poder, o Congresso
Nacional Africano
(ANC).
Umantigo
sindicalista e anterior Secretário
Geral do ANC, Motlanthe já de um
significativo contributo para o seu
partido e país.
Nascido aos 19 de Julho de 1949
em Joanesburgo, Motlanthe passou a
maior parte da sua vida juvenil no
Soweto organizando contra a
administração do apartheid.
Nos anos 70, enquanto
trabalhando na Câmara de
Joanesburgo, foi recrutado para o
Umkhonto we Sizwe - o braço
armado do ANC.
Em Abril de 1976, foi preso por
avançar os desígnios do ANC e foi
detido sem julgamento por 11 meses
na Prisão de John Vorster em
Joanesburgo.
Em 1977, foi condenado
por três acusações sob a Lei do
Terrorismo e sentenciado à 10 anos
de cadeia efectiva na Ilha de
Robben.


title:
Tempo para África domesticar o grande potencial hidro-energético

abstract:
REPRESENTANTES DE
PAÍSES participantes
da XXª Sessão do
Simpósio Hidroeléctrica
Africano realizado na
Zâmbia apelaram aos
governos africanos para
domesticarem o seu
potencial hidro-energético,
visto ser barata e limpa.

body:
REPRESENTANTES DE
PAÍSES participantes
da XXª Sessão do
Simpósio Hidroeléctrica
Africano realizado na
Zâmbia apelaram aos
governos africanos para
domesticarem o seu
potencial hidro-energético,
visto ser barata e limpa.
Segundo Lusaba Musaba,
o Gestor do Centro de
Coordenação do Grupo de
Energia da África Austral
(SAPP), a África tem um
potencial de hidrocapacidade
combinado de
mais de 1,759,000 gigawatts
(GW) por ano, o suficiente
para fornecer energia à todo
o continente mas
infelizmente apenas 4.3
porcento está sendo
explorado.
O simpósio ouviu da
SAPP e da Associação
Regional dos Reguladores
de Electricidade (RERA) de
que para se lidar com os
défices regionais de energia
e parar-se com mais declínio
para o ambiente, deve-se
pesquisar e explorar fontes
de energia alternativa.
Uma fonte de energia
renovável é hidroeléctrica
que envolve usar a água
para mover as turbinas, e
gerar electricidade limpa e
barata.
Com sete dos maiores
sistemas de risos (Congo,
Limpopo, Níger, Orange,
Senegal e Zambeze), a
África detém 10 porcento do
potencial hidro-energético
mundial, mas tem apenas
explorado uma pequena
parte da sua capacidade, o
simpósio ouviu.
ARERA enfatizou que as
mudanças climáticas, a
procura de nergia mais
limpa e a necessidade de África por um
fornecimento constante de
energia sublinham a
necessidade de se
aumentar o investimento
no sector hidroeléctrico, ao
mesmo tempo que se toma
em consideração as amplas
preocupações ambientais,
económicas e sociais.
O simpósio, que visa a
partilha de experiências
entre governos e o sector
privado, tenciona agrupar
recursos e acelerar a
cooperação regional no
sector de energia entre os
países africanos.
Na cerimónia de
abertura, o Ministro de
Energia e Desenvolvimento das Águas da Zâmbia,
Kenneth Konga, apelou
para re-fortalecimento da
cooperação entre os países
da região, visando
fortalecer a coesão rumo ao
desenvolvimento de
energia regional.
As discussões nas
conferência deste ano
cobriram tópicos tais como a
escassez de energia na
região, uma avaliação do
progresso sobre os actuais
projectos, os planos para se
estabelecer um único grupo
de energia para o
continente, lições e desafios
de novas tecnologias de
energia, e partilhando
experiências, entre outros.
Antes da conferência,
um painel das empresas
regionais de electricidade
reuniu para rever
as questões chave
relacionadas com a
exploração dos recursos
hídricos e energéticos,
financiamento e impacto
ambiental e social.
O painel notou que
a hidro-energia tem
sido tradicionalmente
financiado com fundos
públicos e por conseguinte,
recomendouo
envolvimento do sector
privado visto o continente
estar a enfrentar uma
escassez de fundos públicos.
O painel também apelou
para o desenvolvimento
de estações minihidroeléctricas
que têem o
potencial de fornecer
energia barata às
comunidades rurais.
Há muita hidro-energia
na África Austral e Oriental
onde a disponibilidade de
chuvas adequadas e o
terreno cria um básico
potencial natural para
exploração.
O Norte de África tem
23 porcento da hidroenergia
do continente, a África Ocidental tem 25
porcento, enquanto a
África Oriental e Austral
têem 52 porcento.
Exemplos de grandes
projectos hidroeléctricos na
África Austral incluem
a estação hidroeléctrica de
Inga na República
Democrática do Congo
(RDC), de que se espera do
começo da construção da
fase três em 2009, ao custo
de US$3.6 biliões.
Acredita-se que o projecto
das Cataratas de Inga é a
maior iniciativa
hidroeléctrica no mundo e,
espera-se que quando
estiver a operar em plena
capacidade suplante a
Cahora Bassa de
Moçambique, actualmente
uma das maiores estações
hidroeléctricas da África,
produzindo uns estimados
2,500MW.
Outros projectos
hidroeléctricos na África
Austral incluem a Kariba
(partilhada pela Zâmbia e
Zimbabwe), a Depressão
de Kafue na Zâmbia,
Kidatu na Tanzania,
Maguga na Suazilândia, e
o projecto de energia de
Bethlehem na África do
Sul, entre outros.


title:
Zâmbia, Banco Mundial assinam um acordo de energia de US$75.5 milhões

abstract:
O GOVERNO zambiano
assinou um acordo de
financiamento de US$75.5
milhões com o Banco
Mundial visando aumentar
o acesso à electricidade
numa altura em que a
região continua a enfrentar
escassez de energia.

body:
O GOVERNO zambiano
assinou um acordo de
financiamento de US$75.5
milhões com o Banco
Mundial visando aumentar
o acesso à electricidade
numa altura em que a
região continua a enfrentar
escassez de energia.
Segundo Ng'andau
Magande, o Ministro das
Finanças da Zâmbia, “o
financiamento melhorará
os projectos de geração de
energia da Zâmbia que procuram aumentar o
fornecimento de electricidade
para todas as partes
do país, com maior ênfase
sobre as zonas rurais.”
Magande disse que a
implementação efectiva do
projecto de electrificação
rural em curso, bem como
de novos projectos de
geração precisa de ser
apoiado por tarifas custoreflexivos
para assegurar
a eficiência operacional
das empresas de energia, tais como a Companhia
de Fornecimento de
Electricidade da Zâmbia
(ZESCO).
O projecto verá o Banco
Mundial e a Facilidade
Global Ambiental a
proverem US$33 milhões e
US$4.5 milhões, respectivamente,
com a União
Europeia a providenciar
mais US$15 milhões,
enquanto o governo zambiano
injectará US$12 milhões
no projecto.


title:
Energia renovável da África atrai atenção

abstract:
O POTENCIAL para o
desenvolvimento de
energia renovável em
África está crescendo visto
ambos os investidores e
líderes regionais procuram
uma nova fronteira de
energia limpa.

body:
O POTENCIAL para o
desenvolvimento de
energia renovável em
África está crescendo visto
ambos os investidores e
líderes regionais procuram
uma nova fronteira de
energia limpa.
Segundo o Banco
Africano de
Desenvolvimento (BAD), o
continente pode tornar-se
uma “mina de ouro” de
energia renovável devido
aos abundantes recursos
solar e eólica.
Contudo , o
desenvolvimento da
indústria tem sido difícil pela falta de recursos
financeiros e pobres
infraestruturas.
Reunindo-se no Fórum
Africano de Carbono em
Senegal, em Outubro,
funcionários da União
Africana (UA), o BAD, e
empresas de electricidade
partilharam estratégias para
projectos de “Mecanismos
de Desenvolvimento Limpo
(CDM)” no continente, tais
como iniciativas de redução
de gases de efeito de estufa.
O enfoque da reunião
esteve centrado sobre a
possibilidade de futuros
projectos de CDM sob um acordo anterior ao
Protocolo de Quioto.
Mesmo assim, a África
beneficiou o menos entre
todos os continentes de
US$7 biliões anuais do
mercado de CDM.
Desde que a União
Europeia começou a
comercializar “créditos de
carbono” através dos
seus Esquemas de
Comercialização de
Emissões em 2005, apenas
27 dos 1,156 projectos da
CDM incluídos no
esquema foram registados
em África.
Um relatório do BAD
lançado na reunião
providencia mais evidência
do potencial do continente.
A África sub-Sahariana
tem o potencial de fornecer
mais de 170 gigawatts
(GW) da capacidade
acrescida de geração de
energia - mais de dobro das
actuais instalações da subregião
através de 3,200
projectos de energia de
“baixo carbono”, tais como
o combinado calor-eenergia,
produção de
biocombústiveis ,
transporte de massas, e
eficiência de energia, diz o
relatório.


title:
Energia solar traz esperança para clínicas
rurais em Madagáscar

abstract:
O USO da energia solar nas
zonas rurais de
Madagáscar trouxe alívio à
muitas áreas que estavam
antes em desvantagem.

body:
O USO da energia solar nas
zonas rurais de
Madagáscar trouxe alívio à
muitas áreas que estavam
antes em desvantagem.
Ainda não conectada à
rede nacional, vários
hospitais e clínicas rurais
têem sido recentemente
equipados com tecnologia
solar para produzir a sua
própria electricidade.
Antes da iniciativa
liderado pelo governo de Madagáscar, os residentes
rurais tinham que trazer as
suas próprias velas para
serem tratados durante a
noite.
Segundo o Relatório
Nacionalde
Desenvolvimento do país
de 2007, apenas três
porcento da população
rural estão ligados à
rede nacional de
electricidade, e 85 porcento
dos 17 milhões de
habitantes de Madagáscar
vivem no campo.
Um outro problema
enfrentando o país é
a infraestrutura que
previne o investimento
na electricidade por
investidores privados nas
zonas rurais.
Com a nova iniciativa,
cada sala na clínica local
está equipada com
lâmpadas. Muitas clínicas
conseguiram também
remover os geradores que
costumavam dar energia à
refrigeradores que
armazenam vacinas e
medicamentos.


title:
Angola vai aumentar a produção de
petróleo em 2009

abstract:
A ANGOLA espera
aumentar a sua produção de
pretóleo em 2009 para 2.5
milhões da barris por dia.

body:
A ANGOLA espera
aumentar a sua produção de
pretóleo em 2009 para 2.5
milhões da barris por dia.
Segundo um comunicado
do governo, o Conselho de
Ministro aprovou o
orçamento de 2009 baseado
numa projectada produção
de 779 milhões de barris de
petróleo.
A Organização dos Países
Exportadores de Petróleo
(OPEP) coloca a actual
produção diária de Angola
em cerca de 1.7 milhões de
barris por dia, a maior no
continente africano.
A Angola juntou-se à
OPEP em 2007, fazendo dela
o mais novo membro da
organização. Este ano a
Angola ultrapassou a
Nigéria como o produtor
líder do petróleo no
continente


title:
SADC e DBSA assinam ME para arranjo de
projecto de investimento

abstract:
A SADC assinou um acordo
com o Banco de
Desenvolvimento da África
Austral visando aumentar a
capacidade de produzir
projectos que possam atrair
investimentos.

body:
A SADC assinou um acordo
com o Banco de
Desenvolvimento da África
Austral visando aumentar a
capacidade de produzir
projectos que possam atrair
investimentos.
Este é o primeiro passo rumo
à Preparação de Projectos
e Desenvolvimento de
Infraestrutura da SADC
(PPDF), a ser estabelecido
dentro do contexto do Fundo de
Desenvolvimento Regional,
como um instrumento para
financiar a cooperação regional
e integração de projectos.
Espera-se que a PPDF
fortaleça a preparação de
projectos viáveis de
infraestrutura regional e
alavancar o abundante capital
para projectos disponível na região através do
desenvolvimento da capacidade
para identificação, preparação e
desenvolvimento de projectos.
O Memorando de
Entendimento (ME) foi assinado
pelo Secretário Executivo da
SADC, Tomaz Augusto Salomão,
e Paul Baloyi, Chefe Executivo
do DBSA.
As partes disseram que o
objectivo do ME é de clarificar os
princípios, papeis e áreas
funcionais de cooperação entre o
Secretariado da SADC e o DBSA
com relação ao alojamento e
implementação da SADC PPDF.
“Assegurará que os projectos
sejam bancáveis e atraentres aos
investidores, e por conseguinte
melhorarem o estado de
infraestrutura na região,” um
comunicado da SADC disse.
O próximo passo é de colocar
em lugar um quadro apropriado
para a gestão do arranjo, a SADC
disse, acrescentando que os
Estados membro em colaboração com a DBSA examinarão
urgentemente o quadro
apropriado com vista a ter o
arranjo a funcionar em pleno
antes do final de 2008.


title:
África do Sul e Venezuela assinam um
grande negócio de energia

abstract:
ÁFRICA DO SUL e Venezuela
assinaram um grande negócio
de petróleo que poderá reduzir
o custo de combústivel na
África do Sul e região.

body:
ÁFRICA DO SUL e Venezuela
assinaram um grande negócio
de petróleo que poderá reduzir
o custo de combústivel na
África do Sul e região.
Embora não haja detalhes
disponíveis, o negócio poderá
incluir planos para a Venezuela
fornecer crude a taxas preferenciais
à companhia estatal de
petróleos da África do Sul,
PetroSA.
A Venezuela está disposta a
explorar a tecnologia pioneira
da África do Sul sobre gás-paralíquido,
ao mesmo tempo que a
PetroSA procura investir na
exploração e produção de
petróleo em Venezuela.
O Presidente venuzuelano,
Hugo Chavez, disse que o seu
país está interessado em usar a
capacidade de armazenamento
da África do Sul de cerca de 45
milhões de barris e ajudar a expandir a sua capacidade de
refinamento.
Com o mundo a enfrentar
preços instáveis de petróleo,
Chavez disse que é imperativo
que as nações do Sul se unam
em volta de “uma nova agenda
estratégica para conduzir uma
verdadeira mudança estratégica
nas relações internacionais.”


abstract:
A FUNDAÇÃO de Negócios da
NEPAD manteve conversações
com líderes de negócios na região
da SADC para consolidar o
envolvimento do sector privado
no desenvolvimento regional e
continental.

body:
A FUNDAÇÃO de Negócios da
NEPAD manteve conversações
com líderes de negócios na região
da SADC para consolidar o
envolvimento do sector privado
no desenvolvimento regional e
continental.
Através do Centro de
Negócios NEPAD-SADC, as duas
organizações esperam aumentar
a participação do sector privado
ao nível regional.
“Esta consolidação em centros
de negócios regionais permitirá a
SADC agrupar e engajar em
relações comerciais respeitáveis e
estabelecer termos comerciais
favoráveis para ambas as partes e
ter um parceiro formidável que é
bom para reciprocidade,” disse
Reuel Khoza, presidente da NBF.
O centro misto de negócios:
o Assegurará o papel do sector
privado no desenvolvimento
do crescimento económico na
região.
 Abordará os actuais
desafios na condução de
negócios na região.
Promoverá os fluxos
de comércio e
investimento.
Reforçará o papel do sector
privado para as relevantes
políticas comerciais e
económicas.
 Fortalecerá a integração
regional.


title:
Inflação atinge dois dígitos em
muitos países da SADC

abstract:
DADOS DA INFLAÇÃO
durante o terceiro trimestre
atingiram dois dígitos em muitos
países da SADC, principalmente
devido ao aumento de custos de
electricidade, combustível,
alimentos e de habitação.

body:
DADOS DA INFLAÇÃO
durante o terceiro trimestre
atingiram dois dígitos em muitos
países da SADC, principalmente
devido ao aumento de custos de
electricidade, combustível,
alimentos e de habitação.
A principal inflação da
África do Sul subiu para 13
porcento em Agosto, um pouco
acima do previsto pelo Banco
Central sul-africano. A subida
anual da inflação acelerou de
11.6 porcento em Julho.
Amesma tendência afectou a
inflação na Zâmbia, atingindo
13.2 porcento em Agosto, 0.6
porcento mais alto que a taxa de
Julho de 12.6 porcento.
Comparado o mesmo período
do ano passado, a taxa anual de
inflação aumentou em 2.5
pontos percentuais, de 10.2
porcento.
A inflação do Botswana
acelerou para uma taxa de ano-aano
de 15 porcento em Agosto à
medida que os custos de
transporte e alimentos aumentou.
Segundo o Escritório Central de
Estatísticas em Gaborone, a
inflação aumentou de 14.6
porcento em Julho.
Poucos países na região,
incluindo Angola, Malawi,
Namíbia e República Unida da
Tanzania, continuam a gozar de
taxas de inflação de um dígito.


title:
Estudo de viabilidade
sobre a linha férrea
Zâmbia-Angola

abstract:
O GOVERNO ZAMBIANO
assinou um Memorando de
Entendimento com firmas locais
e internacionais para revisitar a
conexão para a linha férrea de
Benguela.

body:
O GOVERNO ZAMBIANO
assinou um Memorando de
Entendimento com firmas locais
e internacionais para revisitar a
conexão para a linha férrea de
Benguela.
A Corporação de Engenharia
Férrea da China, o Grupo AYR
da Austrália e os Caminhos de
Ferro Trans-Zambezi Ltd, uma
companhia zambiana, vão levar
a cabo um estudo de viabilidade
sobre a construção de um troço
de 750 quilometros de linha
férrea de Chingola à Solwezi
para ligar a linha férrea de
Benguela, em Jimbe, Angola.
O presidente da Trans-
Zambezi, Kapembe Nsingo,
disse que o estudo de
viabilidade deverá começar no
último trimestre de 2008.
O ME visa mobilizar fundos
para a construção de uma linha
férrea a partir do cinturão de
cobre através da província do
Noroeste à Jimbe. O governo
retirou a licença para a
construção da linha férrea aos
Caminhos de Ferro do Noroeste
devido ao alegado passo lento
em iniciar o projecto.


title:
Panorama Ambiental da
África Austral 2008

abstract:
UM NOVO relatório regional a
ser lançado pela SADC
fornecerá uma profunda análise
integrada do ambiente da
África Austral.

body:
UM NOVO relatório regional a
ser lançado pela SADC
fornecerá uma profunda análise
integrada do ambiente da
África Austral.
O Panorama Ambiental da
África Austral avaliará o actual
estado do ambiente na região, e
reflecte as tendências nas
últimas décadas.
O relatório destaca as
questões ambientais chave
emergentes na África Austral, e
também apresenta um conjunto
de cenários futuros para a
região.
“A SADC reconhece que os
recursos naturais são críticas ao
desenvolvimento regional e
erradicação da pobreza e por
conseguinte, 'utilização
sustentável de recursos naturais
e protecção efectiva do
ambiente' plasmados no
Tratado da SADC”, diz o
Secretário Executivo da SADC,
Tomáz Augusto Salomão, no
seu preâmbulo ao livro.
“Em linha com o Tratado, o
Plano Indicativo Estratégico de
Desenvolvimento Regional
(RISDP) apela para uma regular
avaliação, monitoria e
reportagem ambiental para
objectivos de analisar
tendências regionais.”
“A importância da
sustentabilidade ambiental na
região da SADC está também
reflectido em muitos acordos
regionais e internacionais ao
qual os Estados membro são
assinantes. Ademais, a natureza
crítica dos recursos naturais à
integração económica, social e
política foi reconhecida na
Cimeira da Terra do Rio de
1992.”
A preparação do Panorama
Ambiental da África Austral foi
coordenada pelo Centro de
Documentação e Pesquisa para
a África Austral (SARDC)
através do seu Centro
Musokotwane dos Recursos
Ambientais para África Austral
(IMERCSA), como parte do
Programa de Comunicação
Ambiental (CEP), em colaboração com o Programa
das Nações Unidas para o
Ambiente (UNEP) e IUCNUnião
Mundial da Conservação
da Natureza.
A SARDC IMERCSA é o
centro de colaboração regional
para a UNEP na avaliação e
reportagem ambiental para
África Austral, e fornece a
avaliação regional para o
Panorama Ambiental Africano e
o Panorama Ambiental Global.
A preparação do Panorama
Ambiental da África Austral foi
baseada num amplo processo
de auscultação e participação,
durante o qual o consenso em
volta das perspectivas e
prioridades regionais foi
construído por volta de um
período de 10 anos.
Peritos de organizações
especializadas e instituições
nacionais mandatados a
levarem a cabo reportagem do
estado ambiental foram
envolvidos na produção de
inputs, bem como na revisão do
manuscrito. Isso ajuda a
assegurar o equilíbrio regional e
credibilidade científica num
relatório compreensivo.
O Panorama Ambiental da
África Austral (SAEO) é
publicado quase 15 anos após o
primeiro compreensivo Estado
do Ambiente na África Austral, produzido pelo CEP em 1994, e
seis anos mais tarde após um
relatório sobre a água, Definindo
e Incorporando Sustentabilidade
Ambiental na Gestão de
Recursos Hídricos na África
Austral lançado na Cimeira
Mundial sobre Desenvolvimento
Sustentável em 2002.
A SADC planeia produzir
relatórios ambientais com mais
frequência em linha com as
metas do RISDP em intervalos
de cinco anos. Espera-se que o
próximo relatório reveja o
período 2005-2010.


title:
Governos africanos comprometem-se a reduzir
ameaças ambientais à saúde

abstract:
UM RECENTE encontro de
ministros do ambiente e de
saúde em Libreville, Gabão,
terminou com a assinatura e
adopção da Declaração de
Libreville que compromete os
governos a tomarem medidas
para estimular políticas,
reformas institucionais e
investimentos para optimizar as
sinergias entre os sectores da
saúde, ambiente e outros
relevantes.

body:
UM RECENTE encontro de
ministros do ambiente e de
saúde em Libreville, Gabão,
terminou com a assinatura e
adopção da Declaração de
Libreville que compromete os
governos a tomarem medidas
para estimular políticas,
reformas institucionais e
investimentos para optimizar as
sinergias entre os sectores da
saúde, ambiente e outros
relevantes.
O site da Organização
Mundial de Saúde (OMS) cita
Luís Sambo, o Director Regional
do Escritório Regional da OMS
para África, a dizer que “a
assinatura deste declaração
histórica é o primeiro passo
rumo à salvação de vidas de
milhões de pessoas de efeitos
nefastos de mudanças no
ambiente.”
“Trabalheremos juntos na
promoção de alianças
estratégicas entre a saúde e
ambiente. Estou feliz que
conseguimos assegurar o
cometimento político para
catalizar as mudanças
institucionais necessárias para melhorar a saúde e bem estar
das comunidades na região.”
Estima-se que um quarto do
total do peso de doenças nos
países em desenvolvimento está
associado com factores de risco
ambiental.
Segundo o relatório da OMS,
23 porcento ou 2.4 milhões de
todas as mortes em 2006, em
África, foram atribuídas à
factores de risco ambiental.
Os factores de risco
ambiental ao qual a África está
exposta incluem o fornecimento
desajustado de água,
saneamento e higiente, bem
como uma pobre gestão de
recursos hídricos e ambientes
com água impura.
A cobertura de água potável
e saneamento seguro de África
queda-se em cerca de 56 e 37
porcento da população,
respectivamente.
Enquanto houve uma
melhoria global na cobertura do
fornecimento de água em África
desde 1990, a projectada
cobertura regional em 2015
continua mais abaixo da meta
dos ODM de 75 porcento. Pelo que, a vasta maioria da
população de africana
continuará a depender em
fontes impuras de água, que os
expõem à continuada
contaminação e poluição.
Cerca de 90 porcento do peso
global da malária e
schisosomiass afecta a população
da África sub-Sahariana. Acólera
é também uma importante
doença relacionada com águas, e
transmitidas por vectores que
ainda é prevalecente em algumas
partes de África.
O impacto da poluição do ar
sobre a saúde é visto no
aumento de casos de doenças
respiratórias tais como a asma,
bronquite e tuberculose.
Segundo o quarto relatório
Panorama Ambiental Global
(GEO-4), a África também
enfrenta desafios associados com
a segurança dos químicos. Os
farmeiros africanos usam
grandes quantidades de
pesticidas químicos, e existem
quase 50,000 toneladas de
estoques de pesticidas obsoletos
contaminando os solos, água, ar
e alimentos.


title:
Protocolo da SADC sobre o Género: De
compromisso à acção

abstract:
A APROVAÇÃO desbravador
Protocolo sobre o Género e
Desenvolvimento por 12 países
da África Austral traz consigo a
necessidade de ser tomar acção
por todos os parceiros para
acelerar o empoderamento da
mulher na região através de uma
implementação acelerada.

body:
A APROVAÇÃO desbravador
Protocolo sobre o Género e
Desenvolvimento por 12 países
da África Austral traz consigo a
necessidade de ser tomar acção
por todos os parceiros para
acelerar o empoderamento da
mulher na região através de uma
implementação acelerada.
Assinado por 11 Estados
membro na XXVIIIª Cimeira da
SADC realizada na África do Sul,
em Agosto de 2008, o protocolo
é visto como histórico e
desbravador na medida em que
o empoderamento da mulher na
região diz respeito.
O Madagáscar e as Maurícias
ainda não assinaram, mas
apensaram a assinatura ao
protocolo. O Botswana e o
Malawi ainda estão por assinar.
As planeadas iniciativas rumo
à implementação do acordo
incluem reuniões organizadas
pela Unidade do Género da
SADC e seus parceiros tal como
desenvolver uma ferramenta
de monitoria regional que
monitorará e seguirá a
implementação dos cometimentos
da igualdade do género feitos
pelos Estados membro da SADC e
outra para desenvolver guiões
para a implementação da meta de
50 porcento de representação da
mulher na política e tomada de
decisões.
A Aliança do Protocolo do
Género da África Austral,
consistindo de organizações
não-governamentais (ONGs)
do género e mulher, tem acções
paralelas complementares
delineadas num plano
consolidado ainda em forma de
proposta. As acções incluem
actividades sobre o seguimento,
monitoria e avaliação do
progresso rumo à realização dos
objectivos estabelecidos no
protocolo.
Peritos legais e do
género que participaram
na reunião da Aliança
do Protocolo do
Género da África Austral realizado antes da
Cimeira da SADC descreveram o
protocolo “como o mais
abrangente de qualquer
instrumento sub-regional para
alcançar a igualdade do género.”
Os participantes disseram
que era tempo da África Austral
para se moverem de ser “uma
região de cometimentos para
uma de acção.”
O antigo presidente sulafricano,
Thabo Mbeki, que
assumiu a presidência da SADC
em nome do seu país durante a
cimeira, disse que a assinatura
do protocolo foi uma das mais
importantes decisões que a
organização regional tomou
este ano.
“Este protocolo é importante
porque consolida todas as
importantes políticas e
programas lidando com a
equidade do género. O protocolo
ajudará a nossa região a avançar
o processo da emancipação da
mulher através de políticas, leis,
programas e projectos que os
Estados membro têem de
implementar,” disse Mbeki.
Agora que o protocolo foi
assinado, o próximo passo é
assegurar a ratificação pelos
Estados membro para entrar em
vigor.
A ratificação do protocolo
implica a prontidão dos Estados
membro de iniciar a
implementação, que envolve a
domesticação da política
regional em legislação e política
nacional. Para formalizar a
ratificação, requer-se que o Estado membro deposite os
papeis legais conhecidos por
Instrumentos de Ratificação
junto ao Secretariado da SADC.
O processo de ratificação,
contudo, pode levar vários anos
antes do protocolo receber os dois
terços de maioria necessários para
ter força legal. Isso traz à
proeminência a necessidade para
os movimentos do género na região trabalharem em conjunto
com as maquinarias nacionais do
género nos Estados membro se
cedo vai-se alcançar uma
ratificação, da mesma forma que
o fizeram na preparação da
histórica conferência de Pequim
em 1995.
No Artigo 40, o pacto do
género disse que “o protocolo
será ratificado pelos estados
signatários de acordo com
todos os procedimentos
constitucionais.” Todavia, os
Estados membro da SADC
têem diferentes prerequisitos
constitucionais para ratificação.
Em alguns países, o
protocolo tem força legal logo
que o presidente assinar os
documentos, enquanto que
noutros requer-se a aprovação
do parlamento antes do chefe
do estado e governo possa
aprovar o acordo internacional
como ratificado.


title:
A SADC junta-se à campamha dos “16 Dias
de Activismo Contra a Violência baseada no
Género”

abstract:
O ANO de 2008 marca a XVIIIª
edição da campanha global
conhecida por “16 Dias de
Activismo contra a Violência
baseada no Género”.

body:
O ANO de 2008 marca a XVIIIª
edição da campanha global
conhecida por “16 Dias de
Activismo contra a Violência
baseada no Género”.
A campanha liga as questões
relacionadas com a violência
contra a mulher e direitos
humanos e enfatiza que todas as
formas de violência, sejam elas
perpetradas na esfera pública
ou privada, são uma violação
dos direitos humanos.
As datas escolhidas
pela campanha fizeram
simbolicamente esta ligação - 25
de Novembro marca o Dia
Internacional Contra Violência
Baseada no Género e 10 de
Dezembro é o Dia Internacional
dos Direitos Humanos.
As actividades da campanha
deste ano foram alargadas por
365 dias para o objectivo de
destacar os esforços de
organizar um amplo
movimento para os direitos
humanos da mulher e fornecer
outros com exemplos de actividades e estratégias usadas
por indivíduos e organizações
durante a campanha.
Para a campanha dste ano, a
Unidade do Género da SADC
mobilizou grupos de homem-àhomem
para formar uma forte
força masculina para apoiar a
campanha e criar equipas de
apoiantes masculinos para
participarem na campanha em
curso nos vários países da
região.
A presença de homens na
luta para o combate da violência
baseado no género está
gradualmente a criar novas
vozes visando abordar outros
homens e encorajá-los a repensarem
as suas atitudes e
comportamento, atacando as
questões críticas sobre a
masculinidade e
responsabilidade masculina.
O tema deste ano é “Direitos
Humanos para a Mulher -
Direitos Humanos para Todos:
60 após a Declaração Universal
dos Direitos Humanos.”


abstract:
HÁ MAIS de duas décadas, aos 22 de
Dezembro de 1987, os dois partidos de libertação no Zimbabwe – a União
Nacional Africana do Zimbabwe (ZANU) e a União Popular Africana do
Zimbabwe (ZAPU) assinaram um histórico Acordo de Unidade que
assegurou a paz e desenvolvimento político.

body:
HÁ MAIS de duas décadas, aos 22 de
Dezembro de 1987, os dois partidos de libertação no Zimbabwe – a União
Nacional Africana do Zimbabwe (ZANU) e a União Popular Africana do
Zimbabwe (ZAPU) assinaram um histórico Acordo de Unidade que
assegurou a paz e desenvolvimento político.
O então Primeiro Ministro e Primeiro Secretário da ZANU, Robert
Mugabe, e o líder da ZAPU, Joshua Nkomo, assinaram o Acordo de
Unidade parando efectivamente com a instabilidade política que ocorria
desde os inícios da década 80.
O Acordo de Unidade foi significativo porque mostrou que os líderes
dos partidos dominantes tinham a capacidade de resolver as suas
diferenças ideológicas e políticas para a nação e região, em geral.
Falando após a ceromónia de assinatura, Mugabe disse que “hoje é
um grande dia. É grande porque vimos o casamento em corpo, mente e
espírito dos nossos dois partidos.”
“O que estamos a testemunhar é um tremendo golpe contra as forças
de negação, as forças de divisão, as forças da destrução... desejamos que
sejam mortos e enterrados para sempre.”
Nkomo acrescentou que o acordo era “o começo da unidade, porque
a unidade não é apenas o assinar de documentos, a unidade é o que se
segue.”
O histórico acordo de 1987 não era a primeira tentativa de se alcançar
a unidade no país; a primeira frente unida foi alcançada em 1896 durante
a Primeira Guerra de Chimurenga contra o dominação brança e jugo
colonial, quando os líderes Shona e Ndebele colaboraram para resistir a
dominação colonial.
O acordo foi descrito por Nathan Shamurayira, um historiador e líder
nacionalista, como “o esforço final e bem sucedido” para unir a ZANU e
ZAPU.
A estrada rumo ao alcance da unidade esteve cheia de muitos
burracos e deve-se dar crédito à Mugabe e Nkomo pela sua remarcável
fortitude e determinação face às vicissitudes da luta de libertação e
negociações nos primeiros anos de independência do Zimbabwe.
A Frente Patriótica foi filho da luta de libertação, e foi formado pelos
dois partidos em 1976 para providenciar uma frente conjunta nas
conversações de Genebra.
Seguia-se à união dos partidos sob a bandeira do Conselho Nacional
Africano para dar um enfâtico “Não” à Comissão Pearce sobre emendas
constitucionais.
Como foi referido por Kenneth Kaunda, o então presidente da
Zâmbia, os benefícios derivados do sacrifício ultrapassavam o suor e
trabalho árduo ocasionado pelo caminnho espinhoso rumo ao acordod.
As conversações não foram de jeito nenhum alcançadas de dia para
noite, pelo contrário estagnaram ao longo do caminho e foi necessário um
remarcável feito de equilíbrio e comprometimento de todos.
Que os líderes que levaram à efectivação do Acordo de Unidade
podiam compreender e acomodar as exigências de um e doutro merece
ser louvado.
A extensão da mão de paz foi um acto repleto de sinceridade e da dita
virtude de perdoar.


title:
O legado do Mbeki: Rumo ao
empoderamento da África e países do Sul

abstract:
O LEGADO de Thabo Mbeki foi estabelecido mesmo antes de ser
Presidente da África do Sul, quando, como vice presidente, ele
esclareceu a sua visão do continente e inspirou uma nova geração de
africanos através do continenente com a sua liderança. Falando em
nome do Congresso Nacional Africano na ocasião da adopção da
Constituição da República da África do Sul pela Assembleia Nacional
em Maio de 1996, na Cidade de Cabo, ele fez um cometimento e um
discurso que se transformou num roteiro e um clássico. Começa e
termina como se segue:
“Numa ocasião tak como esta, devíamos, talvez, começar do início.

body:
O LEGADO de Thabo Mbeki foi estabelecido mesmo antes de ser
Presidente da África do Sul, quando, como vice presidente, ele
esclareceu a sua visão do continente e inspirou uma nova geração de
africanos através do continenente com a sua liderança. Falando em
nome do Congresso Nacional Africano na ocasião da adopção da
Constituição da República da África do Sul pela Assembleia Nacional
em Maio de 1996, na Cidade de Cabo, ele fez um cometimento e um
discurso que se transformou num roteiro e um clássico. Começa e
termina como se segue:
“Numa ocasião tak como esta, devíamos, talvez, começar do início.
Permitam-me começar. Sou um africano. Devo o meu ser às colinas e
vales, às montanhas e prados, aos rios, desertos, árvores, flores, mares e
épocas sempre em mudança que definem a face da nossa terra nativa...
sei o que significa quando a raça e cor são usadas para determinar quem é humano
e quem é subhumano. Vi a destrução de todos os sentidos de auto-estima, a
consequente luta para sermos o que não somos, para simplesmente adquirirmos
alguns dos benefícios que os que se melhoraram como mestres asseguraram que
gozassem. Tenho experiência da situação no qual a raça e cor são usadas para
enrqiquecer e empobrecer o resto. Tenho visto a corrupção das mentes e almas como
um resultado da perseguição de um esforço ignóbil para perpetrar um crime
verdadeiro contra a humanidade.... nasci de gente que não podiam tolerar a
opressão... o que fizemos hoje, neste pequeno canto de um grande continente que
contribuiu decisivamente para a evolução da humanidade, diz que a África
reafirma que continua a reerguer-se das cinzas. Quaisquer que forem os tropeções
do momento, nada pode nos parar! Quaisquer que forem as dificuldades a Àfrica
estará em paz! Seja quem formos, seja quais sejam os nossos interesses imediatos,
sejam qual for a bagagem do nosso passado, seja até que ponto fomos apanhados
pela moda do cinismo e perca de fè na capacidade do povo, permitam-me dizer
hoje: Nada pode nos parar! (Thabo Mbeki, África ~ o tempo chegou ~)
O continente fortaleceu a sua governação com o estabelecimento da União
Africana e a Nova Parceria para o Desenvolvimento de África (NEPAD), e os países
líderes do Sul fortaleceram a sua colaboração, notavelmente a Índia, Brasil e África
do Sul, para contribuir para “empoderar mais ainda os países do Sul”.


body:
ÉVÈNEMENTS DIÁRIO DE EVENTOS Dezembro 2008
Novembro 2008
12-14, Tunísia
Conferência Económica Africana

 Organizada pelo Banco Africano de Desenvolvimento, a
conferência agrupa governos e o sector privado para
discutir a implementação de políticas à luz de crise
financeira global. A conferência procura encorajar a
pesquisa e disseminação de informação sobre questões
económicas de interesse para o continente.


18 - 19, Botswana
Águas Terrestres na Conferência de Iniciativa da Gestão de
Recursos Integrada de Águas (IWRM) da SADC

A conferência discutirá questões relacionadas com águas
terrestres na Região da SADC e traçará estratégias sobre
como replicar a iniciativa da Gestão de Águas Terrestres da
SADC nos processos globais do continente sobre a
utilização e gestão de águas terrestres. É conjuntamente
organizado pela SADC, Conselho de Ministros Africano
sobre Águas (AMCOW), e Agência Germânica para
Cooperação Técnica (GTZ).

Dezembro
29 Nov- 2 Dez, Qatar
Conferência Internacional sobre Financiamento para o
Desenvolvimento 

A Conferência visa avaliar o progresso feito em 2008 no
sector financeiro em países em desenvolvimento. A
conferência agrupar representantes de governos dos países
em desenvolvimento e espera reafirmar os objectivos e
cometimentos, partilhar as boas experiências, lições
aprendidas e identificar obstáculos e constrangimentos
encontrados por muitos dos países em desenvolvimento.


1, Global
Dia Internacional do SIDA

No dia 1 de Dezembro todos os anos a SADC e o resto do
mundo junta-se para comemorar o Dia Internacional do
SIDA. O lema deste ano é “Pare o SIDA. Mantenha a
Promessa.”


8-12, Bélgica
Reunião conjunta de Funcionários Técnicos e Seniores da
SADC-CE sobre EPA

Representantes da SADC e da União Europeia reunir-se-ão
para negociar os Acordos de Parceria Económica que
falharam em trazer aspectos positivos na última ronda em
Agosto.


10, Global
Dia Internacional dos Direiros Humanos

O Dia Internacional dos Direitos Humanos é celebrado
todos os anos mundialmente com os activistas a serem
liderados pelo Alto Comissário para os Direitos Humanos
do Escritório das Nações Unidas. O dia marca o aniversário
da adopção pela Assembleia da Declaração Universal dos
Direitos Humanos em 1948.


15-17, Líbia
Conferência de Alto Nível sobre Água para Agricultura e
Energia em África

A conferência visa desbloquear o potencial da água para o
desenvolvimento em África. Mais especificamente, avaliará
os desafios enfrentados pelo sector da agricultura em
África, tomando em consideração as fortes ligações entre
energia e mudanças climáticas. A conferência examinará
com cuidado como o investimento no espaço rural pode
reverter as tendências para a obtenção de sub-sectores bem
equilibrados que compensam os riscos de produção.



body:
<table width=



100%



>
Feriados<table width=



100%



>
Feriados na SADC Dezembro2008 – Fevereiro 2009
8 Dezembro Dia da Imaculada Concepção Seicheles
8 Dezembro vEid-ul-Adha Tanzania
9 Dezembro Dia da Independência Tanzania
10 Dezembro Dia Internacional dos Direitos Humanos Namíbia
16 Dezembro Dia do Incwala Day Suazilândia
16 Dezembro Dia da Reconciliação África do Sul
22 Dezembro Dia da Unidade Nacional Zimbabwe
25 Dezembro Natal SADC
26 Dezembro Feriado Botswana, Lesotho, Suazilândia,
Malawi e Zimbabwe
26 Dezembro Dia da Família Namíbia
26 Dezembro Dia da Boa Vontade África do Sul
1 Janeiro Ano Novo SADC
3 Janeiro Feriado Botswana
4 Janeiro Dia do Mártir Angola, RDC
12 Janeiro Dia Revolucionário de Zanzibar Tanzania
15 Janeiro Dia de John Chilembwe Malawi
16-17 Janeiro Dia de Patrice Lumumba RDC
18 Janeiro Dia do Herói Kabila RDC
26 Janeiro Festival Chinês da Primaveira Maurícias
1 Fevereiro Abolição da Escravatura Maurícias
3 Fevereiro Dia dos Heróis Moçambique
4 Fevereiro Dia da Luta Armada Angola
5 Fevereiro Dia de Chama Cha Mapinduzi Tanzania
8 Fevereiro Thaipoosam Cavadee Maurícias
23 Fevereiro Maha Shivratree Maurícias

<td colspan=



100%



>* Depende da visualização da lua


# tblSANF

fullvolume:
SADC Today Volume 7 No. 6, February 2005

body:
Business plans and one-year budgets presented to the SADC Council of Ministers meeting in Mauritius in February will launch the implementation of SADC's strategy for development of southern Africa. 
The implementation strategy is based on two road maps - the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) and the Strategic Indicative Plan for the Organ (SIPO) on Politics, Defence and Security.
The RISDP and SIPO are long term plans that were separately launched last year. Business plans for each sector or theme have been developed to unbundle the long-term plans and clearly define the responsibilities of each role player as well as the resources required during the implementation phase.
One-year budgets for these business plans and for the SADC institutions 2005/6 financial year are to be approved by the Council of Ministers at its first meeting of the year, on 21-25 February in Grand Baie. They will also review progress on preparations for the SADC Consultative Conference to be convened on 25-27 April in Mauritius.
Under the theme, "Partnership for the implementation of the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan", the consultative conference will seek to build a new partnership involving key stakeholders such as international cooperating partners, civil society, NGOs and the private sector. The conference is expected to agree on the overall goal of the new partnership, its objectives and guiding principles. 
In the first quarter of this year, implementation of RISDP and SIPO is expected to roll into motion. 
"The  [business] plans will help the SADC Secretariat, the member states and other stakeholders to understand the feasibility of achieving desired results from activities performed by directorates and units based on current resource constraints," said Prega Ramsamy, SADC Executive Secretary.
A priority for the Trade, Industry, Finance and Investment directorate is to fast-track trade liberalization in order to establish a Free Trade Area by 2008, as envisaged in the Trade Protocol. 
A mid-term review done last year recommended further simplification of the rules of origin in order to make the private sector respond more positively to market access opportunities.
The Trade Protocol also provides for the establishment of a Customs Union by 2010. To this end, the SADC Sub-committee on Customs Cooperation adopted a Customs Union Road Map last year, to prepare customs administrations for 2010.
The sub-committee established a Conformity Assessment Mechanism, consisting of strategic components that form a checklist against which implementation of the Protocol can be assessed. 
In order to put in place the various customs instruments as well as harmonise regional training of customs officials and stakeholders, the sub-committee has developed and adopted training modules.  
Priorities for the Economic Partnership Agreements to be negotiated with the EU were defined last year and negotiations were expected to begin in January 2005. Intense preparatory work was done by member states and SADC Secretariat, with the latter setting up a special unit to coordinate and facilitate the negotiations.
For the harmonization of SADC Mining Policies, Standards, Legislative and Regulatory Frameworks, an experts meeting convened last year proposed a model framework which "will be considered by an ad hoc meeting of mining ministers before March this year."
Food security remains a top priority for the Food, Agriculture and natural Resources (FANR) directorate in 2005. The situation in most countries is improving from previous years, and member states are continuing to honour their commitments made in the Dar es Salaam Declaration on Agriculture and Food Security. The declaration seeks to boost agricultural production in the region.
A tracking system to monitor the implementation of commitments in the Action Plan was recently adopted. Efforts are underway to establish a Regional Food Reserve Facility as agreed in the Dar es Salaam declaration. In line with the declaration, a Regional Migrant Pest Control Strategy is being drafted to quell quelea birds, red locusts, army worms and larger grain borer.
In an endeavour to open up new markets for farmers in the region, a meeting was organized last year to create awareness on Farming for Energy.
"The production of ethanol (from sugarcane) and bio-diesel (from any oil bearing crop) could create massive rural employment and at the same time increase the region's capacity to produce power," noted the SADC Executive Secretary.
Regarding environment and land management, a partnership involving SADC, the Southern African Research and Documentation Centre (SARDC) and the World Conservation Union (IUCN) is working on the second Southern Africa Environment Outlook report which is expected to be launched at the Consultative Conference in April.
Among other things, the report will give the current state and trends in various aspects of the environment, the pressures and policy responses to environmental issues in the region. It will "present the future outlook of environment in the region basing on scenario analysis and give recommendations towards contributing to poverty reduction."
Top priority for the Infrastructure and Services directorate is to avert a possible energy crisis given that the region is forecast to run out of its generation surplus capacity by 2007. New projects are thus being developed to avert the shortage.
The directorate is promoting road infrastructure development focusing on upgrading "regional missing links", bridges and rehabilitation of roads within the framework of the Development Corridors Strategy.
The best practice of this strategy is the Maputo Development Corridor that has seen substantial investment in transport and communications infrastructure, creation of enterprises including the anchor project, the Mozambican Aluminium (Mozal) Smelter in Maputo, as well as jobs created along the corridor. Similar corridors are being created elsewhere in the region.
Other projects are on establishing cost effective and efficient communications systems and water supply that are necessary to buttress industry and commerce in the region, as well as attracting tourists to the region. 
As a way of promoting intra-SADC tourism and expediting regional integration, work is underway to create a UniVisa. A study is to be commissioned to look at the harmonization of Immigration Laws, Regulations and Procedures.
With regards to the Social and Human Development and Special Programmes directorate, efforts are being intensified to "address the challenge of improving the availability of educated, skilled, healthy, informed, culturally responsive and productive human resources."
To this end, a SADC Intra-Regional Skills Development Programme was developed to improve the availability of skilled and competent specialists within the priority development areas of the SADC region.


body:
This is a special year for SADC as the organization celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2005. Arguably the most successful regional grouping in Africa, SADC prides itself in a history of unparalleled expansion in socio-economic and political integration.
Inspired and driven by the Front Line States, the Southern Africa Development Coordination Conference (SADCC) was formally constituted in Lusaka in April 1980 with the principal objective of reducing economic dependence, especially on apartheid South Africa. Focusing on project development in transport and communication, and later food security, energy, industry and trade, the coordinating conference was largely successful in promoting self-reliance among its members.
In response to changing regional and global trends, SADCC transformed to the Southern African Development Community (SADC) through the Windhoek Declaration and Treaty of 1992. This far-reaching transformation advanced the regional agenda from one of loose cooperation to deeper regional integration buttressed on legally binding sector protocols.
To date about 30 legal documents including sector protocols have been endorsed, with a significant number already being harmonized with national policies. Even more crucial, the market size has more than doubled over the years to 210 million consumers in 13 member states. The challenge is to produce internationally competitive commodities to satisfy the enlarged economic space.
The Trans Kalahari Highway, which links southern Africa from the east coast in Mozambique to the west coast in Namibia, is just one of many infrastructure projects that SADC has spearheaded.
On the political front, stronger democratic institutions have emerged as demonstrated by increasingly regular multi-party elections in the region. Political challenges, however, remain in Angola where first post-civil war elections are due to take place, and Democratic Republic of Congo whose elections are scheduled later this year.
The greatest challenge has been poverty eradication, and with it, HIV and AIDS. Overall, regional economic performance has not been sufficient to uplift the standard of living of the majority of citizens. But recent structural reforms which have culminated in a centralized management structure and a more elaborate vision have put SADC on a path of global competitiveness.


title:
A new partnership for the regional development plan

body:
SADC has defined its short, medium to long-term vision through the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP), launched in Arusha in March 2004. The missing piece in the regional plan has been a partnership that can drive, sustain and monitor its implementation.
The SADC Consultative Conference to be held on 25-27 April 2005 in Mauritius will do just that - develop a new partnership with clear roles for key stakeholders, including international cooperating partners, SADC Secretariat, member states, civil society, and the private sector.
The main theme is "Partnership for the implementation of the RISDP", while the sub-themes are:

trade, economic liberalisation and development;
infrastructure support and regional integration;
development and sustenance of human capabilities;
sustainable food security; and
implementation of the Strategic Indicative Plan for the Organ.


Crosscutting issues such as HIV and AIDS, gender, and statistics will be discussed in the context of the sub-themes.
The role of partners
The role of the Secretariat in the implementation of the RISDP is that of coordination and facilitation. This entails ensuring that there is alignment with a number of other national, sub-regional and continental as well as global initiatives that interface and have potential synergies with the SADC plan. These include:

national Vision documents;
the African Union's New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD); and
the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).


The actual implementation on the ground lies with stakeholders. Thus a greater involvement of member states is critical for the success of the RISDP.
At country level, the National Committees are responsible for implementing and monitoring SADC programmes, as well as ensuring broad and inclusive consultations as necessary.
It is essential therefore to ensure that the national committees are not only established but are also adequately resourced and capacitated for them to be effectively functional.
The SADC Secretariat and the National Committees are expected to work with key stakeholders such as NGOs and the private sector in partnerships that vary depending on type of programmes, objectives and scale of implementation. For instance, non-state actors can come in as members of technical committees or programme steering committees, implementing agents or contractors.
The private sector and NGOs can add tremendous value in the development of some programmes, sourcing funding and undertaking the implementation. Thus, the creation of private sector or industry regional associations is absolutely essential.
In line with this initiative, a SADC Business Forum was launched last year. The forum is a grouping of regional business organisations that will act as an apex dialogue partner of SADC.
The first president and host of the business forum is the Pretoria-based Southern African Confederation of Agricultural Unions (SACAU), represented by Ajay Vashee, the current president of SACAU. The vice-presidency is with the Mining Industry Associations of Southern Africa.
In addition, the securing of adequate funding poses a major challenge upon which the effective implementation and rollout of the RISDP depends. The resources would have to come from both internal and external sources.
While there is no doubt about member states' commitment to funding the RISDP, resource constraints facing the majority of them mean that cooperating partners will be called upon to play a critical role. The magnitude of the RISDP is such that more substantive participation by cooperating partners is needed than before.
Thus an even greater coordination responsibility lies with the Secretariat whose capacity should be strengthened for that purpose.

Structure of the Consultative Conference

The consultative conference will have a combination of plenary and interactive working group sessions based on the sub-themes.
Plenary sessions will be convened for the official opening and closing; deliberations on the implementation of the RISDP within the framework of the new partnership; and reporting back by interactive working groups.
Deliberations in the interactive working groups will take into account cross-cutting issues such as HIV and AIDS, gender and statistics.




title:
Peace and security at the core of development

body:
SADC defence experts have called for closer links between the regional institution's political and economic planning bodies to strengthen the implementation of the Strategic Indicative Plan of the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation (SIPO).
Described by SADC Executive Secretary, Prega Ramsamy, as a "compass that will guide our quest for peace and security in our region," SIPO is the region's guideline for implementation of the Protocol on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation.
Meeting for a two-day conference in December in the Mozambican capital, Maputo, heads of defence and security agencies and foreign affairs ministries, chiefs of operations for defence, police and security, among others, said that for SIPO to work, there has to be direct link with the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP), the region's blueprint for development.
This means that in planning for development, policy planners have also to factor in defence and security as this leads to peace, and by extension development.  This can take place if security and development sectors are linked organically.
In other words, SIPO should not be independent of the RISDP but should be aligned with it "because the function of defence and security in the development process is to guarantee that the development plans are realised in a climate of peace and security."
The SADC region has tabled plans for the development of new projects, such as the Western Corridor Power Project (WESTCOR) that will carry power from a hydroelectric scheme at the Inga falls in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to Angola, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa; and Mepanda Uncua Power Project for the downstream development of Cahora Bassa dam in Mozambique, among others, which can accrue benefits for the peoples of the region only if there is political stability.
Apart from the DRC where there are still pockets of instability in the eastern regions of the country, southern Africa lives in relative peace and security. This perception has to continue if SADC is to attract investment and it is "necessary that the investments are not threatened."
SADC cannot afford to make "strategic miscalculations," said João Ndlovu, head of the political, defence and security affairs unit in the SADC Secretariat, adding that the region needs a well-coordinated defence and security cooperation that will guarantee the protection of its peoples and investments.
One scenario he gave to illustrate his point is that of water: he said that if, for example, a country upstream decided to divert the course of a river, this would have social, economic and political consequences downstream.
Probably the downstream country would be forced to take drastic steps that, if badly managed, would end up in conflict. Here the role of the defence and security sector in the Early Warning System is very crucial because it "can keep the state informed on the possibility of excess of water of which consequence technical decisions can be taken which might have political repercussions."
Meteorologists can only give technical advice, but the politics of the measure have to be handled by the defence and security sector, and hence the insistence on close collaboration between all the areas and the organic link of SIPO and RISDP within the SADC structures.
The conference hailed the success achieved so far. International partners have agreed to once again fund the Regional Peacekeeping Training Centre (RPTC) based in Zimbabwe, which had been closed in 2002.
"There are very encouraging promises for us to restart activities in the Centre," said Ndlovu.
It is hoped that the RPTC will play a fundamental role within the context of the SADC Brigade, a regional standby force that is to be created as a recommendation of the African Union.

SIPO objectives

The core objective of SIPO is to create a peaceful and stable political and security environment through which the region will endeavour to realise its socio-economic objectives. SIPO provides general guidelines that spell out specific activities, in accordance with objectives of the Protocol on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation, as well as strategies for their realisation and public security.
The SIPO is divided into four main sectors: Political; Defence; State security; and Public security. The overall objectives of all four sectors include:

protecting the people and safeguarding the development of the region against instability arising from the breakdown of law and order, intrastate conflict and aggression;
promoting the development of democratic institutions and practices within the territories of state parties and encouraging the observance of universal human rights as provided for in the respective charters and conventions of the AU and the UN; and
developing peacekeeping capacity of national defence forces and coordinating the participation of state parties in international and regional peacekeeping operations.






body:
The SADC Secretariat has appointed three of the four directors to head the four main pillars of its new structure at the headquarters in Gaborone. This is part of the restructuring process that started five years ago when institutions were centralised for better management. The directors were appointed to assume office in January 2005, and the new structure will be fully operational once the fourth director (Trade, Industry, Finance and Investment) has been appointed. The three directors are profiled here. 

Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources (FANR)

Margaret Milley Nyirenda, Director

The FANR cluster comprises the following areas of cooperation: food security, agricultural research and training, crops, livestock production and animal disease control, environment and land management, inland and marine fisheries, forestry and wildlife. Most of these are related to agriculture and influence its performance.
Margaret Nyirenda has extensive experience in management policy formulation and implementation, and project evaluation. Her work experience began in 1977 and she worked for the government of Malawi for 20 years in various ministries, including agriculture.
She was senior economist in the department of Economic Planning and Development from 1984 to 1989, when she became chief executive of the Malawi Mudzi Fund, a pilot scheme which later merged into the Malawi Rural Finance Company, covering the entire country.
From 1992 to 1997, Nyirenda was deputy chief economist in the Ministry of Finance and chief economist of the agriculture, food security and nutrition sections in the Department of Economic Planning and Development.
She obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture from the University of Malawi, holds a post-graduate diploma in Production and Development Economics from the University of Wales, a Master of Science degree in Agriculture Economics from the same university, and a Masters degree in Public Policy and Management from Harvard University in the USA.
Nyirenda joined the SADC Secretariat in 1997 and worked as Senior Economist and Desk Officer for Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources sector until March 2002. After the restructuring of SADC, she became Supervisor (acting director) of FANR until her appointment as the substantive director.
Nyirenda was born in Malawi in 1955.

Infrastructure and Services

Remigious Makumbe, Director


The Infrastructure and Services directorate encompasses the energy, tourism, transport, communications and meteorology, and water sectors. The development of infrastructure and services is critical for promoting and sustaining regional economic development, trade and investment.
Remigious Makumbe is an engineer who began his career at the National Railways of Zimbabwe where he remained for 15 years, holding several positions including acting as an assistant general manager for operations.
He then moved to the Southern African Transport and Communications Commission (SATCC) technical unit in Mozambique where he was Railway Technical Expert.  While at SATCC, he was involved in the formulation of the SADC Protocol on Transport, Communications and Meteorology, and the development of the SADC Transport Investment Act.
Makumbe holds a Master of Policy Studies degree from the Universities of Fort Hare and Zimbabwe, a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Economics and Transport Economics from the University of South Africa, and a Bachelor of Science Honours in Electrical Engineering from the University of Zimbabwe.
He joined the Southern African Railways Association in 1998 as Executive Director and coordinated initiatives to establish a cost-effective railway service for the SADC region.
Makumbe was born in Zimbabwe in 1955.

Social and Human Development and Special Programmes

Stephen Sianga, Director


This cluster covers areas of human resources development, health, employment and labour, and culture, information and sport. It also caters for special programmes. SADC member states accord priority to social and human development in view of its crucial role both as a factor and as a broad measure of development.
Stephen Sianga served as director at the National Commission for Development Planning in Zambia between 1989 and 1995, where he coordinated the development of Zambia's third national development plan on human and social development in education, health and social welfare.
From 1995 until 2002 he was Special Advisor and Senior Economist on human resource development at the SADC Secretariat.  In 2003, he became Supervisor (acting director) of the SHDSP directorate, before his appointment as director in January 2005.
Sianga has extensive experience in social and human development through professional attachments with various international organisations such as World Health Organisation, International Labour Organisation and United States Agency for International Development.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Development Studies, and other post-graduate qualifications in human resource development, management training and population planning. He has a Masters degree in Economic Management and Strategic Planning from Berlin, Germany.
Sianga was born in Zambia in 1955.

Trade, Industry, Finance and Investment (TIFI)

Director to be appointed

The TIFI cluster comprises of trade and industry, mining, finance and investment. These sectors are intrinsically interrelated and can easily influence development and poverty reduction in the region.


body:
This biography traces the steps of the new Mozambican president, Armando Guebuza, from cradle to the presidential chair.
Prefacing the book, the outgoing president, Joaquim Chissano, said "… Guebuza is an indispensable political and cultural reference for all those who want to know Mozambique's contemporary history."
He said Guebuza distinguished himself  "as one of the important pillars of Mozambique's peace process, as the government's chief negotiator in the peace dialogue, undertaken over slightly more than two years in Rome, Italy."
The book consists of eight chapters depicting Guebuza's life. Chapter one deals mostly with his birth and infancy.
In chapter two, the author, Dr Renato Matusse, gives a brief account of Guebuza's meeting with Frelimo's first president, Eduardo Mondlane.  In retrospect, Mondlane's lecture to a church audience was a sign of things to come.
However, it was while in the Mozambican Secondary School Students Association (NESAM) that Guebuza started to gain political consciousness. He became chairman in 1963, and that was also the year he joined Frelimo.
Chapter three describes Guebuza's flight to Zambia. His first attempt fails when he and his group are captured by the infamous colonial Portuguese secret police, PIDE, in the then Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) and returned back to Mozambique. Ironically, it is in detention that he mixes and mingles with other political detainees, and this further fuelled his nationalistic passion.
He is released, and by the second time of trying he eventually reaches Zambia via Swaziland, South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe.
In chapter four, we see Guebuza involved in the struggle proper against colonialism, and from post to post his importance within the movement grows. He becomes Mondlane's private secretary and rises to political commissar.
Chapter five deals with Guebuza's role in the transitional government arising out of the 1974 Lusaka Accord signed with the Portuguese authorities. He was appointed Minister for State Administration charged with organising the nascent bureaucratic machinery, creating independent Mozambique's first police force.
The first president of Mozambique, the late Samora Machel, appointed him as Minister of the Interior, where his knowledge amassed in creating the police came into play. He was instrumental in the creation of the Dynamising Groups (grassroots groups closely linked to Frelimo).
The central message in chapter six is Guebuza's role in shaping the country's direction in state and public security. We see Guebuza adding to his ministerial post that of political commissar for the police and the armed forces.
In chapter seven, Guebuza as Minister of Transport and Communications is pivotal in the privatisation process of state companies linked to his portfolio, which began in the late 1980s. He was instrumental in advancing the concept of development corridors, as he sought regional cooperation in the then Southern Africa Development Coordination Conference (SADCC).
It is here we read that he led the government delegation to the negotiating table in Rome, as chief negotiator with the then rebel movement Renamo. He discharged his duties to the point of reaching an agreement with Renamo that culminated with the Rome Peace Accord in 1992.
His negotiating skills were recognised by the late Mwalimu Julius Nyerere of the United Republic of Tanzania, who appointed him to chair the Committee on the Root Causes of the Conflict in Burundi.
Chapter eight describes Guebuza's trajectory as leader of the Frelimo parliamentary bench in the Assembly of the Republic, Mozambique's parliament, and his subsequent election to party secretary-general in December 2001 when Chissano announced he was stepping down.
Guebuza: A paixão pela terra is published by Macmillan Moçambique, 2005, in Portuguese. Email macmillanmoc@teledata.mz


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Armando Guebuza won 63.74 per cent of the votes cast in Mozambique's general elections in December 2004, against 31.74 percent for his closest rival, the Renamo leader Afonso Dhlakama, thus earning the right to succeed Joaquim Chissano as president.
Frelimo captured 160 seats in the 250-seat National Assembly against Renamo's 90. This will be fundamental for the passing of bills and should six Renamo deputies defect, Frelimo would have an absolute majority.
The outgoing government managed to reduce Mozambique's dependency on donor funds from 60 to 50 percent of the state budget, and the new president will marshall his knowledge.
Guebuza said his first main challenge would be to "boost the self-esteem of Mozambicans to do things on their own, and trust their own ideas."
Other challenges include sustaining economic growth and reducing poverty, public sector reform, private sector development, unemployment, and HIV and AIDS.


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Mozambique has 33 percent women in parliament

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Mozambique's general elections in 2004 have returned more women than in 1999, raising the representation of women in parliament to 33 percent (from 31 percent). 
Frelimo has 66 women elected to parliament of a total of 160 deputies. This is 41.2 percent.  The number of women on the government side of the house in 1999 was 55. 
During the internal election process for party representatives, Frelimo where possible adopted a "zebra" system, alternating men and women on the party lists. Women headed Frelimo lists in six of the 13 constituencies.


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Senior Treasury Officials met twice last year to consider the draft Finance and Investment Protocol (FIP), before presenting it to Ministers of Finance. The strategic objective of the FIP is to contribute to the establishment of a Regional Common Market where there would be free movement of capital, labour, goods and services.  
The FIP will facilitate regional integration, co-operation and co-ordination within finance and investment areas in the SADC region. The documents developed by various Finance and Investment technical committees have been converted into annexes, which form an integral part of the Protocol. The annexes will therefore be binding upon Member Sates. 
A draft Implementation Framework for the FIP has also been developed, taking into account the targets set in the RISDP.


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By the year 2007, the SADC region will run out of generation surplus capacity if no new generation projects are put in place by then. The Southern Africa Power Pool (SAPP) has come up with a list of short and long-term projects to avert this imminent crisis. The projects include the: 


interconnection of Malawi to SAPP via Mozambique;
interconnection of the United Republic of Tanzania to SAPP via Zambia;
upgrading of the existing Zambia-DRC link; 
interconnection of Angola via the proposed Western Power Corridor Project; and
the establishment of the Zambia-Namibia link.


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SADC is working closely with the African Union and its development framework, the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), to ensure a commonality of purpose in addressing the development challenges facing the region. One example is the comprehensive programme to harness advances in science and technology for enhancing productivity in agriculture. The World Bank has committed US $500 million to initiate the project.
In the area of infrastructure for energy, ICT, transport, water and sanitation, the focus is on projects that interconnect countries as well as provide basic services to local business and communities. Investment by the private sector in infrastructure is on the increase, and development corridors are a main focus. 
NEPAD also provides an important framework for deepening reforms through the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM). To date, 23 African countries have signed the APRM and others have indicated their willingness to join.


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Four countries, one people, one development corridor	 - Mtwara

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A new development corridor holds the promise of prosperity for a hitherto underdeveloped region in the heart of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
The leaders of four SADC member states met in the last days of 2004 to sign a legal framework that should make the Mtwara Development Corridor a reality and improve the lives of the people who live in the northern provinces of Malawi and Mozambique, the northern and eastern provinces of Zambia, and the southern regions of the United Republic of Tanzania.
 The purpose of the Mtwara corridor initiative is to promote trade, investment and tourism in the four countries and boost development through integration of roads, electricity and other infrastructure.
Recognizing the huge development potential and the need to address poverty in the area, the four governments decided seven years ago to work together to open up and develop the corridor as a regional project.
"We are also conscious of the fact that our people along this corridor, in all the four countries, are in reality one people, an African people, separated only by colonial borders that we inherited," Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa said at the launch. "This corridor must be the beginning of joint efforts to bring them even closer as people, and as partners in development."
Mkapa added that it is a matter of "great personal satisfaction and pleasure" to have a legal document that "formally binds our countries and illustrates to our people and our external development partners our firm commitment to move from intent to action."
However he cautioned that, "the political will we have displayed today now has to translate in a measurable and timed implementation process."
The inaugural summit and launch of the Mtwara Development Corridor was hosted by President Bingu wa Mutharika in Lilongwe, and attended by, in addition to Mkapa, the Presidents of Zambia and Mozambique, Levy Mwanawasa and Joaquim Chissano respectively.
Mkapa said the four leaders were committing themselves unreservedly to work together as governments, "in partnership with bilateral and multilateral donors and the private sector to unlock the development potential of this corridor" through the building or improvement of infrastructure such as roads, bridges, ports, railway lines, telecommunications, and airports.
"We are also committing ourselves to a public-private partnership to exploit the abundant natural resources along the corridor, such as minerals, energy, agriculture, forestry, fisheries and tourism. We are confident that the economic linkages that will emanate from all these activities will open many opportunities for self-development for our people.
He urged support for "this regional endeavour for poverty reduction and growth" that will help to fast track regional integration, saying there are two key issues to be urgently addressed in the four countries. These are to ensure that formalized trade between and among the countries is given priority; and to ensure the identification by each country of anchor projects within its zone.
  "These projects should have a direct regional connectivity, benefiting more than one country; and have direct and speedy economic impact on the incomes and welfare of the people residing in the areas."
President Mwanawasa said the initiative was in line with SADC's policy of promoting cross-border trade through the integration of transport networks, and would benefit several provinces of Zambia by promoting the development of local agriculture, fishery, tourism and mining sectors.
He said that, as a landlocked country, Zambia must pursue a policy of regional cooperation as the only way to maximize the use of transport infrastructure and institutional capacities.
The host, President Mutharika of Malawi, stressed that the success of the corridor will depend on strong private sector confidence and participation.

Short Term Action Plan


The Unity Bridge is one of the Short Term Action Plan projects submitted by SADC to the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), to carry out a technical and economic feasibility study, including preliminary design, for the construction of a new road link between Mozambique and the United Republic of Tanzania.
Several other regional projects under the Short Term Action Plan will impact on the Mtwara corridor. These include plans for a coordinated transportation system for goods and passengers for the three countries bordering the lake that each of them calls by a different name - Malawi/Nyasa/Niassa.
Others are projects for one-stop border posts, vehicle overload control management, a road safety programme, upgrading of airport security, maritime advisory services, and development of a regional strategy for ship-waste reception facilities in ports.

Development projects under the Mtwara Corridor Spatial Development Initiative include:

the Unity Bridge across the Ruvuma river between Negomano in Mozambique and Mtambaswala on the Tanzanian side;
the Mbamba Bay road, almost 900 km from Lake Malawi/Nyasa to Mtwara, that would efficiently connect Malawi, Tanzania and northern Mozambique;
an oil pipeline on the same route from Mtwara port to Mbamba Bay;
a heavy capacity ferry linking Mbamba Bay with Nkhata Bay across the lake in Malawi; and
the deepwater harbour and port at Mtwara to be expanded and operations improved.


There are also plans for interconnection of the power grids of Zambia, Malawi and Tanzania; and exploitation of the huge Mchuchuma coal reserves for power generation that could supplement energy supplies for Malawi and Mozambique.
Potential tourism development 

The Mtwara Corridor has unique potential for tourism with pristine beaches and clear Indian Ocean waters, a marine park as well as inland conservation areas and freshwater recreation areas on the lake.

Mnazi Bay Marine Park is a rich marine ecosystem with a high level of biodiversity (more than 400 marine species identified to date) stretching south from Mtwara to the Mozambique border.
Mikindani, with its famous slave market and prison ruins, was the terminus for the slave caravans from inland across the lake and deep into central Africa from the late 15th-18th centuries.
Three small game reserves along the Tanzanian side of the border, as well the largest in the world, the Selous Game Reserve a bit further north, and just south of the border in Mozambique is the remote Niassa Game Reserve.
Stretching several hundred kms between the two reserves is a natural elephant corridor, the West Corridor, which is a Wildlife Management Area with village level control and management.
The people of the Makonde plateau are well known for their elaborate traditional ebony woodcarvings.
More than a dozen dinosaur species were excavated from the vast dinosaur beds at Tendunguru almost a century ago, including a complete skeleton of the largest known dinosaur, the brachiosaurus brancai, now on display at the Museum of Natural History in Berlin.
Lake Malawi/Nyasa/Niassa, 560 km long, maximum width 75 km, maximum depth 706 metres. The southernmost of the deepwater lakes is associated with the formation of the Rift Valley and is used primarily as a source of freshwater and for transportation, tourism and fisheries. A bit further north at the top of the lake is the Kitulo plateau, known as the "Serengeti of flowers", soon to become a national park.
There is potential for tourism on both sides of the Ruvuma, with sites from Mozambique's war of liberation, notably at Nachingwea, which was the main military training camp for the Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (Frelimo). For this reason, the area was restricted to visitors during the 1960s and 1970s.


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Mozambique is separated from the United Republic of Tanzania by the Ruvuma river, without a bridge to span their long, shared history. That is now being rectified and the two countries have taken steps towards physically bridging the river that divides (or unites) their people. 
The Unity Bridge, more than 30 years in conception, could be a reality as early as 2008. 
The presidents of the two countries met in Pemba, capital of the northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado, to sign an agreement of intent for building the 600-metre-long bridge that will link the two countries. The project, including five kms of access roads on each side of the bridge, is expected to cost US$33 million.
The first concept was concluded in 1977, two years after Mozambique's independence, and was improved in 1981. A memorandum of agreement on joint implementation was signed in 2002. It is hoped that works on the bridge will start in September 2005, and last two and a half years.
Speaking during the event in Pemba, the former Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano stressed that, apart from being geographically connected, Mozambique and Tanzania have historical, cultural, social, political and economic links that extend far back into colonial and pre-colonial history.
The United Republic of Tanzania hosted and supported Mozambican freedom fighters in the 1960s and 1970s until independence in 1975, and also contributed troops to help Mozambique fight against aggression from neighbouring Rhodesia and later South Africa. 
Mkapa said the bridge is "a historical task as well as a development imperative" and stressed that neither Mozambique nor Tanzania is so poor not to afford to finance such an important and unifying project.   
Chissano described the bridge as "a significant step towards the materialisation of what was one of the great dreams of our states' founders, the late presidents Samora Machel and Julius Nyerere - a road link between our countries."  
"The benefits of the Unity Bridge will not be limited to bringing closer the peoples of our region, but also of the whole of Africa with all the resulting positive spins towards development," said Chissano.


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Professor Yash Tandon has been appointed Executive Director of the South Centre in Geneva, effective January 2005. 
Prof. Tandon is a Ugandan national resident in Zimbabwe since 1982, where he established SEATINI - the Southern and Eastern African Trade Information and Negotiations Institute. 
SEATINI is an African initiative to strengthen Africa's capacity to take a more effective part in the emerging global trading system and to better manage the process of globalisation. It seeks to build the capacity of African trade negotiators to better negotiate in the World Trade Organization (WTO) for a fair, equitable and balanced system of international trade. 
Its mission is strengthening Africa in World Trade: For an open, equitable, rule-based, transparent, secure, non-discriminatory and predictable trading system. 
Prof. Tandon previously taught at several universities, including Makerere in Uganda and the University of Dar es Salaam, and has written extensively on African political economy, and international relations. 
He is a founder member of the International South Group Network (ISGN), which seeks to raise issues of common concern such as trade, aid, debt, gender relations, environmental issues and conflict resolution.  
Prof. Tandon joins the South Centre at a time when it is focusing on the acute need for greater capacity in the South to build equitable trading relations, and to strengthen negotiating capabilities with the international financial institutions.
The South Centre grew out of the work and experience of the South Commission, and from recognition of the need for enhanced South-South cooperation. It was established in 1995, and its founding Chairperson was the late Mwalimu Julius K. Nyerere, the first president of the United Republic of Tanzania. 
The report of the South Commission emphasized that the South is not well-organized at the global level and has thus not been effective in mobilizing its considerable combined expertise and experience or its bargaining power. 
The South Centre is therefore intended to meet this need for analysis of development problems and experience, as well as to provide intellectual and policy support required by developing countries for collective and individual action in the international arena. 
The South Centre is an intergovernmental body of developing countries, currently with 48 member countries. The Centre serves the South as a whole, regardless of membership and tries to ensure access to all developing countries. The current Chairperson is the former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, from Egypt.


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South Africa's Moosa lands IUCN's top post

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Southern Africa has again proved its might in conservation by having one of its own, South Africa's Mohammed Valli Moosa, elected President of one of the world's most influential environmental organisations, IUCN-The World Conservation Union.
He was elected by 432 votes to 199, in a resounding endorsement of the confidence the global conservation community has in his experience, insight and abilities. He defeated his opponent Parvez Hassan from Pakistan.
Dr Hillary Masundire, a Zimbabwean, retained the Chair of the Commission on Ecosystems Management. He was unopposed. The two were elected during the IUCN 3rd World Conservation Congress held in Bangkok, Thailand in late November 2004.
Moosa, South Africa's former Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, is set to lead and support the Union of more than 1,000 governmental and non-governmental member organisations over the next four years.
According to an IUCN statement, Moosa's election portrays the confidence of IUCN members in his abilities to increase the relevance and impact of the world's largest conservation network as the Union continues to expand its membership, engages with new sectors including the business community, and addresses new conservation issues such as poverty reduction.
"Nature conservation is everybody's business. We will succeed if we continue to broaden our scope and involve more people. I would like each and every individual to be more conscious of nature conservation; we must imbue it in our practices and personalities," Moosa said after being elected.
He was born in 1957 in Johannesburg, and attained a Bachelor of Science majoring in Mathematics and Physics from the University of Durban-Westville in 1978. He has served a number of national and international bodies including the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme, the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment, and the South African Business Trust.
He attracted international acclaim as a key negotiator during the drafting of South Africa's new constitution, and through his competent mediation at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002 and the 5th IUCN World Parks Congress in Durban in 2003, both of which were held in South Africa largely due to his initiative and effort.
Southern Africa, demonstrating its unified force, put its weight behind him for the position. The rest of the African continent supported Moosa to ensure the position came here for the first time in the IUCN's history.


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Unpacking the MDG on gender parity in education

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The challenge of meeting the 2005 benchmark of achieving gender parity in primary and secondary education remains daunting for some SADC countries, while others have either achieved or are on the path to achieving the goal. Saeanna Chingamuka and Washington Midzi analyse. 
The benchmark was set in 2000 when eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were adopted by world leaders as a framework for measuring global development progress up to 2015. 
The goal, which is second on the list, is aimed at eliminating gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005, and at all levels of education no later than 2015. This is interlinked with the third MDG that focuses on the promotion of gender equality and empowerment of women. 
Indicators in achieving the second and third MDGs include ratios of girls to boys from primary to tertiary education, net enrolment ratios, and female literacy in proportion to males (15-24 year-olds), among others. 
While parity in itself is a critical goal, it must be coupled with full gender equality in all facets of education at all levels.  
According to a UNESCO 2003/2004 report, "Full gender equality in education would imply that girls and boys are offered the same chance to go to school and enjoy teaching methods, curricula, and academic orientation unaffected by gender bias."
While guided by the MDGs, education policies of SADC countries can draw inspiration from the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), which contains the most comprehensive set of legally enforceable commitments on gender equality to education. All SADC countries have ratified CEDAW. 
The1997 SADC Declaration on Gender and Development reinforces CEDAW, by recognising the need to strengthen "access to quality education by women and men, removing gender stereotyping in the curriculum, career choices and professions".
An overview of progress by SADC countries shows that gender parity in primary education has been achieved in countries such as Botswana, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, the United Republic of Tanzania and Zimbabwe.  Swaziland, however, stands out as the only country that has achieved parity in secondary education.
There are, however, setbacks in sustaining gender parity in education or accelerating progress where the goal has not yet been achieved. In most SADC countries, economic hardships compounded by the persistent droughts and the AIDS pandemic, among others, have contributed to the declining education standards, enrolment and literacy levels.
Botswana, Malawi, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe introduced and maintain the re-admission of girls who drop out of school due to pregnancy as a measure towards achieving gender balance and equity in the education sector as well as offering equal opportunities for education.
Zambia has implemented an affirmative action policy, which includes a 50:50 enrolment ratio between girls and boys at Grade 1 as well as special bursary schemes for girls at primary and secondary school levels, a move meant to achieve gender equality in primary education.
The enrolment trend in Namibia is encouraging with total primary and secondary school enrolments in 2001 showing an 8-percent increase from 1997 figures, and a 43-percent increase from figures at independence. 
According to the 2003 United Nations Human Development Report, Lesotho is in a position to achieve the gender parity in education target. More girls than boys are enrolled in all levels of education and the girl to boy ratio increases at higher levels of education at 1.74 for 2000/01 tertiary enrolments, compared to 1.02 for primary enrolment. 
In some countries such as Zambia, the Ministry of Education reports indicate a decline from 75 percent in 1990 to 70 percent in 2002 in literacy levels among 15-24 year-olds. The rates for females fell from 71 percent in 1990 to 66 percent in 2000. The high cost of education and the economic uncertainty caused by structural adjustment programmes have been partly blamed for this roll back.
Throughout the region, girls in rural settings are more likely to have a heavy workload at home. With the current food insecurity threatening the region, girls' assistance is normally required at home and in the fields. 
One of the greatest challenges is HIV and AIDS, which poses a threat to the education system in the region. Money that is meant for education is often channelled to palliative care for an ill person, or it is used for daily expenses. Girls are often the first to drop out of school to care for the ill.  
2005 is particularly significant as a UN Summit shall be convened in September to review progress since the 2000 Millennium Declaration, and SADC governments are expected to report on their achievements. 
It is thus urgent that effective responses be devised where significant progress has not occurred in achieving the gender parity in education and, where parity has been achieved, full gender equality to all facets of education must be sustained and strengthened.


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The tsunami that devastated coastal areas in Asia at the end of 2004 has left in its wake many lessons for southern Africa, not only about early warning but also about natural protection.
The huge tidal waves that rolled over the seas from Indonesia, Sri Lanka and India all the way across the Indian Ocean to the East African coast, resulting from an earthquake measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale, caused massive destruction and loss of life, especially on the Asian coasts.
The death toll from the tsunami ("horror wave" in Japanese) passed 250,000 and many missing people could not be accounted for.
The disaster claimed the lives of 10 Tanzanians caught unaware on the seashore near Dar es Salaam, as well as two on the low-lying islands of the Seychelles. In Madagascar, at least 1,200 people were displaced. Eleven South Africans who were in the Asian countries were confirmed dead and four unaccounted for, while 2,900 were traced. Two Zimbabwean tourists in Asia were feared dead.
The waves that hit Dar es Salaam were weakened as they had travelled almost 5,000 km from the earthquake's epicentre at a speed of 1,000 km/hr. The damage done to the African seashore was therefore less extensive compared to the Asian region. The Tanzanian government reacted swiftly to avoid further damage in Zanzibar by alerting people to stay away from the beaches.
The SADC region also responded with assistance to the disaster in Asia. Mozambique, a country that was devastated by the El Nino catastrophic floods in 2000, donated a "symbolic" amount of US$100,000 towards the humanitarian aid appeal, and the African Union (AU) pledged the same amount.
The South African Red Cross Society launched a fundraising appeal to raise R10 million (approx. US$1.6 million). In other southern African countries, donations were made through local Red Cross societies and the International Red Cross regional office in Zimbabwe.
 While humanitarian resources poured into the devastated areas, there were indications that this would impact on the extent of development resources available globally. However, it is expected that more resources will flow into systems for disaster management, early warning, and coastal resources.
Environmentalists say the tsunami was a disaster waiting to happen, not because it could be predicted but because the damage could have been contained with better care of our environment, especially the consequences of ripping out mangroves and destroying coral reefs, which experts say help to protect the coasts from the sea and storms.
A programme director at World Wildlife Foundation International said places that had healthy coral reefs and intact mangroves were far less badly damaged than places where the mangroves had been replaced by beachfront hotels and prawn farms.
"Coral reefs act as a natural breakwater and mangroves are a natural shock absorber, and this applies to floods and cyclones as well as tsunamis."
This was also the view of Professor M.S. Swaminathan, India's leading agricultural scientist who is chairing a government inquiry into coastal developments. He said the mangrove forests in some regions of Tamil Nadu acted as a shield and bore the brunt of the waves.
"The dense mangroves stood like a wall to save coastal communities living behind them," Swaminathan said.
"But in other areas… where the forests have been cut down and there is sand mining and developments, the devastation was been more widespread."
 The disaster has exposed the absence of a global early warning system in the Indian Ocean, although a system is present in the Pacific where such disasters are common.
Delegates to the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) Summit held in January in Mauritius, bemoaned this absence of an effective and efficient warning system. The lessons learned from the tsunami devastation pushed the issue of early warning to the top of the summit's agenda.
The Mauritian prime minister, and current SADC chairperson, Paul Berenger, said, "These disasters have once again demonstrated the extreme vulnerability of small islands, (and) developing states… The damage will take years to repair."
Speeding for tsunami support

Southern African countries are responding to calls for humanitarian assistance to countries in Asia most affected by the tsunami that struck at the end of 2004. These efforts are being coordinated by the respective Red Cross Societies in SADC countries. South Africa also sent a field hospital and is diverting part of the road speeding fines collected in the country, to the tsunami relief fund. A number of Namibian health practitioners have volunteered to help in the affected region. Zimbabwe has established a tsunami disaster fund to collect donations, with the main focus on Indonesia, the country worst affected by the disaster.




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At their Summit in August 2004, SADC Heads of State and Government approved the SADC anthem whose lyrics and melody express the hopes and aspirations of the region. 
The anthem is based on an African rhythm, which was identified as commonly and traditionally practiced by Africans in the SADC region. 
Although the combination of English lyrics with African rhythms and melodies was a challenge, the task was successfully accomplished. The melody brings out the African drum pattern, which reinforces the African character in the anthem. 
Summit approved that the anthem is to be played in all member states at all major SADC events, and in all primary and secondary schools on SADC Day  (17 August) and SADC Creators' Day (14 October). (SADC)


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SADC News Agencies Pool (SANAP) to be launched

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Journalists from across the region met in South Africa in January to discuss plans for the launch of a regional news agency, the SADC News Agencies Pool (SANAP). 
With its headquarters in Mozambique, SANAP is expected to improve the dissemination of news across borders in the region and strengthen the presentation of information from an African perspective.
Although national news agencies have previously tried to arrange bilateral agreements for news sharing, there were many impediments. In many cases, the exchange of information was informal and under-resourced. Information gaps remain in most SADC countries, where people may not know much about what is going on in neighbouring countries.
Media workers generally welcomed plans to strengthen news sharing in southern Africa. The Managing Editor of the Namibia Press Agency (NAMPA), Farai Munyuki, who has been a proponent of regional exchange for many years, expressed the hope that "a regional news hub will facilitate a greater sharing of information."  
John Mukela, Executive Director of the Southern African Media Training Trust based in Maputo, said that while some SADC countries have made significant advances in technology, thus facilitating greater information sharing, others still lag behind. (The Herald)


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SADC launches the 2005 essay competition

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SADC has launched the 2005 Secondary Schools Essay Competition in an effort to attract youth participation in support of regional integration. 
Inspired by the celebration, this year, of SADC's silver jubilee following 25 years since the launch of its predecessor, the Southern Africa Development Coordination Conference (SADCC) in 1980, the topic for the 2005 competition is, "In the 25 years since it was formed, what has the Southern African Development Community (SADC) achieved and what more would you like it to do to bring the economies and the people of southern Africa together?"
The length of the essay should be between 2,000 and 2,500 words and can be written in English, French or Portuguese.
Interested students are encouraged to submit their essays to the SADC National Contact Point Offices or Ministries of Education in their respective countries. The closing date for submission of entries is 31 May 2005. 
Three winners of the essay competition will have a unique opportunity to receive their prizes at the official opening of the SADC Summit in Gaborone, Botswana in August this year.


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Miriam Makeba, South Africa's world-renowned songstress, has announced that she is retiring from her popular public performances after decades of entertaining her legions of fans.
She said she would be concentrating on special occasion gigs as fans reminisced on her unique track record that applauds a gifted vocalist.
Makeba's last public performances were appropriately in Zambia, former headquarters of the liberation struggle against apartheid in South Africa.  She performed alongside local artists on New Year's Eve and was hosted at State House by the First Lady, Maureen Mwanawasa. 
Remembering her history, Makeba took the time during her show to pay tribute to Zambians for their role in South Africa's struggle against apartheid. She also expressed her concern for the increasing rates of HIV and AIDS infections among the youth in the region.
Makeba's music sends its listeners on a sentimental journey back to the heyday of the 1950s when she teamed up with the Manhanttan Brothers taking her to a bright career spanning decades of musical exploits in Africa and abroad.
Mama Africa, as she is known, has proved to be a talented maestro whose flair remains undaunted by her age.  Her authentic African melody persists and forms a personal trademark. (Southern Times)


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Mauritius is to become the first country in the world to get complete nation-wide broadband access. Potential users among the 1.2 million population will be able to connect to wireless internet at home, at work, at school or on the beach - through a network of "smart antennas" within a wide range of coverage. 
ADB Networks, which is the main independent service provider headquartered on the island, has ordered the installation of a nomadic broadband wireless access from a US company. 
The chief executive of ADB, Rizwan Rahim, said his company had looked at other high-speed broadband options, "in our scenario, DSL and cable modem were not viable options. The rugged terrain of Mauritius requires a solution with no line of sight and cost effective deployment."
Rahim said the broadband service can be delivered "where it didn't exist, virtually overnight," with portable, plug-and-play service throughout the island, as soon as the customer receives the modem, usually the same day they order service. He said pricing is competitive. (New Ziana)


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Three countries in the SADC region now have Approved Destination Status (ADS) which facilitates tourism arrivals from China, and some are strengthening flight connections for this purpose.
Air Zimbabwe initiated direct flights to Beijing in December, and South African Airways operates code-sharing flights with Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong, with connections to Beijing.
The chief executive of the Tanzania Tourism Board (TTB), Peter Mwenguo, says his country is also considering direct flights to Beijing to take advantage of its new status to attract the potential influx of Chinese tourists to visit its conservation and wilderness areas such as the famous Serengeti National Park, the Selous Game Reserve (the largest in the world) and many others, as well as the island of Zanzibar. 
For this reason, TTB is making plans to participate in the Beijing International Travel and Tourism Market (BITTM), China's only outbound tourism exhibition, set for April this year. 
The BITTM is strictly a business fair, with a projected attendance of 20,000 
Chinese travel and tourism professionals, including the China International Travel Service (CITS), the largest operator on the Chinese market. 
Market reports show that Chinese outbound tourism in 2003 generated over 23 million departures, with over US$16 billion in overseas expenditure. 
Some 80 foreign destinations received Chinese government approval for ADS status this year, including the United States, Australia and Europe, except for the United Kingdom which was cautious about immigration and illegal aliens. (Southern Times, BBC World)


body:
The United Republic of Tanzania was scheduled to host a four-day meeting in Dar es Salaam in January to focus on agricultural development in Africa, under the New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad). The meeting with the Group of 8 (G8) countries was to identify key factors in the development of agriculture in Africa, with 18 African countries in attendance. 
Nepad is a pan-African framework of the African Union, aimed at continental renewal. Its priority is to eradicate poverty and place African countries on a path of sustainable development. SADC Heads of State and Government held an extraordinary summit in Dar es Salaam last year to plan their own framework for food security and agricultural development. (Xinhua)


body:
South Africa is confident of resolving black citizens' land claims by the end of the year, settling the emotive issue in the formerly white-ruled country, government officials have said.
"Despite numerous challenges, the Commission on Restitution of Land Rights is confident to settle all the outstanding land claims (within deadline)," it said in a statement, following its first meeting of the year. 
Critics have said the government has been too slow in dealing with land reform and that urgent action is vital to avoid people-driven land repossessions such as those that occurred in Zimbabwe. 
A decade after the end of apartheid minority rule, most commercial farmland in Africa's biggest economy is still owned by white farmers and the government is working to provide land to people dispossessed under former rulers. (Southern Times)


body:
Angola has shifted its development priorities from war to peace, and from emergency to recovering. Announcing government plans for 2005/6, the Social Welfare Minister, João Baptista Kussumwa, said that de-mining, resettlement, social reintegration of former soldiers and people living with physical disability will be the priorities. He added child development care, elderly protection and return of refugees as other top tasks for 2005. (ANGOP)


body:
Revisiting state budgeting models and processes to meet new priorities in financing HIV and AIDS prevention, treatment, support and care for the infected and affected, is an urgent priority for southern Africa.
This was a factor in the landmark declaration by SADC Heads of State and Government in Maseru, Lesotho in July 2003 (Maseru Declaration) which, among other things, seeks to intensify resource mobilisation through allocating at least 15 percent of annual state budgets to improve the health sector, adopting a multi-sectoral approach.
A recent study on Funding the Fight: Budgeting for HIV/AIDS in Developing Countries provides the findings of a comparative budget analysis for HIV and AIDS, undertaken in four African countries (Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Kenya) and five countries in Central America.
The study found that African governments are committed to combating the spread of HIV and AIDS on the continent, but have too little of their own funds to spend on intervention programmes.
The report reveals that the priority given to HIV and AIDS programmes in national budgets varies significantly. Health budgets in the African countries, except South Africa, tend to rely primarily on donor funds whereas in the Central American countries, with the exception of Nicaragua, the budgets are primarily financed through state revenue.
The study notes that although countries in both regions have developed comprehensive national strategic HIV and AIDS plans and programmes, these were poorly costed and budgeted. Governments have inadequate systems to track the allocation of resources for HIV and AIDS.
One of the main findings was that most countries in Africa, until recently, have focused on prevention rather than treatment, and African countries have been slower in committing themselves to providing antiretroviral (ARV) treatment to people living with HIV and AIDS.
Another important finding from the report is that the increasing allocations being made for HIV and AIDS might be squeezing out other health priorities. In all countries, the researchers observed that while HIV and AIDS allocations have been increasing, this has not been matched by a commensurate increase in allocations to the health sector overall.
The report calls for budget reforms and greater transparency of government allocations for, and actual spending on, HIV and AIDS.
"Effective government responses to AIDS require us to know where the money is coming from, where it is going, and how well it is being spent," says the report, which also urged African countries to increase their own financial commitments to HIV and AIDS interventions.
The study, undertaken by independent research institutes in each country, was jointly coordinated by the Institute for Democracy in South Africa (IDASA) and Centro de Analisis e Investigacion (FUNDAR) in Mexico. (Reviewed by Chipo Muvezwa)
Funding the Fight: Budgeting for HIV/AIDS in Developing Countries. Teresa Guthrie and Alison Hickey (Eds), 2004. 

IDASA, 6 Pin Street, Cape Town, South Africa.
 
Email: nomzi@idasact.org.za 
Website: www.idasa.org.za 

Mozambique national study to be published in Portuguese by SARDC,
 2005. Financiando a Luta Contra a Sida: Relatório sobre Moçambique


body:
Commemorations of Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere's 79th and 80th Birth Dates

Mpangala, Gaudens P; Mwansasu, Bismarck U and Maundi, Mohamed O, 2004

Available from: The Mwalimu Nyerere Foundation, 6 Sokoine Drive, P.O. Box 7100, Dar es Salaam Tanzania

E-mail: mnf-tanzania@raha.com

Website: www.nyererefoundation.or.tz

Globalization and the Southern African Economies 

Lundahl, Mats(ed), 2004

Available from: The Nordic Africa Institute P.O Box 1703 SE-75147 Uppsala Sweden 

E-mail: nai@nai.uu.se

Website: www.nai.uu.se


Institutions and Development in Africa

Mbaku, John Mukum, Asmara, Africa World Press, Inc., 2004

Available from: Africa World Press, Inc.

P.O. Box 1892, Trenton, New Jersey 08607

E-mail: awprsp@africanworld.com

Website: www.africanworld.com

Mainstreaming Gender in the Response to AIDS in Southern Africa: a Guide for the Integration of Gender Issues in the Work of AIDS Service Organisations.

Southern African AIDS Trust, 2004

Available from: SAT, 3 Luck street, Kopje, Harare, Zimbabwe

E-mail:  info@satregional.org
Website: http://www.satregional.org

Malawi National Strategies for Sustainable Development

Environmental Affairs Department, 2004

Available from: Ministry of Mines, Natural Resources and Environment, Environmental Affairs Department, P. Bag 394, Lilongwe 3, Malawi, 

E-mail: eadinfo@sdnp.org.mw

Website: www.sdnp.org.mw

Multilateral Framework for Competition Policy: where do African Consumers Stand?

Consumers International Office for Africa, 2004

Available from: Consumers International Office for Africa, 31 A Lincoln Road, Belgravia, P. Bag A6215, Avondale, Harare, Zimbabwe. 

E-mail: roaf@harare.iafrica.co

Website: www.consumerinternational.org/roaf

Update on the Status of Member States Signatures and Ratifications of and Accessions to the SADC Treaty, Protocols and other Legal Instruments

SADC, 2004

Available from:  SADC Secretariat P. Bag 0095 Gaborone Botswana

E-mail: registry@sadc.int

Website: www.sadc.int


body:
Event
Venue
February
2
World Summit on Information Society

      African Regional Conference 
Ghana
21 - 25
SADC Council of Ministers
Mauritius
22-24
Joint SADC/Intergovernmental Authority

      on Development (IGAD) Meeting on 

      Sustainable Land Management 
Ethiopia
23
EU/AU Senior Officials Troika
Luxemburg
28 Feb-11 March
49th Session of the Commission on the

Status of Women: Beijing + 10
UN, New York
March
1-5
Global Forum on the Review of Women’s

      Progress on Forestry Management since 

Beijing 1995
Uganda
10-11
10-11 Consortium Meeting for the SADC Rhino

      Conservation 
Zimbabwe
14-15
14-15 SADC/NEPAD Agricultural Research

      Stakeholder Meeting 
Botswana
31
31 SADC/IUCN/UNDP Review Meeting

      on Biodiversity
Botswana
April
6-7
SADC Environment Education Support

Project Steering Committee
Mozambique
11-22
Commission on Sustainable Development
UN, New York
25-27
2005 SADC Consultative Conference
Mauritius

27
SADC/India Forum
Mauritius


title:
Public holidays in SADC
March – April 2005

body:
3 March
Martyrs’ Day
Malawi
8 March
Women’s Day
Angola
12 March
National Day
Mauritius
21 March
Human Rights Day
South Africa
21 March
Ougadi
Mauritius
21 March
Independence Day
Namibia
25 March
Good Friday
All except DRC,

Mozambique, Mauritius
26 March
Public Holiday
Botswana

26 March
Holy Saturday
Zambia

28 March
Easter Monday
All except DRC,

       Mozambique, Mauritius 

28 March
Family Day
South Africa

4 April
Peace and National Reconciliation Day
Angola

7 April
Mozambican Women’s Day
Mozambique

18 April
Independence Day
Zimbabwe

19 April
King’s Birthday
Swaziland

25 April
National Flag Day
Swaziland

26 April
Union Day
Tanzania

27 April
Freedom Day
South Africa

30 April
Education and Youth Day
DRC


body:
Country
Currency
(US $1)
Angola
Kwanza ( 100 Iwei)
85.94
Botswana
Pula (100 thebe)
4.35

DRC Congo
Franc
449.00

Lesotho
Maloti (100 lisente)
5.77

Madagascar
Magache Franc
9,400.00

      
Malawi
Kwacha (100 tambala)
108.00

Mauritius
Rupee (100 cents)
28.24

Mozambique
Metical (100 centravos)
8,600.00

Namibia
Dollar (100 cents)
5.90

South Africa
Rand (100 cents)
5.82

Swaziland
Lilangeni (100 cents)

5.77

Tanzania
Shilling (100 cents)
1,049.50

Zambia
Kwacha (100 ngwee)
4,710.00

Zimbabwe
Dollar (100 cents)
6,200.00


title:
SADC at 25 Footprints and challenges of regional development

Abstract:
THE SADC market has more than
trebled during the organisation's 25-
year history, creating one of the conditions
necessary for a Free Trade
A rea, which the region plans to
achieve by 2008.

body:
<image src="images/v8n1/jeepers.jpg" align="left">THE SADC market has more than
trebled during the organisation's 25-
year history, creating one of the conditions
necessary for a Free Trade
A rea, which the region plans to
achieve by 2008.
From a population of some 60 million
in 1980 when the organisation
was formed as the Southern
Africa Development Coordination
Conference (SADCC), the market
has now risen to more than 200 million
consumers.
The sharp increase in population
is attributed to natural growth as
well as new member states that have
joined over the years, increasing
from nine founding nations to the
present 13 member states.
SADC's long term objective is to
have a Common Market in 2015
which would mean a common external
tariff and ultimately a common
currency one year later, in 2016.
The region plans to transit
through a Customs Union in 2010, in
an incremental manner, preceded by
the Free Trade Area.
However, all this will depend on
the successful implementation of the
Trade Protocol, which started in 2000.
The protocol provides for a gradual
elimination of customs duties or tariffs
and non-tariff barriers to trade. By
2008, all goods traded in SADC
should be substantially duty-free.
The SADC Executive Secre t a r y,
Prega Ramsamy, said the consumers
would be the greatest beneficiaries
of a Free Trade Area “because they
usually get better products at lower
prices.”
He explains that, “at the country
level, there will be more market
opportunities in terms of demand
and access as well as more competition
that will provide better goods
and services to the consumers.”

Energy

The creation of the Southern Africa
Power Pool has ensured a consistent
and reliable supply of electricity
to all member states including
those that do not generate their
own.
New projects such as the
Western Corridor Power Project,
which has just been extended to all
SADC countries, will ease the
region's energy worries.

Spatial development corridors

In its 25-year history, SADC has
transformed the traditional transport
corridors into Spatial
Development Corridors, creating
vast opportunities to both domestic
and foreign investors.
Beira, Maputo and Walvis Bay
corridors are some of the successful
examples, while the Mtwara
Corridor, intended to link the
Tanzanian port with Mozambique,
Malawi and eastern Zambia, is one
of many in the region which are
still nascent.
Traditionally, the landlocked
countries in SADC have relied on
transport routes to the east coast
on the Indian Ocean. However, the
Walvis Bay Corridor – linked by
the Trans-Kalahari and Trans-
Caprivi highways – now provides
an alternative gateway to the
Atlantic Ocean in the west.
The Mozambique Aluminium
Smelter Project (Mozal), a part of
the Maputo Corridor, represents
one of the biggest investment ventures
in recent years, employing
thousands of Mozambicans and a
significant number of other staff
from the SADC region.

Human resources

While unemployment remains
high in a number of SADC countries,
the intra-regional movement
of skills and the external
“brain drain” has left
member states seriously
vulnerable in essential
sectors such as engineering
and health.

SADC cannot afford to continue
using its scarce resources on
training people whose expertise
will benefit countries that least
need them. To discourage them
from looking north for greener
pastures, the experts need not only
better challenges at home, but,
even more important, more
favourable working conditions.

HIV and AIDS

The greatest threat to the region's
human resources is the HIV and
AIDS pandemic. SADC is the
worst affected region in the world
and its leaders have responded by
adopting a common vision and
platform of action.
The Maseru Declaration on
HIV and AIDS adopted in July
2003 identifies priority areas that
include access to care, testing and
treatment; prevention and social
mobilisation; resource mobilisation;
a development-oriented
approach; monitoring and evaluation.

Agriculture and food security

Over the two-and-half decades of
SADC's involvement in regional
development, agriculture has
remained the backbone of the
economies of most member states.
While the agricultural sector is
now relatively developed, better
farming methods and more investment
is required especially to proc
u re modern equipment and
machinery.
The recurrence of the drought
cycle over the last couple of
decades has seriously exposed the
region and has served as a sharp
reminder that new policies are
needed to ensure sustainable food
security.
SADC leaders have responded
with the Dar es Salaam Declaration
on Agriculture and Food Security
of May 2004, which seeks to overhaul
agricultural production. One
of the most critical provisions of
the declaration is to move away
from over- reliance on rain-fed
agriculture and put more arable
land under irrigation.
In addition to increased investment
in irrigation equipment, the
related challenge is to build more
dams, although these may
adversely affect the flow of water
downstream, in the same or neighbouring
countries.
The other challenge has always
been to ensure that natural
resources such as land and water
are utilised in a sustainable manner,
and the region is firmly behind
the international concept of
Integrated Water Resources
Management (IWRM).

Protocols

Since its emergence in 1992, SADC
has adopted a total of 30 protocols
and declarations to harmonise
policies and legislation in a number
of areas including natural
resources.
Most of these protocols are now
in force. However, more needs to
be done to ensure synthesis with
national policy.

Peace and security

The greatest achievements are the
attainment of independence in
Namibia in 1990, and the demise of
apartheid in South Africa in 1994,
which brought the end of civil war
in Mozambique in 1992 and
Angola in 2002.
Having gone through several
transformations, including the
recent restructuring of its institutions,
SADC can look back to the
achievements of the past 25 years
to spur further regional integration
and development.
The Regional Indicative
Strategic Development Plan
(RISDP) is the roadmap to the destination
of a Common Market in
2015.


title:
Single Southern African currency possible by 2016

Abstract:
THE GOVERNOR of the Reserve Bank of South Africa, Tito Mboweni,
has expressed confidence that a common currency is possible for
SADC by 2016.

body:
THE GOVERNOR of the Reserve Bank of South Africa, Tito Mboweni,
has expressed confidence that a common currency is possible for
SADC by 2016.
After hosting a meeting of Central Bank governors from the region
in Cape Town, he said the region is serious about the introduction of
a single currency managed by a single central bank.
The monetary union would be introduced in 2016, following the
implementation of a common market the previous year, with free
movement of labour and capital.
Mboweni acknowledged the challenges and said there is much to
be done if the targets are to be met.
We start from a position where we say that the conditions are not
right for fully fledged integration, but we want to reach there, so we
need to take these steps,¡± he said in an interview with Business Times.
Key convergence targets are:

Single-digit inflation by 2008 and a 5 percent ceiling by
2012;
Budget deficits below 5 percent of GDP by 2008 and within
a one percent band around 3 percent by 2012;
Nominal value of public and public-guaranteed debt below
60 percent of GDP by 2008; and
Import cover for three months by 2008 and six months by
2012.


The Governor has established a four-member, full-time secretariat
in his office to drive South Africa's preparations for integration .


Abstract:
THE IMPLEMENTATION of the
SADC development strategy for
2005 is now in motion following
approval of its annual budget and
business plans by the Council of
Ministers at its first meeting of the
year in February in Mauritius.

body:
THE IMPLEMENTATION of the
SADC development strategy for
2005 is now in motion following
approval of its annual budget and
business plans by the Council of
Ministers at its first meeting of the
year in February in Mauritius.
The Council approved a massive
US$37.5 million budget, representing
a more than 100 percent
jump from the previous year.
Speaking after the meeting, the
SADC Executive Secretary said the
huge jump in the annual budget
has been necessitated by the new
rollout strategy of the organisation's
two development plans, and
the enlarged staff structure at the
Secretariat.
SADC is coming to the end of a
long restructuring exercise which
has centralised operations at the
Botswana-based Secretariat, and
has given birth to two long-term
plans -- the Regional Indicative
Strategic Development Plan
(RISDP) and the Strategic
Indicative Plan for the Org a n
(SIPO) on Politics, Defence and
Security Cooperation.
A Consultative Conference of
SADC partners which was due to
be convened in Mauritius on 25-27
April to rally financial support for
the two development plans has
been postponed to October. The
venue is yet to be decided.
Ramsamy said the postponement
was a result of two reasons –
the level of confirmed representation
from donors was not senior
enough to match that of SADC
which is at ministerial level, and to
allow member states sufficient time
to make input into the technical
documents.
“Now we are going to go on a
campaign to encourage our cooperating
partners to send delegations
at ministerial level,” said Ramsamy.
He added that this postponement is
not going to hamper the implementation
of the development plans as
SADC does not rely entirely on
donor funds.
With re g a rds to the looming
power shortages in the region, the
ministers instructed the Southern
African Power Pool to organise a
Regional Electricity Investment
Conference in Namibia in June
2005. The conference is expected to
mobilise resources to fund power
generation and transmission
projects.
The SADC Summit in August
last year expressed grave concern
that the region will run out of surplus
energy generation capacity by
2007 if no new projects come on
board. A steering committee was
thus set up comprising energy ministers
from Angola, Namibia, South
Africa and Zimbabwe.
Council also directed that the
Western Corridor Project -- a joint
venture power initiative involving
Angola, Botswana, the Democratic
Republic of Congo, Namibia and
South Africa -- be extended to all
SADC countries. This should be
supported by a SADC-wide representation
of ministers on the steering
committee.
The ministers noted that current
multilateral negotiations
between the European Union (EU)
and individual regional groups
such as SADC are divisive.
The EU is negotiating economic
partnership agreements with
individual groupings as opposed
to the larger African, Caribbean
and Pacific (ACP) group of countries.
The negotiations have presented
a number of challenges including
the fact that a number of SADC
countries are members of other
regional groups that are also participating
in the process. These
include the Southern African
Customs Union (SACU) and the
East African Community (EAC).
A committee of ambassadors
accredited to Botswana was
formed to play an advisory role to
the Secretariat and member states.
Botswana is SADC's chief negotiator
to the EU on the economic partnership
agreements.
The negotiations are to be concluded
in 2008, which will coincide
with the creation of a SADC Free
Trade Area.






SADC Targets

SADC regional development fund and self-financing mechanism 2005
Elimination of exchange controls on intra-SADC transactions 2006
Free Trade Area 2008
SADC Customs Union, common external tariff 2010
Common Market agreement 2015
SADC Central Bank, preparations for single SADC currency 2016


Abstract:
IN A move to unbundle and operationalise the Regional
Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP), SADC has
developed business plans and budgets for 2005/2006
focusing mainly on the four directorates and two units. The
business plans outline priority areas for the period 2005/6,
which will be a stepping stone towards achieving the long
term objectives of the 15-year strategic plan. The SADC
Council of Ministers approved the business plans, at their
meeting in February in Mauritius.

body:
IN A move to unbundle and operationalise the Regional
Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP), SADC has
developed business plans and budgets for 2005/2006
focusing mainly on the four directorates and two units. The
business plans outline priority areas for the period 2005/6,
which will be a stepping stone towards achieving the long
term objectives of the 15-year strategic plan. The SADC
Council of Ministers approved the business plans, at their
meeting in February in Mauritius.

Trade, Industry, Finance &
Investment Directorate

Immediate challenges of the directorate
include strengthening market
integration, enhancing productive
competitiveness, as well as financial
and capital markets development.
Equally important is the move
towards monetary cooperation,
macro economic convergence, promotion
of intra-SADC investments
and foreign direct investment.
TIFI intervention areas 2005/6

goods and services market integration;
financial and capital market
development;
attainment of deeper monetary
cooperation;
attainment of macro-economic
convergence;
increasing levels of intra-SADC
Investment and Foreign Direct
Investment (FDI); and
effective participation in compliance
with international
agreements.



Food, Agriculture & Natural
Resources Directorate

The directorate focuses mainly on
five sectors -food security, crop
development, livestock development,
natural resource management
and research and development.
The food security challenges facing
SADC require increasing productivity,
eliminating food deficits
and increasing trade in agricultural
products.
FANR intervention areas 2005/6


ensuring food
availability;
access to food;
improving food nutritional
value and safety; and
disaster preparedness for food
security.


Social and Human
Development & Special
Programmes Directorate

Key sectors in this directorate are
health systems, education, human
re s o u rces development, culture
and sport, information and
employment. Its long term goal is
to coordinate all human resources
development in the region.
SHDSP intervention areas 2005/6

developing and sustaining
human capabilities;
developing positive cultural
values, attitudes and practices;
increasing utilisation of human
capabilities; and
availability and access to information.



Infrastructure & Services
Directorate

The primary function is to promote
the provision of adequate, interc o nnected
and efficient regional infrastructure.
Key sectors are transport,
communications and meteorology,
energy, tourism and water.
IS intervention areas 2005/6

provision of adequate, integrated
and efficient transport infrastructure
and services;
provision of adequate, integrated
and efficient communications
and meteorology infrastructure
services;
promotion of tourism as a
means for sustainable development
and regional integration;
facilitating the adoption and
implementation of the strategic
plan; and
integrated water re soures
management and related infrastructure development that
contributes to regional integration
and poverty eradication.



Statistics Unit

Summary intervention areas
2005/6

development of legal framework
in statistics;
harmonisation of statistics in
the SADC region;
provision of relevant statistics
for regional integration; and
statistical capacity development
in SADC.


HIV and AIDS Unit

Summary intervention areas
2005/6

policy development and harmonisation;
capacity building and mainstreaming
HIV and AIDS into
all SADC policies and programmes;
facilitating technical response,
resource networks, collaboration
and coordination; and
facilitating monitoring and
evaluation of the regional
multi-sectoral response.



Gender Unit

Summary intervention areas
2005/6

development of an explicit
regional gender policy framework
and harmonization of
gender policies;
gender mainstreaming of SADC
structures and institutions;
development and implementation
at the regional level of
women's empowerment in various
sectoral areas;
communication, informationsharing,
coalition-building and
networking;
training and capacity-building
of national machineries personnel,
national and regional trainers,
decision-makers and other
critical stakeholders on concepts,
analysis, sensitization
and empowerment skills;
monitoring and evaluation of
the Beijing Platform for
Action, SADC Declaration on
Gender and Development and
its addendum, CEDAW, the
African Charter on Women.


title:
SADC support for NEPAD agriculture programme

Abstract:
MINISTRIES OF AGRICULTURE, finance,
trade and industry in SADC member states
have pledged their support to NEPAD's
Comprehensive African Agriculture
Development Programme (CAADP).

body:
MINISTRIES OF AGRICULTURE, finance,
trade and industry in SADC member states
have pledged their support to NEPAD's
Comprehensive African Agriculture
Development Programme (CAADP).
This is a NEPAD initiative to promote
interventions that best respond to the continent's
agricultural challenges.
During the southern African launch of
CAADP in Maputo, the ministers agreed to
establish a CAADP coordinator at the SADC
Secretariat, as well as a high-level advisory
board linked to national bodies to ensure
action.
<p.The NEPAD Secretariat agreed to follow
up with immediate consultations to ensure
that resources are identified for the appointment
of a SADC-based CAADP coordinator.
The action plans presented by delegates at
the Maputo meeting ranged from the expansion
of smallscale irrigation and water harvesting,
to land reform, building capacity for
farmers organisations, and a budget
tracking system.
SADC officials indicated their
commitment to align agricultural
budgets to the CAADP
framework so that at least 10
percent of national budgets is
directed to agriculture.
Agricultural development
features prominently
in SADC's regional strategic
plan, which provides a
framework for economic
integration and social development
in the region.
The African Development
Bank (ADB) has pledged to continue
to provide financial support to
SADC member states for their efforts to
reduce poverty and ensure food security.


Abstract:
A HIGH-LEVEL workshop on building
capacity in Regional Economic
Communities (RECs) to advance implementation
of key NEPAD infrastructure
projects, held in the Nigerian capital, Abuja,
discussed:

body:
A HIGH-LEVEL workshop on building
capacity in Regional Economic
Communities (RECs) to advance implementation
of key NEPAD infrastructure
projects, held in the Nigerian capital, Abuja,
discussed:

Identification or confirmation of priority
projects ready for implementation,
including capacities, resources, and other
support required, with set and agreed
timeframes, including the political interventions
necessary to speed up implementation;
An Action Plan on capacity-building for
RECs and relevant institutions for
implementation of priority NEPAD projects
within the agreed timeframe;
Definition of responsibilities among various
stakeholders - RECs, AU
Commission, NEPAD Secretariat, donors
and other development partners ¨C to
ensure implementation;
An Action Plan for the establishment of
REC task teams to oversee NEPAD
implementation in each region, with
defined target dates; and
Definition of responsibilities among
stakeholders to ensure that teams are
established as planned.


Abstract:
THE JAPAN International Cooperation
Agency (JICA) and the African Development
Bank (ADB) have agreed to work together to
support NEPAD in the implementation of its
projects.

body:
THE JAPAN International Cooperation
Agency (JICA) and the African Development
Bank (ADB) have agreed to work together to
support NEPAD in the implementation of its
projects.
The decision follows a consultative meeting
with representatives of NEPAD to explore
collaboration between JICA and ADB in infrastru
cuture development, capacity-building,
agriculture and rural development, water, education,
health, governance and private sector.
The JICA team suggested three ways of
promoting JICA-ADB collaboration:

ADB participation in formulation study
teams for JICA infrastru c t u re pro j e c t s
planned for 2005;
JICA to align ongoing projects with related
ADB-supported projects and NEPAD;
ADB and JICA to formulate a new project
jointly under the continental framework of
NEPAD.


JICA and ADB agreed to make follow-up
actions to accelerate their collaboration in support
of NEPAD and contribute towards the
s h a red aim of achieving the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) in Africa.


Abstract:
THE NEPAD e-Schools Initiative is ready to
move to the demonstration phase. This was
agreed at the second workshop of the coordinating
body, in Pretoria.

body:
NEPAD e-School demo ready for launch

THE NEPAD e-Schools Initiative is ready to
move to the demonstration phase. This was
agreed at the second workshop of the coordinating
body, in Pretoria.
The demonstration phase will be piloted in
20 countries over a period of 12 months. This
involves briefing participants on the type of
equipment, software, training and capacitybuilding
required to have all the attributes of a
NEPAD e-School.
The first demonstration schools will be
launched in April, in the regions of north Africa,
Francophone west Africa, Anglophone west
Africa, and east, central and southern Africa. A t
least four schools will be ready in each region.

The purpose of the demonstration is to
accrue a body of knowledge to inform the rollout
of a broader NEPAD e-Schools Initiative.
The workshop agreed on an implementation
framework, including co-ordination at
continental level by the e-Africa Commission,
and responsibilities of the countries at local
level.
The financing for this project has been
secured from the Information Society
Partnership for Africa's Development (ISPAD),
which has agreed to fully finance the process.
They will also take responsibility for the training,
under the leadership and guidance of the
e-Africa Commission.


title:
Southern Africa hit by another dry season

Abstract:
LATEST REPORTS from across
the SADC region indicate that
many parts of the region received
good rainfall during the first half
of the rainy season but the second
half has been characterised by
poor rains in the southern part of
the region.

body:
LATEST REPORTS from across
the SADC region indicate that
many parts of the region received
good rainfall during the first half
of the rainy season but the second
half has been characterised by
poor rains in the southern part of
the region.
According to SADC estimates
released in early April, the affected
areas include central and southern
Mozambique, southern Malawi,
southeast Zimbabwe and northern
South Africa.
Normal rainfall was received in
Angola, DRC, Lesotho, Namibia,
central South Africa and
Swaziland. However, rainfall distribution
was poor in Lesotho and
Swaziland.
“The low rainfall levels have
affected the region negatively and
this has implications for cereals
and pulses with pasture for livestock
being affected in areas with
more extreme rainfall deficit,” says
SADC in a statement on rainfall
update.
“The rainfall season in the
southern parts of the region is
drawing to a close and very little
rainfall is expected,” says the statement.
The period January to March,
which is the second half of the
rainfall season, is often critical to
the region's staple crop, maize, as
this is when the crop is tasselling
and in need of moisture.
SADC estimates that South
Africa will have a bumper harvest
“as a result of good overall rains in
the agriculturally productive areas
of the country”.
However, Lesotho, Malawi,
Mozambique, Swaziland, Zambia
and Zimbabwe will experience
poor harvests.
The dry conditions over
southern Africa come at a time
when models indicated a weak El
Nino. A s t rong El Nino is associated
with drought while the
reverse, La Nina is associated
with wet and even
flooding rains.
Droughts have occurred
periodically in southern
Africa throughout
recorded history.


Abstract:
SOME PARTS of southern
Mozambique are facing drought,
and the irregular rainfall may lead
to a poor harvest of maize.

body:
SOME PARTS of southern
Mozambique are facing drought,
and the irregular rainfall may lead
to a poor harvest of maize.
"We're worried because we're
approaching the end of the rainy
season and the expected improvements
are not happening,¡± said
Màrio Ubisse of the Early Warning
System department in the
Agriculture Ministry.
This is affecting some districts
in Inhambane province, where
signs of drought are obvious.
However, this scenario conflicts
with central and northern
Mozambique where above normal
rainfall has caused floods in the
Zambezi valley.


title:
South Africa posed for record maize harvest

Abstract:
South Africa could reap 11.14 million
tonnes of maize this year, 18
percent more than last season and
the most in 11 years, according to a
report published in Johannesburg in
March.

body:
South Africa could reap 11.14 million
tonnes of maize this year, 18
percent more than last season and
the most in 11 years, according to a
report published in Johannesburg in
March. The Crop Estimates
Committee, said that commercial
maize growers will harvest 11.14
million tonnes, of which 6.63 million
tonnes will be white maize and
4.51 million tonnes yellow maize.
This season's crop will be the
highest since 1993-94 when commercial
farmers reaped 12.1 million
tonnes of maize. National
stocks were 5.23 million tonnes at
the end of January, according to
GrainSA. Xinhua


title:
Region's food security shows signs of improving

Abstract:
FOOD SUPPLY assessments for
southern Africa indicate a maize surplus
of 1.27 million tonnes for the
2004/2005 marketing year, according
to the SADC Food, Agriculture
and Natural Resources directorate.

body:
FOOD SUPPLY assessments for
southern Africa indicate a maize surplus
of 1.27 million tonnes for the
2004/2005 marketing year, according
to the SADC Food, Agriculture
and Natural Resources directorate.
The overall cereal deficit is
about 1.69 million tonnes, which is
a notable improvement from the
2.96 million tonnes deficit of the
2003/2004 marketing year.
The countries that are still experiencing
food shortages are
Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique,
Swaziland and Zimbabwe, with a
combined estimate of five million
people affected.
Although the region has suffered
from persistent droughts and
floods, improvements in yields
have been attributed to extra measures
that member states are taking
in line with the Dar es Salaam
Declaration on Agriculture and
Food Security.
The landmark declaration was
endorsed by an extra-ordinary
summit of SADC leaders when
they met in the Tanzanian capital
on 15 May 2004.


title:
A diversified, nutritious indigenous diet: key to disease prevention

Abstract:
THE SADC region has stepped up its efforts to promote healthy lifestyles
among people living with HIV and AIDS.

body:
THE SADC region has stepped up its efforts to promote healthy lifestyles
among people living with HIV and AIDS.
Focus has been directed towards making nutrition a top priority in dealing
with the pandemic and other chronic diseases.
Emphasis is being put on the fact that although the virus can weaken the
immune system, it is possible to strengthen it by practising healthy eating
habits. This includes indigenous unrefined foods, which are rich in all nutrients
that are needed to strengthen the immune system.
In southern Africa, where the majority of HIV and AIDS patients lack access
to anti- retroviral drugs (ARVs), traditional nutritious foods are the best way to
boost immunity. Even where ARVs are available, a healthy diet is essential to
its use.
Traditional foods, however, remain shunned by many young people in
society. The challenge is to break away from these preconceptions that suggest
that traditional foods are inferior.

Zimbabwe holds inaugural food fair
DELEGATES ATTENDING the inaugural Zimbabwe Food Fair held in Harare
in early 2005 stressed the importance of nutrition through the theme "promoting
a diversified diet for better nutrition and health."
The fair, the first of its kind in the country, is a result of discussions and
intense lobbying on this topical issue in an effort to fight the spread of
chronic diseases and shows the desire to implement some of the recommendations
of a SADC Health Ministers Consultative Meeting of 2003.
The food fair, which was officially opened by Vice-President Joyce
Mujuru, will become an annual event.


Abstract:
DELEGATES ATTENDING the inaugural Zimbabwe Food Fair held in Harare
in early 2005 stressed the importance of nutrition through the theme "promoting
a diversified diet for better nutrition and health."

body:
DELEGATES ATTENDING the inaugural Zimbabwe Food Fair held in Harare
in early 2005 stressed the importance of nutrition through the theme "promoting
a diversified diet for better nutrition and health."
The fair, the first of its kind in the country, is a result of discussions and
intense lobbying on this topical issue in an effort to fight the spread of
chronic diseases and shows the desire to implement some of the recommendations
of a SADC Health Ministers Consultative Meeting of 2003.
The food fair, which was officially opened by Vice-President Joyce
Mujuru, will become an annual event.


Abstract:
THE SCIENTIFIC and Industrial
Research and Development Centre
(SIRDC) in Zimbabwe is developing
two special maize breeds
which are drought-tolerant and
insect-resistant.

body:
THE SCIENTIFIC and Industrial
Research and Development Centre
(SIRDC) in Zimbabwe is developing
two special maize breeds
which are drought-tolerant and
insect-resistant.
The initiative to produce crop
varieties that will boost production
started in 1995, following a report
on how biotechnology can benefit
rural farmers. Trials started in 1997.
The technical executive director,
Leonard Madzingaidzo, said
"this is homegrown sophisticated
research being done by local
expertise." No chemicals are used,
except those commonly recommended.
"People should also note
that this is not genetically modified
maize seed," he said.
Production and marketing of
the drought-tolerant seed varieties
is expected to begin in 2007.
Disease-free sweet potato planting
material, also developed by SIRDC
t h rough its Biotechnology
Research Institute, is already available
commercially. (The Herald)


Abstract:
NEPAD, IN conjunction with the
International Institute of Tropical
Agriculture based in Ibadan,
Nigeria, has launched a Pan-
African Cassava Initiative.

body:
NEPAD, IN conjunction with the
International Institute of Tropical
Agriculture based in Ibadan,
Nigeria, has launched a Pan-
African Cassava Initiative. The initiative
came out of consultative
workshops in west, east, central
and southern Africa and aims to
help national governments formulate
their own cassava programmes.
The goal is to mobilise resources
from Africa's partners to support
research and development of cassava,
the continent's second most
widely consumed staple food,
after maize. The root crop is easy
to grow even in very difficult climates,
and is widely cultivated by
smallholders, especially women,
across several of Africa's ecological
zones. (Africa Renewal)


Abstract:
WITH SUFFICIENT funding, aquaculture (fish farming) can boost food
security in Namibia and has the potential to increase foreign exchange
earnings from exports.

body:
WITH SUFFICIENT funding, aquaculture (fish farming) can boost food
security in Namibia and has the potential to increase foreign exchange
earnings from exports.
The industry has recorded success in South Africa, Norway and Spain
from mainly trade in salmon, catfish, tilapia and oysters.
These countries shared their experiences at a conference held in
Namibia in February. The conference focused on the lack of training and
skills in Africa, especially international marketing skills tailored to this
fledgling industry.
Namibian entrepreneurs interested in this industry said that their main
limitation was funding for aquaculture projects.


title:
Genetic potential of ancient African rice

Abstract:
THE FIRST African to win the
prestigious World Food Prize is a
plant scientist from Sierra Leone.

body:
THE FIRST African to win the
prestigious World Food Prize is a
plant scientist from Sierra Leone.
The official prize citation states
that, "he captured the genetic
potential of ancient African rices
by combining African and Asian
rice species, dramatically incre a sing
yields and offering great hope
to millions of poor farmers."
Monty Jones was honoured for
his breakthrough work in developing
the New Rice for Africa
(Nerica), a drought-resistant,
high-yielding, protein-rich type of
rice. Nerica has been embraced by
NEPAD as an example of the kind
of innovative efforts that can help
to spur Africa's agricultural development
and reduce hunger.
(Africa Renewal)


Abstract:
THE UNIVERSITY of Namibia
has joined the daunting quest to
find practical scientific remedies
for HIV and AIDS.

body:
THE UNIVERSITY of Namibia
has joined the daunting quest to
find practical scientific remedies
for HIV and AIDS.
The initiative will entail
unearthing biological compounds
that contain a wide spectrum of
medicinal properties that are capable
of curing viral, bacterial and
parasitic diseases.
Science students from the university
have teamed up with their
counterparts from the University
of Cape Town to embark on this
historical scientific undertaking.
Based on the analysis, samples
will be tried on animals and if they
are successful further research will
be done before they consider using
them in medicines for humans.
(New Era)


Abstract:
RESEARCH FINDINGS have
revealed hope of an effective
cholera vaccine which appears to
work even for people infected with
the AIDS virus.

body:
RESEARCH FINDINGS have
revealed hope of an effective
cholera vaccine which appears to
work even for people infected with
the AIDS virus.
A new generation of orally
administered vaccines have been
developed to tackle cholera in sub-
Saharan Africa, and research published
in the New England Journal of
Medicine in March entitled
"Effectiveness of Mass Oral Cholera
Vaccination in Beira, Mozambique"
looks at doubts raised about the
level of protection these vaccinations
give people with HIV.
Prevention is much cheaper
than cure. In Mozambique it costs
US$37 to treat each cholera patient
while the vaccination works out at
about two dollars. (AIM)


Abstract:
A SOUTH African company
Tongaat-Hulett Sugar will scoop an
international first when one of its
mills begins producing white
refined sugar directly from the mill,
thereby eliminating the need for a
refinery.

body:
A SOUTH African company
Tongaat-Hulett Sugar will scoop an
international first when one of its
mills begins producing white
refined sugar directly from the mill,
thereby eliminating the need for a
refinery.
The group is investigating
opportunities to export the technology
to Brazil, where the development
of the sugar industry is experiencing
annual cane expansions
equivalent to the entire South
African crop. It is expected that the
first large-scale production of white
refined cane sugar directly from the
company's mill will be manufactured
by November this year.
At the moment, the sugar division
sends its raw sugar to a central
refining facility, which will continue
in the medium term. (Business
Day)


title:
Southern African Development Community SADC

Abstract:
THE SOUTHERN African
Development Community (SADC)
covers the African continent south
of the equator, and is a regional
building block for the African
Union.

body:
THE SOUTHERN African
Development Community (SADC)
covers the African continent south
of the equator, and is a regional
building block for the African
Union. This regional community
was formed in Arusha, Tanzania in
1979 and launched in 1980 in
Lusaka, Zambia as the Southern
Africa Development Coordination
C o n f e rence (SADCC). Member
states transformed SADCC into
the Southern African Development
Community (SADC) under the
SADC Treaty in 1992. The SADC
secretariat is located in Gaborone,
Botswana.
SADC Member States
Angola, Botswana, Democratic
Republic of Congo, Lesotho,
Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique,
Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland,
United Republic of Tanzania,
Zambia, Zimbabwe Candidate
member, Madagascar
The Declaration “Towards the
Southern African Development
Community”, adopted in
Windhoek, Namibia, on 17 August
1992, by Heads of State or
Government of member states,
calls upon all countries and people
of southern Africa to develop a
vision of a shared future within a
regional community. SADC Day is
celebrated on 17 August every
year.
SADC Vision

The SADC vision is of a common
future, a future in a regional community
that will ensure economic
well-being, improvement of the
s t a n d a rds of living and quality of
life, freedom and social justice,
and peace and security. This
s h a red vision is anchored in
common values and principles,
and historical and
cultural affinities, among
the peoples of southern
Africa.
SADC Objectives

The objectives of SADC as stated
in Article 5 of the Treaty are to:
achieve development and economic
growth, alleviate
poverty, enhance the standard
and quality of life of the people
of southern Africa and
support the socially disadvantaged
through regional integration;

 evolve common political
values, systems and institutions;

 promote and defend peace and
security;
 p romote self-sustaining development
on the basis of collective
self-reliance, and the
i n t e rdependence of member
states;

 achieve complementarity
between national and regional
strategies and programmes;

 p romote and maximise productive
employment and utilisation
of re s o u rces of the
region;

 achieve sustainable utilisation
of natural resources and effective
protection of the environment;

s t rengthen and consolidate the
long-standing historical, social
and cultural affinities and links
among the people of the
region.



In addition, member states are
committed to ensuring that poverty
alleviation is addressed in all
SADC activities and programmes
with the ultimate objective of eradicating
it.

Member states have agreed to co-operate in the areas of


food security, land and agriculture
infrastructure and services

trade, industry, finance,
investment and mining

social and human development
and special programmes

science and technology

natural resources and environment

social welfare, information and
culture

politics, diplomacy, international
relations, peace and security.



SADC Treaty 1992 (as amended)

HIV and
AIDS is a major
t h reat to the
attainment of the
objectives of SADC
and therefore is
accorded priority
in all SADC programmes
and
activities.
Protocols

Member States have concluded
Protocols in various
areas of co-operation,
which define the objectives
and scope, and institutional
mechanisms for co-operation and
integration. These protocols are
approved by Summit on the recommendation
of the Council, and
each protocol is then open to sign
a t u re and ratification by each
member. This makes it a legal document
which all member states
have agreed to and are expected to
adjust their national laws in compliance.
A protocol enters into force 30
days after the deposit of the instruments
of ratification by two-thirds
of SADC member states, and is
binding only on the member states
that are party to it. After a protocol
has entered into force, a member
state may become a party only by
accession.
Each protocol must be registered
by the SADC Executive Secretary,
the Secretariat of the United Nations
Organization and the Commission
of the African Union.
Stakeholders

In pursuance of the objectives of its
Tre a t y, SADC seeks to involve
fully, the people of the region and
key stakeholders in the process of
regional integration. SADC is committed
to cooperation with key
stakeholders in contributing to the
objectives of the Treaty in the areas
of co-operation, in order to foster
closer relations among the communities,
associations and people of
the region.
Summit

The Summit of SADC Heads of
State and Government is the ultimate
policy-making institution,
with responsibility for the policy
direction and cont
rol of functions of
the Community. The
Summit meets at
least once a
year, usually
in August or
September, in one
of the member states.
During the Summit, the outgoing
Chairperson hands over to the
Deputy, and a new Deputy is elected
to chair the following year.
The Troika

The Troika is made up of the
immediate past, current and forthcoming
SADC Chairpersons, and
enables the implementation of
tasks and decisions as well as the
p rovision of policy direction to
SADC institutions in the period
between the regular Summits. The
Troika system operates at the level
of the Summit, and also for the
O rgan on Politics, Defence and
Security, the Council of Ministers
and the Standing Committee of
Officials.
Council of Ministers

Ministers from each member state
sit in Council, usually from the
Ministries of Foreign Affairs and
Economic Development, Planning
or Finance. The Council is responsible
for supervising and monitoring
the functions and development
of SADC, and ensuring that policies
are properly implemented, as
well as making recommendations
to Summit. Council meets before
the Summit and at least one other
time during the year, and is
chaired by the country that is
chairing SADC.
Integrated Committee
of Ministers

This is a new institution aimed at
ensuring proper policy guidance,
coordination and harmonisation of
cross-sectoral activities. It is constituted
by at least two ministers
from each member state and it is
responsible to Council.
Standing Committee of
Officials

The Standing Committee consists
of one Permanent/Principal
Secretary or an official of equivalent
rank from each member state.
This Committee is a technical advisory
committee to Council, and
meets in advance of Council,
chaired by the same country that is
chairing SADC.
Tribunal

Once established, the Tribunal will
ensure adherence to, and proper
interpretation of, the provisions of
the SADC Treaty and subsidiary
instruments, and adjudicate upon
disputes referred to it.
SADC National Committees

These Committees are composed
of key stakeholders from government,
private sector and civil society
in SADC member states. Their
main function is to provide inputs
at the national level into the formulation
of regional policies,
strategies and planning, as well as
to coordinate and guide the implementation
at national level. The
Committees are also responsible
for the initiation of projects.
Secretariat

This is the principal executive institution
of SADC, and is responsible
for strategic planning, co-ordination
and management of SADC programmes,
and implementation of
the regional strategic plan. The senior
official is an Executive Secretary
and its headquarters are in
Gaborone, Botswana.
In contrast to the countrybased
coordination of sectoral
activities, SADC has now adopted
a more centralised appro a c h
through which the 21 Co-ordinating
Units have been grouped into
four Directorates:
 Trade, Industry, Finance and
Investment (TIFI)

 Infrastructure and Services
(I &S)

 Food, Agriculture, and Natural
Resources (FANR)

 Social and Human
Development and Special
Programmes.


title:
SADC Mission congratulates the people of Zimbabwe for "peaceful, transparent,credible, and well-managed elections, which reflect the will of the people

Abstract:
SADC ELECTION OBSERVER MISSION Preliminary Statement by the Hon. Phumzile
Mlambo Ngcuka on the Zimbabwe Parliamentary Elections held on 31 March 2005


Abstract:
Namibia's incoming President, Hifikepunye Pohamba, sworn in on 21
March, acknowledged during the election campaign that one of the ch a llenges
before him is maintaining the legacy of his predecessor, President Sam
Nujoma.

body:
Namibia's incoming President, Hifikepunye Pohamba, sworn in on 21
March, acknowledged during the election campaign that one of the ch a llenges
before him is maintaining the legacy of his predecessor, President Sam
Nujoma.

Nujoma led his country to independence
from apartheid South Africa on
21 March 1990 following a liberation
war that lasted 24 years. He is
re v e red for nurturing Namibia's
young democracy, bringing about
unity and peace among its multiracial
population, as well as maintaining
a stable and pro s p e ro u s
economy.
A key challenge for the incoming
president is to complete the land
reforms started when he was Lands
and Resettlement Minister in the
outgoing government. Like most
other southern African countries,
Namibia is trying to ensure that
land, a strategic resource, is equitably
distributed among all social
classes and used productively.
Pohamba's new cabinet effectively
eliminated seven ministries and
one agency by merging some functions,
and created 10 new ministries
and agencies in their place. Six ministries
and one agency have also been
reorganised.
He appointed Nahas Angula as
Prime Minister and Libertina
Amathila as Deputy Prime Minister.
Marco Hausiku has retained his position
as Minister of Foreign Affairs.
The outgoing Prime Minister, Theo-
Ben Gurirab, was elected Speaker of
the National Assembly.
Amathila was one of 10 women
appointed to senior positions in the
new administration, including five
cabinet ministers, three deputy ministers
and the deputy speaker of parliament.
Pohamba also upgraded gender
to a full ministry of gender equality
and child welfare.


Abstract:
THE SECOND president of the Republic of Namibia, Hifikepunye Pohamba, has
dedicated his life to the liberation and development of his country.

body:
Hifikepunye Pohamba

President of Namibia
THE SECOND president of the Republic of Namibia, Hifikepunye Pohamba, has
dedicated his life to the liberation and development of his country.
Born on 18 August 1935 in Okanghudi in northern Namibia, Pohamba was educated
in missionary schools and shares similar liberation struggle credentials with
the first president, Sam Nujoma.
In 1960, Nujoma, Pohamba and others founded the South West Africa People´s
Organisation (SWAPO) that fought for Namibia´s independence from South African
occupation.
Pohamba was first arrested in 1961, then went to Dar es Salaam, and returned
to Windhoek in 1962. Two years later, when Zambia became independent, he was
sent to Lusaka to open a Swapo office.
He was elected to the central committee in 1970 as deputy secretary for administration.
He represented the party in north-west Africa, and became the chief representative
in east Africa in 1973. He did his military training between 1974 and
1978 in Tanzania and Zambia, and he also studied in Russia, pursuing social and
political studies.
Pohamba became a member of the Political Bureau of Swapo and Officer-in-
Charge of Swapo in Zambia as well as Secretary for Finance. He continued to serve
as secretary for finance after moving to the Swapo provisional headquarters in
Luanda. He headed the Swapo elections directorate in 1989, and was elected to the
Constituent Assembly.
At independence in 1990, he became the first Minister of Home Affairs until
1995 when he was appointed Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources. In 1999
he was appointed Minister without Portfolio, until 2001, when he became Minister
of Lands, Resettlement and Rehabilitation.
In the party structures, Pohamba was elected as Secretary-General of Swapo in
1997, and Vice President in 2002.
Pohamba was selected as presidential candidate at the Swapo congress in May last
year and he won the presidential election in November with 75 percent of the vote.
Nujoma will remain president of the party until the next party congress in 2007.
Pohamba is married to Penexupiso and has six children.


title:
Mozambique provides business opportunities for rapid economic expansion

Abstract:
THE NEW government in
Mozambique has unveiled an ambitious
five-year plan for rapid economic
expansion to improve social
and rural development, and to
s t rengthen “the national business
class”.

body:
THE NEW government in
Mozambique has unveiled an ambitious
five-year plan for rapid economic
expansion to improve social
and rural development, and to
s t rengthen “the national business
class”.
The objective of the programme,
presented to the national assembly
by the government of President
Armando Guebuza, is to reduce
poverty and regional disparity, and
fast-track the country toward a higher
level of socio-economic prosperity.
After approval by the assembly,
it will provide the framework for
all annual planning and national
budgets.
The new plan proposes to create
an environment favourable to investment
and business, and “conducive
to expanding the private initiative,
action and investment of citizens
and their institutions.”
The five-year plan proposes to
reduce the levels of absolute poverty
in the country, “through the promotion
of rapid, sustainable and wideranging
economic growth, focusing
attention on creating an environment
favourable to investment and
to developing the national business
class.”
The government pledges to “pay
greater attention to activity aimed at
the accelerated and sustainable
development of the rural areas, and
will multiply initiatives aimed at creating
wealth in the countryside, as
its fundamental strategy for the
struggle against poverty.”
Women “will be at the centre of
attention… seeking to ensure that
they enjoy equality of opportunities
and rights, raising their educational
level, and strengthening their role as
educators of future generations.”
The far-reaching plan which aims
to address inertia in the economy
and the society, says the role of the
State is to encourage the growth of
human capital, and of economic and
social infrastructure, and to provide
basic services.
In addition to poverty reduction,
the five-year plan emphasises ¡°the
necessary efforts to consolidate
national unity, peace and democracy;
the self-esteem of citizens; the
struggle against corruption and red
tape; and the strengthening of
national sovereignty and international
cooperation."
It also promises to revise the
country's labour legislation to
ensure "greater flexibility of the
labour market".


Abstract:
ANGOLA PLANS to open its first
stock exchange in the third quarter
of this year, according to the country's
ministry of industry. Ten 10
companies will trade on the bourse
with a combined market value
of more than US$6 billion.

body:
ANGOLA PLANS to open its first
stock exchange in the third quarter
of this year, according to the country's
ministry of industry. Ten 10
companies will trade on the bourse
with a combined market value
of more than US$6 billion.
The ministry said that in
the SADC region only
Angola, Tanzania and the
Democratic Republic of
Congo do not have stock
markets. (Business
Report)


title:
SA call centres can now say hello to the world

Abstract:
SOUTH AFRICA has put itself on
the map as a viable competitor in the
lucrative business of offshore call
centres. This has been made possible
through a radical shake-up of the
telecommunications sector.

body:
SOUTH AFRICA has put itself on
the map as a viable competitor in the
lucrative business of offshore call
centres. This has been made possible
through a radical shake-up of the
telecommunications sector.
The government's removal of regulations
that have for a long time protected
the monopoly of the country's
biggest player in telecommunications,
Telkom, has opened up opportunities
for call-centre players to compete
without any artificial price constraints.
Two changes were crucial: operators
can now legally use the Voice
Over Internet Protocol (VOIP), and
are no longer forced to route their
calls over Telkom's network.
This gives private operators full
control over the call quality and
saves them from paying Telkom's
tariffs, a move that could revolutionise
the industry.
Following this development, international
enthusiasm has been swift in
the industry. In 2004, despite being
limited by the cost of calls, the Western
Cape province won 11 international
call centre or business process outsourcing
deals. These deals created
2,000 jobs and generated investments.
Liberalisation in this industry is
vital for giving foreign companies
more freedom in how they operate.
International investors now have a
choice of operators and this will likely
boost their confidence in the
industry. (Business Day)


Abstract:
THE TANZANIAN Ministry of
Industry and Trade is encouraging the
use of Information and
Communication Technology as a
basic tool in business, saying that
those who do not utilise it effectively
will definitely be left behind in
today's competitive business world.

body:
THE TANZANIAN Ministry of
Industry and Trade is encouraging the
use of Information and
Communication Technology as a
basic tool in business, saying that
those who do not utilise it effectively
will definitely be left behind in
today's competitive business world.
The Tanzania Chamber of
Commerce, Industry and Agriculture
(TCCIA) has been training business
people in ICT skills such as office
automation, computerised accounting
and website design and development.
(The Express)


Abstract:
ANGOLA HOSTED the fifth
International Forum on Information
Technologies of the SADC banks in
March.

body:
ANGOLA HOSTED the fifth
International Forum on Information
Technologies of the SADC banks in
March. The meeting discussed the
updating of information technology
systems of SADC central banks, as
well as improvement, supervision
and monitoring of the monetary
activities in SADC countries.


Abstract:
THE SADC Council of Ministers has
resolved that the crucial Western
Corridor Project (Westcor) should be
extended to all 13 Member States.

body:
THE SADC Council of Ministers has
resolved that the crucial Western
Corridor Project (Westcor) should be
extended to all 13 Member States.
The energy project is a joint venture currently involving Angola,
Botswana, the Democratic Republic
of Congo (DRC), Namibia and South
Africa, to strengthen the flow of electricity
through the region by tapping
the huge potential of the Inga rapids
on the Congo river.
Council directed, at its meeting
in Mauritius in February, that there
should be a SADC-wide representation
of ministers on the steering committee
of the project.


Abstract:
SOUTH AFRICA'S Eskom Holdings
has offered to buy as much as 900
megawatts of power from Zimbabwe
once the expansion of that country's
biggest power station is complete.

body:
SOUTH AFRICA'S Eskom Holdings
has offered to buy as much as 900
megawatts of power from Zimbabwe
once the expansion of that country's
biggest power station is complete.
Zimbabwe, working with Chinese
investors, plans to boost the generating
capacity of the Kariba hydroelectric
power station and the coal-fired
Hwange station. (Business Report)


Abstract:
ANGOLA'S STATE-OWNED oil
company, Sonangol, and British
Petroleum (BP) have announced the
discovery of a new oil well named
Palas-1, in the deep waters of the
Angolan offshore .

body:
ANGOLA'S STATE-OWNED oil
company, Sonangol, and British
Petroleum (BP) have announced the
discovery of a new oil well named
Palas-1, in the deep waters of the
Angolan offshore . According to a
press release, this is the fifth discovery
after the Pluto, Saturn, Mars and
Venus oil discoveries. Palas-1 is
located in a new potential area that is
expected to produce about 5,330 barrels
of oil per day. (ANGOP)


title:
Revisiting the SADC arts, culture festival

Abstract:
ALTHOUGH THERE has been
no official critical evaluation of
the SADC Arts and Culture
Festival that has been made public,
it is a well-known fact that it
has been difficult for SADC to
achieve the original objectives of
the festival.

body:
ALTHOUGH THERE has been
no official critical evaluation of
the SADC Arts and Culture
Festival that has been made public,
it is a well-known fact that it
has been difficult for SADC to
achieve the original objectives of
the festival.
One such objective was to use
the festival to build the SADC
community. To achieve this objective
the festival was to become a
very regular occasion that brings
the ordinary people of the member
states together.
The SADC Music Festival held
in Harare in 1995 was the first in
the implementation of the idea of
the SADC Arts and Culture
Festival. Since 1995 the
Community has held four other
festivals namely the SADC Theatre
Festival in Maputo, the SADC
Dance Festival in Harare and the
SADC Multi–discipline Arts
Festival in Johannesburg.
Through this event the people
of the SADC would know each
other's cultures and appre c i a t e
their common origin. The SADC
Arts and Culture Festival was
therefore expected to enable the
community to regularly celebrate
its rich cultural diversity. The
event was also expected to foster
the growth of cultural industries
that would contribute to the economic
development of the
community.
Through Arts and Culture
Festivals the world at large was
expected to patronise and consume
effectively the arts and culture
of the region. These cultural
events were expected to become
major tourist attractions. It was
expected that through the missions
of the SADC member states in different
parts of the world, a calendar
of SADC Arts and Culture
Festivals would be distributed to
tour operators, cultural promoters
and artists organisations.
By participating in the SADC
Arts and Culture Festival, artists
from the region were expected to
form partnerships that were to initiate
viable international performing arts tours. Through the festival
the artists were expected to attract
the attention of promoters who
would then organise regular and
viable performing arts tours in different
member states.
Many of the above mentioned
objectives have not been achieved.
The festivals have not been regularly
held. And when they have
been held, they have not been adequately
promoted. The people of
the SADC have not crossed borders
in large numbers to consume
the arts and culture of the community.
In many cases it is only the
artists who have crossed borders to
attend SADC Arts and Culture
Festivals. In fact the festivals have
remained low key and insignificant
to the mass media of the
SADC, the tourism industry and
cultural promoters.
The cost of holding these festivals
has become unbearable to
most member states, while the idea
of accommodating the private sector
in funding the festivals has not
been well promoted.
In the early 1990s when the
committee of officials in the then
SADC Sector of Culture and
Information debated the idea of
the SADC Arts and Culture
Festival, there were strong views
against the festival being organised by departments of ministries
of culture on their own.
It seems that the initial efforts to
involve artists and their national
organisations in the development of
these festivals has predominantly
become the responsibility of the
governments of member states. In
many cases it is only the hosting
member states where artists and
their organisations are engaged in
the organisation of the festivals and
their review. In participating member
states there is little engagement
of artists and their organisations in
the selection of participants and the
production of programmes to be
presented at the festival.
This poor involvement of
artists and their organisations in
planning and review of the
SADC Arts and Culture Festival
has been responsible for the
rather bureaucratic and over-centralised
manner in which this
event is planned and managed.
As a result artists find it diff i c u l t
to see these festivals as their
events.
There are no clear processes for
the artists to influence governments
concerning the content and
format of the festivals. Most
national arts organisations only
become involved a few weeks
before the staging of the festival.
This is often limited to identifying
participating artists. Even this
process is often limited to a few
urban groups that are chosen without
involving their national arts
organisations for the publicity of
programmes created for the
regional cultural events.
In many respects there f o re ,
SADC has found it difficult to
make the SADC Arts and Culture
Festival a major concern of national
arts associations.
The author, Stephen Joel Chifunyise, is
a playwright, theatre expert and
former Permanent Secretary of the
Ministry of Education Sport and
Culture of Zimbabwe and was on the
organising committee of the SADC
Arts and Culture Festival.


Abstract:
THIS LONG overdue biography of the
architect of the struggle for freedom and
democracy in South Africa was well worth
the wait. It is an accessible and comprehensive
insight into the life of Oliver Reginald
Kaizana Tambo, based on his family
archives and some of his own recollections
prepared several years ago.

body:
THIS LONG overdue biography of the
architect of the struggle for freedom and
democracy in South Africa was well worth
the wait. It is an accessible and comprehensive
insight into the life of Oliver Reginald
Kaizana Tambo, based on his family
archives and some of his own recollections
prepared several years ago.
"A biography is a genre that is not quite
a history nor quite a novel," says the
author, Luli Callinicos, and she succeeds in
capturing both that "other country", the
past, and a particular life within it.
President Thabo Mbeki, who worked
closely with Tambo throughout their 30 years
of exile, describes him as the "key architect of
our revolution who carried the South African
nation to the eve of freedom and democracy".
Mbeki says in the Foreword to the book
that Tambo´s "life and character are a
metaphor of our struggle."
OR Tambo played a central role in
developing the ANC and shaping its constitutions
from the 1940s through the 1980s,
placing respect for human rights at the centre
of ANC policy. He led the ANC through
the struggle in exile while his legal partner
and friend, Nelson Mandela, languished on
Robben Island, and he masterminded the
Harare Declaration in 1989, the roadmap of
the negotiations to end apartheid.
Tambo saw the process begin and made it
home to South Africa, but succumbed to illness
in April 1993, at the age of 75.
With some very historic and rare photographs,
many of them from the Tambo family
album, this book is a collector´s
item.
Published by David Philip
Publishers, an imprint of New
Africa Books in Cape Town,
2005.


title:
Cronica dos dias de Roma Negociacoes de paz de Mocambique

Abstract:
THIS IS the first account by a Mozambican
of the peace negotiations in Rome that lasted
for two years and produced an accord to
end the war in Mozambique.

body:
THIS IS the first account by a Mozambican
of the peace negotiations in Rome that lasted
for two years and produced an accord to
end the war in Mozambique. The author,
Tomas Vieira Mario, is a journalist who
covered the talks from start to finish, kept a
diary and developed a deep understanding
of what transpired. The peace accord on 4
October 1992 was signed by Afonso
Dhlakama, the president of the rebel force
RENAMO and the government´s chief
negotiator Armando Emelio Guebuza,
who was elected president of
Mozambique in December 2004.
Mozambique Peace Negotiations - C
Chronicle of the days in Rome published in
Portuguese by the Centre for Foreign and
International Studies (CEEI)of the Higher
Institute of International Relations (ISRI),
Maputo, 2005.


title:
25 years of SADC - rooted in strong historical bonds

Abstract:
REGIONAL CO-OPERATION and integration in southern Africa
owes its origins to historical, economic,
political, social and cultural
factors that have created strong
bonds of solidarity and unity
among the peoples of southern
Africa.

body:
SADC celebrates silver jubilee

After 25 years of existence, SADC is celebrating a distinct southern African
personality and identity that underpins political, economic and social cooperation,
which are at the centre of the achievement of the region's goals.
"For the past 25 years, SADC has endeavoured to create a dynamism
which has resulted in a sense of regional belonging and unity for the people
of the region," said a message from the SADC Chairperson, Prime
Minister Paul Berenger of Mauritius, to mark the occasion.



REGIONAL CO-OPERATION
and integration in southern Africa
owes its origins to historical, economic,
political, social and cultural
factors that have created strong
bonds of solidarity and unity
among the peoples of southern
Africa.
These factors have contributed
to the formation of a distinct
southern African personality and
identity that underpins political
and economic co-operation.
The formal establishment of structures to promote regional co-operation
and integration started as an initiative of the Frontline States, the original
members of which were Botswana, Tanzania and Zambia. This initiative
was directed initially towards the political liberation of the region.
From 1975, when the FLS grew to five members following the independence
of Mozambique and Angola, the leaders met regularly to coordinate
efforts, resources and strategies, in support of the national liberation
movements of southern Africa that were fighting against colonialism,
racism and white-minority rule. They also had to confront the military
and economic destabilization of majority-ruled states by apartheid
South Africa. The intensification of the struggle on both fronts strengthened
bonds of solidarity and the need for collective action.
Most of the countries of southern Africa had achieved political independence
by 1980, but against a background of poverty caused by colonial
economic policies that favoured the minority, damaged economic infrastructure,
and the threat of powerful and hostile white minority-ruled
neighbours. Thus, the leaders saw the promotion of economic and social
development through co-operation and integration as the next logical step
after political independence.
Accordingly, based on the outcome of the July 1979 Arusha Conference
which agreed on a strategy to launch the Southern Africa Development
Coordination Conference (SADCC), the nine majority-ruled states –
Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Tanzania,
Zambia and the soon-to-be independent Zimbabwe – met at Summit level
in April 1980 in Lusaka, and declared their commitment to pursue policies
aimed at economic liberation on the basis of a sustainable, integrated
development of their economies.
The Summit adopted the Lusaka Declaration entitled, “Southern
Africa: Towards Economic Liberation”.
A shared future within a regional community



body:
PUBLICATIONS
The Role of Regional Economic Communities
in the Implementation of NEPAD: the Case of
the Southern African Development
Community

Gaborone, Botswana, SADC, 2004
14pp.

This paper illustrates the relationship between SADC
and NEPAD in the development process of the African
region. Among other initiatives, issues addressed
include energy, transport, tourism, water, agriculture,
health, HIV and AIDS and environment.

Available from SADC P. Bag 0095, Gaborone,

Botswana Registry@sadc.int

Website www.sadc.int

Strategic Indicative Plan for the Organ on
Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation
(SIPO)

Gaborone, Botswana, SADC, 2004

85pp.

This document sets the framework and targets for
creating a peaceful and stable political and security
environment for southern Africa. SIPO is drawn
from the Protocol on Politics, Defence and Security
Cooperation and the Mutual Defence Pact.

Available from SADC


Education in Exile: SOMAFCO, the African
National Congress School in Tanzania, 1978 to
1992

Morrow, Sean; Maaba, Brown and Pulumani, Loyiso
Cape Town, South Africa, HSRC, 2004

232pp.

The book contains debates and difficulties
surrounding the formation of the school in exile
where the majority of the participants were away
from family and other support structures. It
examines the curriculum and the methods and
philosophies of teaching with all their contradictions
and paradoxes.

Available from HSRC Press, Human Sciences
Research Council, P. Bag X9182, Cape Town, 8000
South Africa
 publishing@hsrc.ac.za

Website www.hsrcpublishers.co.za

From Zaire to the Democratic Republic of the
Congo

Nzongola-Ntalaja, Georges

Uppsala, Sweden, Nordic Africa Institute, 2004

25pp.

An examination of the political and social situation
in the DRC since 1997. Also looks at prospects for a
successful political and social transition.

Available from The Nordic Africa Institute, P.O. Box
1703, SE-751 47, Uppsala, Sweden
 nai@nai.uu.se

Website www.nai.uu.se


Namibia 2004: Millennium Development Goals
Windhoek, Namibia, The National Planning
Commission, 2004

40pp.

The report reviews the status and trends in terms of
progress, the main challenges and opportunities in
reaching the Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs). It shows the achievements Namibia has
made so far in attaining the MDGs.

Available from Office of the President, The National
Planning Commission, Government Office Park, P.
Bag 133356, Windhoek, Namibia

Website www.grnnet.gov.na

Solemn Declaration on a Common African
Defence and Security Policy

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, African Union, 2004

33pp.

The declaration emphasises the need for close
cooperation between the AU and international as
well as regional organisations.

Available from The African Union, P.O. Box 3243,
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 
webmaster@africa-union.org

Website www.africa-union.org


Techno-Hype or Info-Hope? Southern African
Civil Society Tackles the World Summit on the
Information Society (WSIS)

Armstrong, Chris

Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Netherlands Institute
for Southern Africa, 2004

89pp.

This report records some of the valuable lobbying
activities performed and experiences gathered by
various stakeholders in the run up to and during the
Geneva phase of WSIS. The goal of this report is to
provide some insight into the impact these activities
have had on the WSIS to date.

Available from Netherlands Institute for Southern
Africa, P.O Box 10707, 100 ES Amsterdam, The
Netherlands 
niza@niza.nl

Website www.niza.nl



body:
April
4-6 Ethiopia
African Union Ministerial Meeting on Transport and Millennium Development Goals
8-9 South Africa
SADC- Southern Africa Editors Forum HIV and AIDS and Gender Workshop (SAEF)
The meeting is to develop ethical guidelines on reporting HIV and AIDS
6-10 Nigeria
First African Youth Summit on Globalization
Bringing together African youth from all over the continent who are actively responsible
in their NGOs and IGOs to deliberate on a broad African analysis of globalization.
11 South Africa
International Conference on HIV and AIDS, Food and Nutrition Security
Organised by the International Food Policy Research Institute, the conference provides
a forum for scholars and practitioners to share research and operational experience.
26-1/05 Zimbabwe
Harare International Festival of the Arts
A multi-cultural celebration of the arts encompassing theatre, visual arts, dance and music
all over Zimbabwe, the southern African region and elsewhere in the world.
28 Mauritius
SADC/India Forum
A ministerial interaction between SADC and India based on a partnership
arrangement reached in 2003.

May
16-27 UN, New York
Forum on Millennium Development Goals and Indigenous people
The forum will focus on eradication of poverty and hunger, and achieving
universal primary education.
17-19 South Africa
Export Africa 2005 Exhibition
The first multi-sectoral export exhibition showcasing Africa's exporters and
manufacturers to potential trading partners from across the globe.

June
1-3 South Africa
Africa Economic Summit
Organised by the World Economic Forum, the summit brings together private sector, civil
society and political leaders to discuss trade and investment opportunities in Africa.
1-15 Tanzania
Gender Training on Policy and HIV and AIDS
The course focuses on enhancing the capacities of senior- level actors, policy makers and
managers working in HIV and AIDS issues in the region on gender and policy issues.
12-16 Qatar
Second South Summit
The summit brings together Heads of State and Government from most of the
developing nations, to meet in Doha, Qatar to discuss South-South cooperation in
trade and investment.
20-22 Lesotho
Regional Adjudication on the SADC Media Awards
To adjudicate on the entries for the 2005 competition.
29-30 Malawi
Fifth Consultative Partners Meeting of the Global Water Partnership Southern Africa

July
3-4 Libya
African Union 5th Ordinary Session of the Assembly
Annual meeting of African Heads of State and Government.
6-8 Scotland
G8 Summit
Under the United Kingdom presidency, the summit will focus on African challenges and
climate change.
10-13 Canada
15th World Conference on Disaster Management
Delegates will examine traditional concepts and methods of managing disasters.
The theme is “The Changing Face of Disaster Management - Defining the New Normal".


body:
CURRENCY
Country Currency (US $1)
Angola Kwanza ( 100 Iwei) 82.90
Lesotho Maloti (100 lisente) 5.90
Mauritius Rupee (100 cents) 28.85
South Africa Rand (100 cents) 5.78
Zambia Kwacha (100 ngwee) 4,720.00
Botswana Pula (100 thebe) 4.36
Madagascar Magache Franc 9,150.00
Mozambique Metical (100 centravos) 18,350.00
Swaziland Lilangeni (100 cents) 5.78
Zimbabwe Dollar (100 cents) 6,200.00
DRC Congo Franc 484.00
Malawi Kwacha (100 tambala) 108.05
Namibia Dollar (100 cents) 5.78
Tanzania Shilling (100 cents) 1,108.00
February 2005



body:
Public Holidays in SADC
May – July 2005
1 May Labour/Workers Day All
2 May Public Holiday Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe
2 May Maulid Day (subject to
sighting of moon) Tanzania
5 May Ascension Day Botswana, Lesotho,
Swaziland, Namibia
17 May Liberation Day DRC
25 May Africa Day Angola, Lesotho, Namibia,
Zambia, Zimbabwe
1 June International Children's Day Angola
14 June Freedom Day Malawi
16 June Youth Day South Africa
24 June Fisherman's Day DRC
25 June Independence Day Mozambique
30 June Independence Day DRC
1 July Sir Seretse Khama Day Botswana
4 July Heroes Day Zambia
5 July Unity Day Zambia
6 July Independence Day Malawi
7July Saba Saba Tanzania
17 July King's Birthday Lesotho
18 July President's Day Botswana
19 July Public Holiday Botswana
22 July Public Holiday Swaziland



title:
SADC welcomes Namibia's peaceful change of leadership

Abstract:
NEIGHBOURING COUNTRIES have commended Namibia for 15
years of independence and a peaceful transition of leadership.

body:
NEIGHBOURING COUNTRIES have commended Namibia for 15
years of independence and a peaceful transition of leadership.
In a tribute to the outgoing President, Sam Nujoma, from the
Southern African Development Community (SADC), the Tanzanian
president, Benjamin Mkapa, a member of the current SADC troika, said
Nujoma leaves behind "a strong democratic tradition and a country that
is at peace with itself and with its neighbours."
He also commended Nujoma for stepping down in a timely manner.
"You are peacefully leaving office when the people of Namibia still love
and respect you. You rightly join the ranks of retired elder African
statesmen, and in Africa we love and respect our elders."
The new president of the normally arid country was inaugurated in
a ceremony blessed by rainfall and attended by eight SADC heads of
state as well as the chairperson of the African Union.
The inauguration ceremony was attended by King Letsie of Lesotho,
Swaziland's King Mswati, and Presidents Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe,
Benjamin Mkapa of Tanzania, Festus Mogae of Botswana, Thabo Mbeki
of South Africa, Zambia's Levy Mwanawasa, Angola¡¯s Jose Eduardo
dos Santos and Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria, the current chairperson
of the African Union.


Abstract:
The Protocol on Politics, Defence
and Security Cooperation, signed in
August 2001, was ratified and
entered into force on 2 March 2004,
giving a legal framework to the
Organ, whose objective is to promote
peace and security in the region.

body:
The Protocol on Politics, Defence
and Security Cooperation, signed in
August 2001, was ratified and
entered into force on 2 March 2004,
giving a legal framework to the
Organ, whose objective is to promote
peace and security in the region.
Strategies and programmes are
elaborated through the Strategic
Indicative Plan for the Organ (SIPO)
on Politics, Defence and Security.
The Organ functions at the level
of Heads of State and Government
with a Chairperson and a Troika of
three leaders (the current, past and
next chairpersons) reporting to the
SADC Summit.
Chairperson and Deputy are elected
for one year on the basis of rotation
from among the members of the
SADC Summit, except that the
Chairperson and Deputy of the
Summit cannot be simultaneously
Chairperson of the Organ. The
Chairperson of the
Organ consults with the SADC
Troika and reports to the full Summit.
Ministerial Committee is made up of
the ministers responsible for foreign
affairs, defence, public security and
state security from the countries
party to the agreement. It meets at
least once a year but can meet more
often at the request of the ISPDC or
ISDSC.
Inter-State Politics and Diplomacy
Committee (ISPDC) meets at least
once a year, and is made up of ministers
responsible for foreign affairs.
This committee performs functions
relating to politics and diplomacy,
and reports to the Ministerial
Committee.
Inter-State Defence and Security
Committee (ISDSC) meets at least
once a year, and is made up of ministers
responsible for defence, public
security and state security.
The committee performs such
functions as may be necessary to
achieve the objectives of the Organ
relating to defence and security. It
also reports to the Ministerial
Committee.


Abstract:
FOLLOWING THE SADC Summit in August 2004, the SADC
Chairperson is Prime Minister Paul Berenger of Mauritius.

body:
FOLLOWING THE SADC Summit in August 2004, the SADC
Chairperson is Prime Minister Paul Berenger of Mauritius. Joining him
on the SADC Troika are the immediate past SADC Chairperson,
President Benjamin Mkapa of the United Republic of Tanzania and, as
Deputy, President Festus Mogae of Botswana. The President of
Botswana will become Chairperson at the SADC Summit in Gaborone
in August 2005.
The SADC Organ is made up of the current Chairperson, President
Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, the previous Chairperson, Prime Minister
Pakalitha Mosisili of Lesotho and as Deputy, President Hifikepunye
Pohamba of Namibia.


Abstract:
THE SADC Council of Ministers
has approved new recruitment
procedures that are based on a
quota system.

body:
THE SADC Council of Ministers
has approved new recruitment
procedures that are based on a
quota system. No member state
can hold more than one position
in the top seven - the posts of
executive secretary, deputy executive
secretary, chief director and
the four directors. Further, at least
one of the top three posts must be
held by a woman. For vacant
positions, member states are now
required to submit four candidates
of which 50 percent shall
be female.


Abstract:
COUNCIL APPROVED the holding
of the inaugural session of
the SADC-India Forum on 28
April in Mauritius, at ministerial
level.

body:
COUNCIL APPROVED the holding
of the inaugural session of
the SADC-India Forum on 28
April in Mauritius, at ministerial
level. The agenda includes:

griculture, in particular irrigation,
agro-engineering, dry
land farming, and seed technology;
trade and investment;
water resources management;
promotion of small and
medium scale industries and
entrepreneurial development;
drugs and pharmaceuticals;
human resources development;
and
information and communication
technologies.


title:
A call to action Investment Trade... and Aid

Abstract:
THE SECOND half of 2005 abounds with events
and processes that are of crucial importance to
southern Africa's development agenda.

body:
by Munetsi Madakufamba


THE SECOND half of 2005 abounds with events
and processes that are of crucial importance to
southern Africa's development agenda.
Like other developing regions, southern Africa
is more and more having to deal with the paradoxical
question of choosing between development
aid or investment and trade. But the reality
of development and the lessons of history would
suggest that soft options or quick fix solutions are
least likely to address perennial poverty challenges.
In recent self-assessments, SADC has confirmed
a reality that faces not only this region, but also the
entire developing world, that unless major multifaceted
interventions are put in place, most if not
all of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
will not be met.
Thus the Africa Economic Summit in Cape
Town, the African Union Summit in Libya and the
G8 Summit in Scotland are some of the major
events that southern Africans will be looking at
with a keen interest. Equally important will be
SADC's Silver Jubilee Summit in Botswana and
the UN Millennium Review Summit in New York.
These events, while independent of each other
in ownership, are interlinked and complementary
in many ways, and above all, their outcomes are
always of fundamental significance to millions of
southern African citizens.
The Africa Economic Summit, organized by the
Swiss-based World Economic Forum, has become
the annual gathering of leaders of business, politics
and civil society. This year's summit sought to
“reinforce the message that Africa is on the move
and open for business” and highlighted the “key
role of the private sector as the driver of Africa's
regeneration”.
While seeking to consolidate a
stable and business-friendly political
environment on the continent,
the AU summit is also expected to
review its three-year economic programme,
the New Partnership for
Africa's Development (NEPAD).
Concerns have been raised that the
NEPAD programme has been slow
in taking off, principally due to lack
of financial resources despite having
been enthusiastically received
by the international community
when it was launched.
Furthermore, the NEPAD
Secretariat revealed at the Africa
Economic Summit in Maputo last
year that the private sector had
shown little interest in its 20 priority
infrastructure projects. And the
US$64 million annual budget
needed to finance the entire
NEPAD project has not been forthcoming
either.
This is partly why Africa will
be following proceedings at the
Gleneagles G8 Summit with a keen
interest. The UK, France, Germany,
US, Japan, Italy and Canada form
the Group of Seven (G7) and with
Russia the Group of Eight (G8) –
the world's most financially powerful
countries.
The UK currently holds the
rotating G8 pre s i d e n c y, and
t h rough the Commission for
Africa, British Prime Minister Tony
Blair has pledged to prioritise the
continent, making Africa one of
the two key themes of the
Gleneagles Summit.
There is no doubt that more resolute
action and delivery on commitments
are required if existing
partnerships are to spur Africa into
achieving its development goals.
For SADC, targets under the
Regional Indicative Strategic
Development Plan (RISDP)
cannot be divorced from
NEPAD goals and MDGs,
which are a set of development
objectives that
world leaders signed up
to at the UN Millennium Summit in
2000.
As NEPAD Executive Secretary
P rof. Wiseman Nkuhlu says,
“NEPAD will be judged by
progress towards the MDGs”, so
shall the RISDP.
The Millennium Review
Summit will assess progress over
the last five years and presumably
recommend what realistic measures
would be needed if the 2015
target year by which most of the
MDGs, including halving of global
poverty, is to be met.
Progress to date has been slow
and the crucial role of the G8 in
providing development aid is
paramount for the RISDP, NEPAD
and MDG targets to be attained.
Thus the Africa Economic
Summit's “call to action” is a call for
all – the private sector, civil society
and governments, as much as it is
for SADC, Africa and the G8.
For Africa to attain MDGs, says
Prof. Nkuhlu, it “means economic
development on an unprecedented
scale”.
Official development assistance
(ODA) has not reached the UN target
of 0.7 percent of national
income agreed to a decade ago at
the Earth Summit in Brazil.
According to the Organisation for
Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD), in 2004 the
US remained the largest aid donor
in volume terms followed by Japan,
France, the UK and Germany.
Denmark, Luxembourg, the
Netherlands, Norway and Sweden
were the only countries to exceed
the UN target for ODA of 0.7 percent
of gross national income.
OECD says while ODA t o
developing countries increased to
an all time high of US$78.6 billion
in 2004, several factors accounted
for that. These include more aid
to Afghanistan and Iraq, but
sadly less for Africa. One hopes
that for 2005, Africa is not going
to suffer from the “t s u n a m i aid
effect”.
And for southern Africa's
poverty eradication agenda, development
aid is as important as
investment and trade. This is why
initiatives such as the Africa
Economic Summit, which has
developed a penchant for the
SADC region, are of crucial importance.
Over the years, the Africa
Economic Summit has grown in
stature, insofar as it provides the
platform for role players to evaluate
the business opportunity that
the continent offers while critiquing
policy constraints that hinder
trade and investment.
The region abounds with
examples of successful public-private
sector partnerships, so highly
promoted by the economic summit
– the Maputo Corridor (which
hosts the Mozal aluminium
smelter project among others), the
Trans Kalahari Highway, and
many more.
But perhaps southern Africa's
most untapped potential remains in
its abundant natural resources,
including a wide range of minerals.
SADC statistics show that mining
remains the mainstay of most
economies of the southern African
region, contributing 60 percent to
foreign exchange earnings, 10 percent
to gross domestic product
(GDP) and 5 percent to employment.
Nine of SADC's 13 member
states are considered "mining
countries". Key metals and minerals
from these countries include
asbestos, coal, cobalt, copper,
chromites, diamonds, gold, nickel,
platinum, vanadium and zinc.
However, with the volatile
n a t u re of world mineral prices, the
bulk of recent foreign dire c t
investment (FDI) inflow has been
to the oil producing countries of
the region -- Angola and South
Africa.
While FDI is good for growth
and development, caution has to
be shown to ensure that it is not
just an ¡°extraction of wealth and
very little else¡±, to use the words of
South African Finance Minister
Trevor Manuel. This is most sensitive
in the mining sector, hence the
importance of emphasis on mineral
beneficiation.
Similarly, access to world markets
without due emphasis on
industrial expansion at home and
greater intra-regional trade as promoted
by the SADC Free Trade
Area is less likely to help the
region attain its RISDP and other
development targets.
On the whole, aid, investment
and trade are all necessary elements
of the recipe that southern
Africa re q u i res to successfully
attain its broad development goals
as laid down in the RISDP, NEPAD
and MDG frameworks.


title:
Ministers set agenda for African Union summit

Abstract:
AFRICAN FOREIGN ministers
who met in Addis Ababa in May
have set the tone for the African
Union summit to be held in Libya
in July where the reform of the
United Nations and the budget for
the continent's programmes are
expected to top the agenda of the
meeting of heads of state.

body:
by Hopewell Radebe


AFRICAN FOREIGN ministers
who met in Addis Ababa in May
have set the tone for the African
Union summit to be held in Libya
in July where the reform of the
United Nations and the budget for
the continent's programmes are
expected to top the agenda of the
meeting of heads of state.
A Committee of 10 composed
of selected AU foreign ministers
was formed following the adoption
of the Ezwulini Consensus in
Swaziland by the AU's Executive
Council of Foreign Ministers. This
is Africa's official position on the
reform of the UN Security Council,
development and security issues.
The Ezulwini Consensus proposes,
among others, two permanent
seats and five non-permanent
seats for Africa as part of the
reformed UN Security Council.
However, the committee has not
revealed the names of countries and
the structure of how they would
rotate or be given the permanent
seats in the UN Security Council.
The AU Executive Council has
also charged the Committee of 10
foreign ministers with the responsibility
of popularising and mobilising
support for Africa's position
re g a rding the reform of the UN
Security Council, including interaction
with the Secre t a r y - G e n e r a l ,
Kofi Annan, and the General
Assembly President, Jean Ping.
The AU summit is expected to
pronounce on the formula and criteria
of payments that will be applicable
for member states based on
variety of issues including economic
strength and political stability in
terms of adherence to the principles
good governance prescribed by
the AU founding document.
The search for ways to stimulate
regional development blocks and
inter-regional trade mechanisms in
Africa continues to be a priority for
the AU. The biggest obstacle facing
the continent has been that many
African countries still conduct more
trade with their former colonial
masters than with each other.
The AU is trying to change this
situation by making trade within
Africa easier through reducing
bureaucratic obstacles. The summit
will receive progress reports on this
issue, with the continent's leaders
expected to vote on recommendations
that, among other things, call
for the relaxation of legislation that
restricts trade among neighbours.
It is believed that the AU
Executive Council will also recommend
that the regional economic
blocks focus on building relations
with and entering into special
agreements with major economic
role players in other continents,
particularly the Middle East and
Asia.
The council has in past urged
the continent to explore other
avenues that will expand trade
and stimulate economic growth.
The idea included the diversification
of trade agreements to no
longer focus solely on fighting for
access to European markets.
The ultimate objective is to
eventually bring all African economic
blocks together and merge
these into one big economy. The
AU believes that with African economic
blocks negotiating as one
powerful entity, it will be easier to
bargain and gain mileage on the
table for various countries than
negotiating with individual 54
countries at the same time.


title:
Pan African Parliament undeterred by insufficient funds

Abstract:
TANZANIA'S GERTRUDE
Mongella, the first president of the
Pan African Parliament, has
reminded colleagues that Article 11
of the treaty establishing the parliament
enables the legislature to…

body:
TANZANIA'S GERTRUDE
Mongella, the first president of the
Pan African Parliament, has
reminded colleagues that Article 11
of the treaty establishing the parliament
enables the legislature to;
provide oversight for the budget
of the African Union,
 mobilise for harmonisation of
policies towards regional integration;
and,
make recommendations that
promote human rights, democratic
institutions and good
governance.

Forty-six countries have ratified
the parliament's protocol to date,
each electing five parliamentary
members including at least one
woman.
Since the opening of the parliament's
second sitting at Gallagher
Estate in Midrand, Johannesburg
early this year, the representatives
have been discussing the problem
of finance, and they have called for
the institution to be given adequate
re s o u rces to achieve its
objectives of promoting democracy,
unity and development.
Parliamentarians have proposed
that a Trust Fund be established
as an additional source of
funding for its activities.
Mongella said the
body operated without
a budget during
its first year of existence
last year, and the recent session
ended a week early to save
some money.
The AU had budgeted about
US$5 million this year to fund the
parliament. It was expected that a
substantial amount of that money
would be used to create 37 positions
needed to drive the parliament¡¯s
work. However, the leadership
says more money is needed to
meet other challenges.
Insufficient funds have not
deterred the Pan African Parliament
from striving to encourage parliamentarians
around Africa to spearhead
ratification of the Protocol to
the African Charter on Human and
People's Rights on the Rights of
Women in Africa.
Mongella urged the 256 parliamentarians
to ensure that their work
goes beyond being a talk-shop so
they can advance the issues that face
millions of Africans.
"For most poor people and especially
women in Africa, parliaments
still remain a far removed assert
from their day-to-day realities and
challenges," she said.
She said the credibility of the
Pan African Parliament should not
rest on the representational quality
but on the issues it espouses, the
causes it champions and the
changes it seeks to bring to the lives
of people across Africa.


Abstract:
UNITED NATIONS Secretary-General Kofi Annan has appointed former
Mozambican president Joaquim Chissano as a special envoy to champion
consensus on the proposed UN reforms.

body:
UNITED NATIONS Secretary-General Kofi Annan has appointed former
Mozambican president Joaquim Chissano as a special envoy to champion
consensus on the proposed UN reforms.
As one of five special envoys for different regions of the world,
Chissano will meet the heads of state and government in several African
countries to convey Annan`s agenda and discuss other matters in the runup
to the UN General Assembly in September.
The UN has produced a document to generate support for its
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and proposed UN reforms.
Chissano has visited Zimbabwe and his itinerary includes Algeria,
Egypt, Libya, South Africa and the United Republic of Tanzania.
Chissano, who stepped down as Mozambique¡¯s president in January
this year, has also been appointed Annan¡¯s special envoy tasked with
ensuring "peaceful and credible" presidential elections in the West African
state of Guinea-Bissau.


title:
A global partnership
Trade is key to development goals

Abstract:
ONE OF the UN Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) – to
develop a global partnership for
development – reflects concerns
regarding international trade and
the marginalisation of African
economies.

body:
ONE OF the UN Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) – to
develop a global partnership for
development – reflects concerns
regarding international trade and
the marginalisation of African
economies.
Trade is seen as a critical
requirement for African economies
to achieve the development goals
agreed by world leaders in 2000 as
targets for 2015 in health, education,
environment and gender issues.
The first goal is to halve the number
of people living in absolute poverty
by 2015, with a baseline of 1990.
Thus the marginalisation of
African countries in the international
trade regime is a challenge
to a continent that is trying to overcome
underdevelopment and
strengthen its position in the global
economic arena.
African leaders have acknowledged
that the responsibilities of
African states include:
 diversification;
 i n c reased competitiveness of
exports;
 improvement of infrastructure;
p romotion of intra-African
trade;
 reduction of export taxes; and
 i m p rovement of trade agre ements
at regional and continental
levels.

The New Partnership for
Africa's Development
(NEPAD), which identifies trade as
a critical ingredient in sustainable
development, sees a pivotal role
for the international community in
promoting African participation in
international trade.
NEPAD has identified actions
that should be taken by the international
community to stimulate
trade and thus development, such
as the facilitation of market access
for African producers, and the
removal of non-tariff barriers so
that African states have improved
market access where they possess
the comparative advantage of
industrialised countries.
African economies are vulnerable
because of their
dependence on primary
production and resource-
based sectors, and their
narrow export base, thus
the harmonisation of NEPAD and
MDG objectives to promote economic
growth with development is
critical.
For sub-Saharan Africa, the
2015 targets can be attainable only
with a radical change in international
trade and firm commitment
to the MDGs.
This can only be accomplished
by dedicated African leaders supported
by a developed world committed
to pledges of trade liberalisation
and additional aid.
NEPAD is the African Union's
framework for development.


title:
Namibia calls for fairness in fish trade

Abstract:
NAMIBIA HAS called on the
World Trade Organisation to ensure
that the process of globalisation of
the fish trade is fair to both developing
and developed countries.

body:
NAMIBIA HAS called on the
World Trade Organisation to ensure
that the process of globalisation of
the fish trade is fair to both developing
and developed countries.
The Ministry of Fisheries has
called for the creation of procedures,
rules and regulations and
common standards for transactions
in the fish trade.
Namibia has urged the World
Trade Organisation, which governs
the global fish trade, to ensure that
the process of globalisation is fair.
Developing countries export
more than 50 percent of fish to the
rest of the world. Fisheries play an
important role in the SADC region
in terms of formal and informal
employment, food security and
generation of economic benefits.


Abstract:
THE AFRICAN Union Commission and the NEPAD secretariat are preparing
an Africa Report on the progress and constraints to reaching the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on the continent.

body:
THE AFRICAN Union Commission and the NEPAD secretariat are preparing
an Africa Report on the progress and constraints to reaching the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on the continent.
The report will contribute to the development of an African Common
Position (ACP) on MDGs to be submitted to the AU Summit in July this
year for consideration as Africa's input into the Millennium Review
Summit at the UN headquarters in New York in September, on the fifth
anniversary of the launch of the MDGs.
To provide an accurate analysis of the progress and constraints to
reaching the MDGs in Africa, a wide range of interests need to be consulted
to broaden ownership and to render the MDGs more meaningful
to the development agenda.
The AU Commission and the NEPAD Secretariat will develop the report
through close collaboration with the Regional Economic Communities
(RECs) such as SADC, as well as UNDP and other bilateral partners.


Abstract:
A CONTINENTAL survey has recommended
that NEPAD should
establish a database on Information
Communications Technology (ICT)
in Africa.

body:
A CONTINENTAL survey has recommended
that NEPAD should
establish a database on Information
Communications Technology (ICT)
in Africa.
For ICT to take firm root on the
continent, the report cited the need
to establish a regional ICT think tank
and continental regulatory associations
to harmonise Africa's regulatory
framework.
In assessing the current status of
e-strategies across most of Africa, the
study found that enabling laws to
drive the initiative at national level
are largely non-existent.
Mauritius has been identified as
a good example of national e-strategy
implementation with its vision to
become a "cyber island".
The study noted that e-strategies
are in the early stages of development
in most countries while ongoing
projects such as e-learning, ehealth
and e-government are often
implemented without a framework.
The purpose of the study was to
assess the current situation of ICT on
the continent with the aim of identifying
technical and regulatory obstacles
that jeopardise the rapid development
of infrastructure, services
and applications. It also sought to
identify technical alternatives for
building the infrastructure.
Based on its findings, the report
stressed the need for a cooperation
mechanism among relevant institutions
driven by a regional approach
to developmental assistance.
There is also need to develop an
Africa-wide strategy, action plan and
implementation for ICT development.
This would be complemented
by harmonised policy and regulatory
frameworks throughout Africa.


Abstract:
NEPAD HAS launched a two-year
programme to improve the capacity
of civil society to engage in the public
participation process.

body:
NEPAD HAS launched a two-year
programme to improve the capacity
of civil society to engage in the public
participation process.
The implementation of NEPAD
p rojects and programmes require
that the public should be part of the
information-gathering and decisionmaking
cycles that directly affect
them.
The project, called Calabash,
consists of a suite of capacity-building
activities and outputs. The plan
should be ready by July 2005.


title:
Crop harvests reduced this season in southern Africa

Abstract:
MOST OF southern Africa is facing
reduced crop harvests as a
result of poor rains in the latter
half of the 2004/05 season.

body:
MOST OF southern Africa is facing
reduced crop harvests as a
result of poor rains in the latter
half of the 2004/05 season.
The areas affected include much
of Mozambique and Zimbabwe,
southern Angola, southern and central
Malawi, northern Namibia,
northern South Africa, and southern
Zambia. In contrast, the productive
central areas of South Africa had
good rains and have experienced
above-average crop performance
this season.
Maize production in particular
has been adversely affected and is
forecast to decline by between 10-
30 percent in most countries,
except South Africa.
Crop forecasting and estimation
surveys, which will provide a
more accurate indication of food
c rop production and available
food supplies for the 2005/06 consumption
year, are underway in
most countries of the region.
The results of the assessment
will form the basis for plans that
articulate appropriate interventions
and other programming
decisions
by donors, governments
and other
humanitarian organisations.
However, the current
cereal pro d u ction
(maize, w h e a t ,
r i c e , sorghum and
millet) is forecast at
23.83 million tonnes.
This is seven percent
lower than the 2004 harvest of 25.60
million tonnes.
The expected maize harvest in
South Africa is estimated at 11.79
million tonnes. The other main
maize producers such as
Zimbabwe, Malawi and Zambia
are expecting very poor harvests,
a c c o rding to the SADC Food,
A g r i c u l t u re and Natural
Resources (FANR) directorate.
Reduced production resulted
mainly from the poor rains during
the second half of the season
between January and March 2005.
Added to this is the problem of
inadequate access to fertiliser and
improved seeds, especially
for smallscale
farmers in countries
such as Malawi and
Zimbabwe, says FANR.
Current forecasts
indicate an aggregate
regional maize production
of about 19.13
million tonnes, which
is six percent down on
the 2004 harvest of
20.44 million tonnes
but four percent higher than the last
5-year average output of 18.31 million
tonnes.
Increases in maize harvest are
expected in Angola, Lesotho and
South Africa due to relatively better
rains during the 2004/05 season
than 2003/04 season.
An analysis by FANR of the
regional food balance indicates a
maize surplus of between 441,000
to 1,298,000 tonnes for 2005/06
marketing year. On average, the
2005/06 maize surplus is expected
to be lower than the 2004/05 surplus
of 1.10 million tonnes.
The analysis shows maize deficits
in all SADC member states except
South Africa. Of significance for the
region is the fact that the surplus in
South Africa is sufficient to cover
deficits in all SADC member states.
Depending on the price offered,
says FANR, member states with
maize deficits could potentially
reduce costs by buying from South
Africa. The SADC directorate adds
that "Hopefully this could also be
the source of food aid by the donor
community".


Abstract:
UNITED NATIONS special
envoy, James Morris, recently
visited five southern African
countries to assess how the UN
can complement national efforts
aimed at addressing food shortages
in some parts of the region
and the impact of HIV and AIDS.

body:
UNITED NATIONS special
envoy, James Morris, recently
visited five southern African
countries to assess how the UN
can complement national efforts
aimed at addressing food shortages
in some parts of the region
and the impact of HIV and AIDS.
Morris visited Botswana,
Malawi, South Africa, Zambia and
Zimbabwe where he held talks
with the respective governments.
The UN envoy held consultations
with SADC Executive Secretary,
Prega Ramsamy, in Botswana.
A number of countries in
southern Africa have been faced
with challenges in meeting their
food requirements over the past
few years due to reduced harvests
as a result of cyclone-induced
floods and successive droughts.
However, the SADC Food,
Agriculture and Natural Resources
(FANR) directorate says
the region has seen a steady
improvement on the food security
situation with the number of
people in need of humanitarian
assistance declining from 15.2
million people in March 2003 to
5.4 million by March 2005.
Final figures of how many
people will require assistance in
Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique,
Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe
are expected by the end of
June with early indications
pointing to a figure that could
eventually rise to 10 million people,
says the FANR.


title:
One year ago...
Dar es Salaam declaration outlines way forward on food security

Abstract:
JUST OVER a year ago, SADC leaders
met at an extra-ordinary summit
in Tanzania where they adopted a
comprehensive Declaration on
Agriculture and Food Security.

body:
JUST OVER a year ago, SADC leaders
met at an extra-ordinary summit
in Tanzania where they adopted a
comprehensive Declaration on
Agriculture and Food Security.
The declaration and action plan
reaffirm the region's commitment
to ensuring accelerated agricultural
development and sustainable
food security, “as a matter of
u rgency through multi-sectoral
strategic interventions in accordance
with the United Nations
Millennium Development Goals,
the Declarations of the World Food
Summit in 1996 and 2002, and the
Regional Indicative Strategic
Development Plan (RISDP)”.
Addressing the summit, host
President Benjamin Mkapa used
the African proverb that says,
“Where there is no shame there is
no honour”, in calling on his fellow
leaders to bring honour to
SADC by ensuring that the region
feeds itself on a sustainable basis.
The Dar es Salaam Declaration
identifies a number of priority
areas on which SADC should focus
in the short term (2004-2006) and
medium to long term (2004-2010).
Short term measures include the
need for member states to ensure
availability and access of key agricultural
inputs to farmers.
In particular, the summit
underscored the need to provide
t a rgeted support to vulnerable
farmers with key inputs such as
improved seed varieties, fertilizers,
agrochemicals, tillage services
and farm implements which are
critical to increased agricultural
production in the region.
Among other medium-to-longterm
measures, the leaders undertook
to ensure that all member
states must "progressively increase
financing to agriculture by allocating
at least 10 percent of.. national
budgets within a period of five
years in line with the African
Union Maputo Declaration on
Agriculture and Food Security of
July 2003."
In its communiqué, the summit
directed the SADC Integrated
Committee of Ministers to initiate
urgent follow-up activities in order
to expedite the implementation of
the declaration and the action plan.
The leaders agreed to "review
progress on the implementation of
the declaration at the end of every
two years from the date of signature."


title:
“Bending the arc”
NEPAD, UN join forces to lobby G8 Summit

Abstract:
THE EXECUTIVE head of the
NEPAD secretariat, Prof. Wiseman
Nkuhlu, has said Africa must speak
with one voice to ensure a productive
outcome from the annual summit
of Group of Eight (G8) leaders at
Gleneagles, Scotland on 6 July.

body:
THE EXECUTIVE head of the
NEPAD secretariat, Prof. Wiseman
Nkuhlu, has said Africa must speak
with one voice to ensure a productive
outcome from the annual summit
of Group of Eight (G8) leaders at
Gleneagles, Scotland on 6 July.
“It is critical that the partnership
between Africa, the G8 and
the countries of the Organisation
for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD) is consolidated.
Anything less will constrain
Africa's ability to achieve the
Millennium Development Goals.”
At a meeting scheduled for 4
July at London's Guildhall, the
NEPAD secretariat will join forces
with the United Nations, civil society
and private sector leaders to
deliver a united message to the G8
on the eve of their annual summit
in Gleneagles.
The London meeting is timed
to coincide with the annual summit
of the African Union in Libya.
A broadcast link will connect
the two events. The theme is
“Bending the Arc – the Business of
Attaining the MDGs in Africa”.
“In convening ‘Bending the Arc'
in London, NEPAD is currently
working with the African Union
Commission to carry out a series of
consultations with business, civil
society and governments across the
continent to raise awareness of the
MDGs. These consultations will
inform an African Common
Position (ACP).
“Bending the Arc is an opportunity
to present the ACP to international
partners and to coordinate
our efforts in pursuit of a new, more
equitable partnership to ensure that
African nations achieve the MDGs.”
“It is imperative that all stakeholders
mobilise forces for the massive
scaling up of innovation and
investment that will be required for
the achievement of the MDGs¡±, said
Mark Malloch Brown, chief of staff
to the UN secretary-general and
administrator of UNDP.
"That means not just governments
and international organisations
but most particularly the private
sector and civil society for
whom the MDGs will become a
primary focus for growth, productivity
and good governance.
"In the context of Africa,
NEPAD is leading the way."
Findings from Bending the Arc
will be presented to the UN
General Assembly when it meets
in September to review progress
on the MDGs. (NEPAD)


title:
“Silent tsunamis”
From short-term emergencies to basic development needs: Aid to Africa could double over the next decade

Abstract:
AFTER A decade of decline in aid
flows to Africa, the tide seems to
be turning.

body:
by Ernest Harsch


AFTER A decade of decline in aid
flows to Africa, the tide seems to
be turning.
According to UN estimates,
US$23.1 billion in official development
assistance (ODA) was committed
to the continent in 2003, a
striking 46 percent more than just
three years earlier.
All indications point to even
higher levels in 2004 and 2005.
Yet this is no reason for complacency,
the French pre s i d e n t ,
Jacques Chirac, told the World
Economic Forum in Davos
Switzerland, earlier this year.
Africa and other developing
regions, he said, are suff e r i n g
chronic “silent tsunamis” that claim
untold numbers of lives through
famine, infectious diseases and
violence.
If Africa is to reduce its high
poverty rates, it needs substantially
more assistance – in fact
a doubling of aid over the
next decade.
With the New
Partnership for Africa's
Development (NEPAD), Mr
Chirac told the gathering of
world political and corporate
leaders, “Africa has
begun to change… the
financial community must show
massive commitment in return."
Whatever the immediate
impact on limited relief budgets,
the generous and rapid response to
the tsunami by governments and
citizens in the richest countries
demonstrated the longer term possibilities
for renewed aid flows.
"The rich countries are capable,
when they want to, of mounting an
extraordinary response to the needs
of the poor, in no time at all," commented
Professor Jeffrey Sachs, who
heads the UN Millennium Project.
"The tsunami has changed our
mode of calculation."
For proponents of African
development, the challenge now
appears to be tapping into this
potential for international solidarity
¨C and to do so in a sustained
fashion that looks beyond shortterm
emergencies and towards the
continent's basic development
needs. (Africa Renewal)


title:
Debt cancellation activists welcome relief but call for more

Abstract:
FINANCE MINISTERS from the
Group of Eight (G8) industrialised
countries have recommended the
immediate cancellation of 100 percent
of multilateral debt owed by
some of the world's poorest
nations, under the Heavily
Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC).

body:
FINANCE MINISTERS from the
Group of Eight (G8) industrialised
countries have recommended the
immediate cancellation of 100 percent
of multilateral debt owed by
some of the world's poorest
nations, under the Heavily
Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC).
The deal covers US$40 billion
of debts owed by 18 countries to
the World Bank, the International
Monetary Fund and the African
Development Bank. Nine more
countries are expected to qualify
within 18 months, taking the total
cost to about US $100 billion.
Fourteen African countries
qualify because they have reached
the HIPC completion point. Four
of these are SADC member states
including Mozambique, Tanzania
and Zambia who would qualify
immediately, and Malawi which
could benefit next year.
The British relief agency, Oxfam,
welcomed the agreement but said it
did not go far enough, noting that
the cancellation only covered
between 10 and 20 percent of what
was required and did not extend to
all the countries needing it.
"This is a positive step forward
but debt cancellation is just part of
what needs to be done. We call on
the G8 leaders to also increase aid
to these countries, without
which many poor countries
are unlikely to
escape chronic poverty,"
Oxfam spokesperson,
Harriet Binet,
said, adding that an
additional $50 billion in aid is
needed to achieve the MDGs.
Greater effort should be directed
towards dismantling international
trade barriers, which disadvantaged
producers in underdeveloped
countries, she added.
Oxfam has argued that while
rich-country members of the
World Trade Organisation heavily
subsidise their own domestic producers,
they force developing
countries to open their markets
and slash tariffs that would have
protected their farmers.
World Bank figures suggest that
giving developing countries greater
access to rich markets could earn
them about $150 billion a year.
"Poorer countries would rather
trade themselves out of poverty
than rely on handouts,¡± Binet said.
"It is critical that trade injustices
are immediately addressed by
industrialised countries."
The UK-based Jubilee Debt
Campaign said in statement that
around 60 countries needed total
debt cancellation, far more than
the 18 proposed. Multilateral debt
cancellation for these countries
would release over $10 billion per
year for poverty reduction, rather
than the $1 to $2 billion under the
current initiative.
The other countries qualifying
for immediate debt cancellation
are Benin, Bolivia, Burkina Faso,
Ethiopia, Ghana, Guyana, Honduras,
Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania,
Nicaragua, Niger, Rwanda,
Senegal and Uganda. (IRIN)


title:
“We must run while others walk”
Tanzania's ruling party selects its candidate for October elections

Abstract:
TANZANIA'S GOVERNING party is preparing for national elections in six
months time by naming its presidential candidate and drafting an ambitious
election manifesto based on economic growth and poverty reduction.

body:
TANZANIA'S GOVERNING party is preparing for national elections in six
months time by naming its presidential candidate and drafting an ambitious
election manifesto based on economic growth and poverty reduction.
In a carefully considered process
that involved the selection of one
man from a field of 11, based on
qualities such as the ability to promote
and protect national unity,
peace and stability and boldness in
fighting injustice and oppression,
the ruling party, Chama Cha
Mapinduzi (CCM) selected its next
leader and presidential candidate
for the 30 October elections.
He is Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete,
54, the current Minister of Foreign
Affairs and International Cooperation.
In the previous CCM leadership
contest in 1995, Kikwete ran a close
second to the current Tanzanian
president, Benjamin William Mkapa.
Ten years after he emerged from
the party youth wing to contest the
leadership for the first time, Kikwete
stayed the course to win the nomination
in a majority decision of an
Extraordinary General Meeting of the
party in Dodoma on 4 May.
Each competing candidate had
to submit nomination papers by 15
April containing 250 signatures of
CCM members in at least 10 regions
of the country, including two from
Zanzibar.
The selection process involved
deliberations of the party Central
Committee and its ethics committee
to reduce the 11 contestants to five,
followed by a vote in the National
Executive Committee (NEC) to further
reduce the number to three.
The 1,675 delegates to the Extraordinary
General Meeting then voted
for the candidate of their choice and,
urged by their President to choose a
candidate who could appeal to the
youth, gave Kikwete a clear majority
with 1,072 votes in the first round,
avoiding the need for a run-off.
Soon after receiving his party's
nomination, Kikwete pledged to
implement the CCM manifesto
which prioritises the fast-tracking of
economic development to achieve
10 percent growth in Gro s s
Domestic Product (GDP) by 2010,
up from the current 6.7 percent.
The manifesto, which contains a
number of ambitious economic projects
and gives priority to scientific
research and development as well
as tourism, also calls for an active
front in the fight against poverty.
“We should adhere to the call by
the Father of the Nation, Mwalimu
Nyerere, that we must run while
others walk,” the manifesto says,
echoing a famous statement by the
founding president, Mwalimu
Julius Nyerere, that became the title
of a well-known biography.
Now the CCM candidate,
Kikwete has promised to maintain
Tanzania's record of national unity,
democracy and good governance.
The youthful-looking Kikwete is
a well-known international figure,
described as uncorruptable and
charismatic.
A Muslim from the coastal constituency
of Chalinze, north of Dar
es Salaam, Kikwete has won the
confidence of most religious groupings
in a secular country that fierce-
ly protects and supports the rights
of all religions.
In Tanzania, a society has been
c o n s t ructed in which an individual's
religion is a private matter of spiritual
development and not a factor that
describes or divides his or her friendships
and political alliances.
The party has named the current
vice-president, Dr Ali Mohamed
Shein, as Kikwete's running mate.
They will face the candidates of other
parties in the 30 October election,
including Professor Ibrahim
Lipumba and Juma Duni Haji of the
Civic United Front (CUF), the main
opposition party.
Amani Abeid Karume, the president
of Zanzibar, easily won the
nomination as CCM candidate to
lead the islands for a second term.
Zanzibar has its own pre s i d e n t ,
with no jurisdiction over the mainland,
and the incumbent was
returned unopposed as the party
candidate to contest the elections in
Zanzibar on the same date.
The inspiration of the founding
p resident of Tanganyika and the
United Republic of Tanzania was
apparent in the run-up to the deliberations
surrounding the selection of
the CCM candidate. Mwalimu
Nyerere's speeches were given significant
airtime on national radio
during the weeks before the party
meeting, reminding the nation of the
qualities of a good leader.
And then, at the Dodoma meeting,
a hush fell over the delegates, followed
by gasps and a wave of astonished
laughter, when there emerged
on-stage a slight man with greying
hair, carrying a walking stick ¨C a wellturned
out look-alike of the popular
leader who died in 1999.
The challenge for the next
Tanzanian president to be elected on
30 October 2005 is to maintain the
peace and stability prevailing in the
country (despite conflicts on its borders),
while at the same time sustaining
the momentum of economic
growth that has been realised under
President Mkapa's leadership.


title:
Parliamentary elections in Mauritius on 3 July

Abstract:
NOMINATIONS FOR the forthcoming
legislative elections in
Mauritius closed on 6 June with a
record 676 candidates registering to
contest the poll.

body:
NOMINATIONS FOR the forthcoming
legislative elections in
Mauritius closed on 6 June with a
record 676 candidates registering to
contest the poll.
Close of nomination has paved
way for a month-long campaign
ahead of voting scheduled for 3 July.
The last election was in September
2000, won by the ruling alliance comprising
of the Mauritian Militant
Movement (MMM) and the Militant
Socialist Movement (MSM).
Prime Minister Paul Bere n g e r
called the election at a rally org a nised
by the MMM/MSM alliance to
mark the 1 May labour holiday.
MMM is led by Berenger while
the MSM is headed by current
Deputy Prime Minister Parvind
Jugnauth, son of Sir Anerood
Jugnauth, the current president of
the republic who was elected by the
National Assembly in 2003 for a fiveyear
term.
Berenger has confirmed that if
the ruling alliance is victorious in the
3 July poll, an agreement exists in
which he would retain the post of
prime minister for two-and-a-half
years before ceding it to the current
deputy prime minister.
The 676 candidates represent the
ruling alliance, the opposition
Alliance Social (a coalition of
Mauritius Labour Party and the
Mauritian Social Democratic Party),
and 71 other political parties.
Several independent candidates
also re g i s t e red with the Electoral
Supervisory Commission for a right
to contest for seats in the National
Assembly.
Each major alliance registered 60
candidates to fight for the 20 constituencies
(three members per constituency),
and two members for the
offshore island of Rodrigues.
Mauritius has a unicameral parliament
comprising 70 members – 62
are elected by popular vote in a system
known as block voting where
each voter casts three ballots for three
candidates from each constituency,
and the remaining eight are culled
out of a list of ¡°best losers¡±.
In the 2000 elections the ruling
MSM/MMM alliance swept the
island¡¯s elections, garnering 54 seats
against six for the Alliance Social.
The winning party or alliance
forms the next government.


Abstract:
THE NEW cabinet, announced by
President Robert Mugabe following
parliamentary elections in
March has been given the mandate
to spearhead the economic
development of Zimbabwe in the
next five years.

body:
THE NEW cabinet, announced by
President Robert Mugabe following
parliamentary elections in
March has been given the mandate
to spearhead the economic
development of Zimbabwe in the
next five years.
President Mugabe described the
cabinet as a "development cabinet"
that will give impetus to the economic
turnaround programme
focussing on agriculture, industry,
mining and infrastructure development.


title:
Benguela Railways and the development of Southern Africa

Abstract:
THE AGREEMENT between
Angola and Zambia to reconstruct
the lifeline Benguela railway
is the latest example of
practical commitment to regional
integration in southern Africa
and economic development on
the continent.

body:
by Amos Chanda

THE AGREEMENT between
Angola and Zambia to reconstruct
the lifeline Benguela railway
is the latest example of
practical commitment to regional
integration in southern Africa
and economic development on
the continent.
The US$60 million project to
rebuild the Benguela rail line is
a direct dividend of the peace
process that ended a protracted
civil war that, for 27 years, tore
apart and slowed down
Angola's otherwise vibrant
economy
On 30 March, Angola and
Zambia signed a Memorandum
of Understanding on relinking
of the two countries' rail systems
and thus provided a
framework within which the rail
project will be undertaken.
The Benguela railway is one
of many Southern African
Development Community
(SADC) projects that have been
designed to fit into the development
goals set out in the New
Partnership for Africa's
Development (NEPAD).
"The rail line will be run by a
private firm called Northwest
Rail under a partnership with
Angolan and Zambian firms,
said Amb-assador Bob Samakai,
the permanent secretary in the
Zambian Ministry of Communication
and Transport.
Both Angolan and Zambian
authorities see the reconstruction
of the Benguela railway as a
window of economic opportunity
that will boost both countries'
export earnings as well as guarantee
millions in transport savings.
"Apart from boosting the
resurgent copper mining industry
on the Zambian Copperbelt,
the Benguela railway route will
not only transport metal exports
to Europe and North American
customers, but will also serve as
a major step in the regional integration
programme under
SADC," said Ambassador
Samakai.
The railway will relink the
two countries after thre e
decades of abandon and damage
inflicted during civil conflict
between Angolan government
f o rces and the former re b e l
União Nacional para a
Independência Total de Angola
(Unita). The conflict ended in
2002.
The rail line suffered great
damage and became a dangerous
route as warring guerrillas
attacked crew and looted goods
in transit to and from the sea
port.
Benguela is an essential,
cheaper route for
Zambian copper
exports and machinery
imports, which at
the moment suff e r
long and often expensive
rail and road
routes from South
Africa thro u g h
Zimbabwe or Botswana.
But Benguela is a direct route
to the Angolan seaport on the
Atlantic Ocean through which
Zambian goods could be exported
and imported at a cheaper
cost than the more distant South
African ports.
The project comes at a time
when Zambia's copper production
is on the increase following
the rise of copper prices on the
global market.
Copper is Zambia's chief
export and major fore i g n
exchange earner of up to 70 percent.
Two new largescale greenfields
have begun operations in
north-western Zambia on the
border with Angola while other
previously loss-making mines
have recovered and have begun
to post profits following successful
privatisation.
The rail line will service
chiefly the Kansanshi and
Lumwana copper, cobalt and
gold mines in Zambia's
Northwestern province where
Canadian and Austrian mining
companies have began operations
to extract the metals.


Abstract:
BENGUELA RAILWAYS has its
origins in an 1899 law which
authorized the Portuguese government
to build a railroad from
the coastal region then called
Benguela, stretching 1300 kms to
Angola's eastern border.

body:
BENGUELA RAILWAYS has its
origins in an 1899 law which
authorized the Portuguese government
to build a railroad from
the coastal region then called
Benguela, stretching 1300 kms to
Angola's eastern border. Given
the political and economic interest
in the fast flow of minerals
from the interior, the concession
for building and exploiting the
railroad was granted to a private
operator, a British citizen Robert
Williams, in a kind of 19th century
Build Operate Transfer (BOT).
Construction lasted for 26
years, beginning on 3 March 1903
and reaching completion on 1
F e b ruary 1929. There were many
d i fficulties and delays due to the
n a t u re and topography of the
region to be crossed. The railway
offered the transport of ores from
the interior, the spread of imported
products to the interior, and
communication across four
Angolan provinces.
After independence from
Portugal on 11 November 1975,
Angola's new government continued
to monitor the Benguela railway
and give it financial support,
as the backbone of the country's
transport system (in volume of
investment and source of foreign
c u r rency). Government also recognized the potential of the railway
in the development of southern
Africa, through the Lobito
Corridor project.

<!--
-->

THE BENGUELA railway bisects
central Angola, connecting the
hinterland with the Atlantic port
of Lobito. Before Angola's inde -
pendence, the railway was the
main outlet for copper and other
minerals from Zambia's lucrative
copperbelt and from the Congo's
mineral-rich southern province of
Katanga. After independence in
1975, the railway was a target for
sabotage by apartheid South Africa
and stopped cross-border transport
in 1983, effectively cutting off the
shortest trade route between the
independent states of Central
Africa and the coast.

<!--
-->


Apartheid South Africa began
to sabotage the railway to prevent
the economic growth of the countries
involved, and by 1983, the
line was closed to international
t r a ffic, thus weakening the
Angolan economy by some US$60
million dollars in lost revenue in
addition to $70 million damage
to infrastructure and equipment.
Despite efforts during the
1980s to reopen the railway for
transportation of civilian traffic,
it has remained closed. The rehabilitation
plan at that time
included the development of the
Lobito Corridor, rehabilitation of
the railway, upgrading of
Lobito's harbour and a hydroelectric
dam, additional transport
capacity and improvement
in telecommunications.
The objective of the sabotage
was, at national level, to prevent
the movement of supplies to the
interior, to damage the revenue of
the company and the government,
and to run down the port of
Lobito. At international level, this
succeeded in preventing Zambia
and Zaire (now the Democratic
Republic of Congo) from using
Lobito for export of minerals, and
in escalating the transportation
costs for those countries, to prevent
support for the African
National Congress (ANC).
International transportation on the
line has been suspended for more
than 20 years, since January 1983,
and national traffic since 1987.
The then South African
Defence Force (SADF) launched
dozens of operations in Angola
after entering the country in
August 1975, on the eve of independence,
and after 1983, the
war in southern Angola escalated
into high-technology, high-casualty,
confrontational warfare. The
end of apartheid in South Africa
in 1994 and an internal peace
a g reement in 2002 finally
brought peace to Angola.
Almost 200 railway workers
were killed in the first 12 years
after independence and more than
400 injured, with 250 listed as
missing. The human cost of keeping
the trains rolling was high.
The worst year for casualties on
the railway was 1984, the year that
the first peace agreement was
signed with South Africa. There
were more than 3,000 acts of sabotage
against the railway from 1976
to mid-1987. The cost of the damage
to infrastructure and equipment
on the Benguela railway
from 1976 to 1987 was estimated
at US$76.7 million.


Abstract:
SADC HAS designated Namibia's
Gobabeb Research and Training
Centre as a Centre of Excellence in
support of the UN Convention on
Biodiversity, the UN Convention on
Combating Desertification and the
UN Convention on Climate Change.

body:
SADC HAS designated Namibia's
Gobabeb Research and Training
Centre as a Centre of Excellence in
support of the UN Convention on
Biodiversity, the UN Convention on
Combating Desertification and the
UN Convention on Climate Change.
The Gobabeb Research and
Training Centre is situated in the
middle of the Namib Desert. The
inauguration of the training institute
as a SADC Centre of Excellence
will now allow re s e a rchers and
regscholars
from SADC member states
to do research or undergo training
in fields such as environmental
research, natural resource management,
land management and desertification.
During the inauguration ceremony,
Namibia's Prime Minister
Nahas Angula said granting
Gobabeb this status had come at the
right time, when the unique life
forms of the Namib Desert were
being threatened by human actions.
"The illegal collection of succulent
plant species by plant collectors
and the illegal trade in such plants is
another threat to the Namib ecological
system," said Angula.
In providing research and training
on how to fight desertification
and promoting biodiversity,
Gobabeb could play a major role in
poverty reduction and enhancing
the livelihoods of SADC citizens,
said Angelo Mondlane, Head of
Strategic Planning, Gender and
Policy Harmonisation at the SADC
Secretariat.
He said it is gratifying to note
that Gobabeb is already heading
the Environmental Long-Term
Observation Network of Southern
Africa (ETASA), in which all
SADC members participate.
(Namibian)


Abstract:
AFRICA'S PARTICIPATION in
global internet technology is set
to increase with approval of a
regional Internet registry for
Africa.

body:
AFRICA'S PARTICIPATION in
global internet technology is set
to increase with approval of a
regional Internet registry for
Africa.
The internet Corporation for
Assigned Names and Numbers
(ICANN) board of directors has
approved AfriNic as the registry
for Africa. AfriNic now has the
responsibility of allocating internet
numbers to service providers in
Africa and the Indian Ocean
region.
Previously all internet numbers
re p resenting African domain
names had to be allocated by registries in other regions, mainly in
North America and Europe.
The first meeting of AfriNic as a
fully-fledged Regional Internet
Registry was held in Mozambique
in April. The organisation was
urged to devote greater resources
to training so that it can develop a
greater skills base on the continent.
The Mauritius-based organisation
currently has only three staff members
and has plans to hire a webmaster
and a systems engineer.
The latest development is set to
save Africa millions of dollars
annually in registration fees.
(SABCNews.com)


Abstract:
ZIMBABWE'S SCIENTIFIC and
Industrial Research and Development
Centre (SIRDC) has developed
low-cost roofing tiles and a
cheaper earth ramming technology.

body:
ZIMBABWE'S SCIENTIFIC and
Industrial Research and Development
Centre (SIRDC) has developed
low-cost roofing tiles and a
cheaper earth ramming technology.
The Micro Concrete Roofing
(MCR) tiles and the rammed earth
construction technology are set
to revolutionise the construction
sector in Zimbabwe and
the region, making housing
more affordable.
The MCR technology
originated in Latin
America and SIRDC has adopted
this through technology transfer
arrangements.
Fifty percent cheaper than the
conventional roofing tiles, MCR is
light-weight, translating into considerable
savings on roofing timber,
and is easy to lay.
With increased and rapid
urbanisation, housing pro v i s i o
has become a major challenge in
most cities and towns, with
aff o rdability the main issue.
(SIRDC)


Abstract:
THE RADIOACTIVE isotope fluorodeoxyglucose
is to be produced
in South Africa for the first time,
allowing patients who previously
had to travel overseas to obtain
accurate diagnoses to benefit from
the latest full-body imaging technology.

body:
THE RADIOACTIVE isotope fluorodeoxyglucose
is to be produced
in South Africa for the first time,
allowing patients who previously
had to travel overseas to obtain
accurate diagnoses to benefit from
the latest full-body imaging technology.
Radiological Society of South
Africa president, Richard Tuft, says
the introduction of positron emission
tomography (PET) scans,
which specialists use to diagnose
diseases, will help keep South
Africa at the fore f ront of global
advances in medical imaging.
PET scans are often used in
combination with computed
tomography (CT) scans to enable
doctors to provide appro p r i a t e
treatment following diagnosis and
help avoid invasive procedures.
If surgery is required, the scans
help surgeons determine the best
way to perform the operation. For
cancer patients, PET and CT scans
help determine the exact stage a
tumour has reached. This affects
the type of treatment to be applied
as well as the likely effects of therapy.
They can also detect the presence
of any residual disease after
treatment. (Business Day)


Abstract:
IN A large warehouse in Zwelitsha
in the Eastern Cape province of
South Africa, 80 bright red motorbikes
are being assembled to perform
a special service.

body:
IN A large warehouse in Zwelitsha
in the Eastern Cape province of
South Africa, 80 bright red motorbikes
are being assembled to perform
a special service.
They are being used in the
tsunami-ravaged areas of Sri Lanka
and Indonesia, as ambulances and
mobile clinics.
Since many clinics and roads
were destroyed as a result of the
tsunami, the off-road bike is ideal
for the terrain, said the Londonbased
inventor of the Ranger
Lifecycle, Mike Norman, who won
the Wo r l d a w a re Technology
Award for Development in 1999
for the extraordinary vehicle.
The bikes are fitted with sturdy
sidecars which can be customdesigned
to serve in remote rural
areas as ambulances, clinics, pool
repair vehicles, bread and grocery
delivery vehicles, water purification
units, and for HIV and AIDS
education operations, media workshops
and garden service businesses.
(Cape Argus)


title:
Investment and development in the southern Africa power sector

Abstract:
AS A step towards ensuring availability
of energy to the region, the
Southern Africa Power Pool
(SAPP) will host a regional electricity
investment conference in
Namibia in September 2005, as
mandated by SADC ministers
responsible for energy.

body:
AS A step towards ensuring availability
of energy to the region, the
Southern Africa Power Pool
(SAPP) will host a regional electricity
investment conference in
Namibia in September 2005, as
mandated by SADC ministers
responsible for energy.
The theme of the conference is
“Emerging Investment Opportu-
nities for Sustainable Development
in the Southern African Power
Sector”.
Southern Africa's power utilities
have reaffirmed their commitment
to address the diminishing generation
capacity. The SAPP executive
committee met in Lesotho in April
and agreed to work together to meet
the region's energy needs.
The committee is revising the
SAPP Inter-Governmental Memorandum
of Understanding, for
signing by energy ministers in
September.
Signing of the revised MOU
will coincide with the tenth
anniversary of SAPP, which was
created in August 1995.
The MOU is expected to
a d d ress the reforms that have
taken place in the SADC organisational
stru c t u re, power sector
reforms and restructuring in member
countries, as well as the recognition
and admission of new members
into the SAPP.
The committee has also agreed
to revise the SAPP Pool Plan of
2001 and develop a Strategic Plan.
The Pool Plan will provide a
detailed regional perspective by
a d d ressing the optimisation of
regional resources and identification
of least cost generation and
transmission projects worth promoting
for the benefit of the
region.
The strategic plan will give an
overview of country priority projects.


title:
Zambia private sector in energy generation

Abstract:
Private sector companies are expected
to spend about US$600 million
on the development of a hydro e l e ctric
power venture on Zambia¡¯s
Lunsemfwa/Luangwa river in
Central and Eastern provinces.

body:
Private sector companies are expected
to spend about US$600 million
on the development of a hydro e l e ctric
power venture on Zambia¡¯s
Lunsemfwa/Luangwa river in
Central and Eastern provinces.
The Zambian government has
also allowed two private companies
to explore hydropower potential
on the Kalungwishi river in
Northern province.
Zambia has an installed electricity
generation capacity of 1,786
megawatts out of which 1,676
megawatts is hydropower. The
country has an undeveloped
hydropower generation potential of
over 6,000 megawatts and plans are
underway to develop a number of
hydropower stations. (The Post)


title:
US$10 billion required to avert power crisis

Abstract:
THE SOUTHERN Africa Power
Pool says SADC states will need to
invest more than US$10 billion to
counter the threat posed by a looming
electricity deficiency, an amount
that is considered out of reach for a
number of member states.

body:
THE SOUTHERN Africa Power
Pool says SADC states will need to
invest more than US$10 billion to
counter the threat posed by a looming
electricity deficiency, an amount
that is considered out of reach for a
number of member states.
The SADC summit in Mauritius
in August 2004 expressed grave
concern over revelations that the
region would run out of surplus
energy generation capacity by 2007
unless a significant number of new
projects are taken up.
Despite the overwhelming sum
re q u i red for SADC to stay lit,
researchers believe the task is not
impossible, and can be achieved
through unified action. The launch
of a major regional electricity project
in the DRC is one of several initiatives
planned to ensure sustainable
supply of energy in the region.
The Western Power Corridor
(Wescor) project comprises a 35,000
megawatt hydroelectric power station at the Congo river's Inga Falls,
which is targeted initially to supply
power to Angola, Botswana, DRC,
Namibia and South Africa, while
the rest of the region is expected to
benefit in the longer term.
The Mauritius summit also took
on board energy projects for capacity
expansion for the period 2005-
2010 and up to 2020 from member
states, which are exploring strategies
to ensure sustainable energy
supply, including power projects
meant to complement traditional
sources of energy, such as thermal
and wood fuel, to sustain growing
populations and economies.
The Inga Falls project is believed
to be the largest single hydropower
initiative in the world, and when
operating at full capacity, is expected
to surpass Mozambique¡¯s
Cahora Bassa, which is one of
Africa¡¯s biggest hydroelectric stations
producing an estimated 2500
megawatts. (The Southern Times)


Abstract:
NAMPOWER HAS announced
that Eskom, its main supplier of
electricity, has warned of a possible
reduction in supply due to increasing
demand elsewhere in the
SADC region.

body:
NAMPOWER HAS announced
that Eskom, its main supplier of
electricity, has warned of a possible
reduction in supply due to increasing
demand elsewhere in the
SADC region.
Namibia has activated its old
power stations in Walvis Bay and
Windhoek as an interim measure.
However, the output from the two
power stations remains insufficient
to meet the growing national
demand for electricity.
Namibia plans to source alternative
power from Cahora Bassa in
Mozambique as well as Zambia
and Zimbabwe.
The government is also focusing
on major projects such as the
Kudu gas-to-power project, the
Lower Kunene hydro p o w e r
scheme and the Caprivi Link interconnector
into Zambia. (The Star
Business Report)


Abstract:
THE BUILDING housing the Pan
African Parliament in South Africa
has switched to ¡°green¡± electricity
in a symbolic commitment to
renewable energy.

body:
THE BUILDING housing the Pan
African Parliament in South Africa
has switched to ¡°green¡± electricity
in a symbolic commitment to
renewable energy.
Power is provided to the building
by Amatola Green Power, one of
two suppliers of ¡°green electricity¡±
through the national grid. The electricity
is derived from renewable
resources such as biomass wastes in
the sugar, wood and paper industries,
wind and solar energy.
As much as 75 percent of South
Africa¡¯s total energy generation is
coal-based, one of the least enviro nmentally
friendly sources of energy.
The South African government
has indicated that it intends to
increase its reliance on renewable
energy from 9 to 14 percent by
2013. (Daily Mirror)


Abstract:
ESKOM HOLDINGS, South
Africa's power utility, has entered
into partnership with the
Zimbabwe Electricity Supply
Authority (ZESA)…

body:
ESKOM HOLDINGS, South
Africa's power utility, has entered
into partnership with the
Zimbabwe Electricity Supply
Authority (ZESA) to provide technical
support in refurbishing generation
infrastructure in order to
increase power output.


title:
Mozambique, South Africa sign no-visa agreement

Abstract:
THE SIGNING of a no-visa
a g reement between Mozambique
and South Africa has opened the
way for either country's citizens
to travel fre e l y, and re p resents a
major step towards the implementation
of the regional trade
protocol.

body:
THE SIGNING of a no-visa
a g reement between Mozambique
and South Africa has opened the
way for either country's citizens
to travel fre e l y, and re p resents a
major step towards the implementation
of the regional trade
protocol.
With effect from 18 April, citizens
of either country now need
only a valid passport to cross the
border for up to 30 days, and the period can be extended if there is a
good reason such as when one is
seeking medical attention.
The free movement of people
and goods is one of the pillars of
SADC whose member states
signed the Trade Protocol in 1996
and began implementation in 2000,
to establish a Free Trade Area by
2008. Free movement of people is
an essential prerequisite for intraregional
trade.


Abstract:
SOUTH AFRICA'S public enterprises
minister, Alec Erwin, has
expressed concern about whether
the private sector has fully
absorbed the implications of the
massive infrastructure investment
programme of more than US$27
billion announced last year.

body:
SOUTH AFRICA'S public enterprises
minister, Alec Erwin, has
expressed concern about whether
the private sector has fully
absorbed the implications of the
massive infrastructure investment
programme of more than US$27
billion announced last year.
The broad infrastru c t u re
investment package has been
refined and is slowly taking shape.
Projects in the electricity, transport
and defence sectors will also be
announced shortly.
This will be a major drive to
bring far more capital from the private sector into the country¡¯s infrastructure
than has ever been done
in South Africa¡¯s economy.
While the four big state-owned
enterprises ¨C Transnet, Eskom,
South African Airways, and Denel
¨C will remain in government
hands, the private sector will be
involved.
There will be space for independent
power producers to get
involved in the new gas turbine
plants which will re q u i re US$1.1
billion worth of private investment.
(The Star Business
Report)


title:
Germany to support Namibia's land reform

Abstract:
THE FORMER colonial power is
ready to support Namibia's land
reform with the aim of overcoming
historical imbalances in land distribution.
The German ambassador to
Namibia, Wolfgang Massing, said
support for land reform is an integral
part of a broad-based approach
to natural resources management
and rural development under the
German-Namibian Development
Co-operation Programme.

body:
THE FORMER colonial power is
ready to support Namibia's land
reform with the aim of overcoming
historical imbalances in land distribution.
The German ambassador to
Namibia, Wolfgang Massing, said
support for land reform is an integral
part of a broad-based approach
to natural resources management
and rural development under the
German-Namibian Development
Co-operation Programme.
Massing explained that German
support for land reform is taking
a two-pronged approach.
The first is support to the
process of elaborating a
comprehensive landreform
policy, and
addressing capacity gaps
which are hampering
implementation of the land reform
activities of ministries involved in
communal land management, land
tax or deeds registration.
The second priority is the
improvement of infrastructure to
allow for productive use of the land.
Massing said it is obvious that
the ambitious land reform programme
of the Namibian government
needs adequate capacity to
be implemented successfully,
adding that the German government
is committed to expand its
support in the coming years.
(Nampa)


Abstract:
LETSENG DIAMONDS, the only
operational diamond mine in
Lesotho, is set to double its capacity
with plans underway to ensure
that a new plant will be commissioned
by 2007. The increased
capacity will enable it to produce
100,000 carats a year.

body:
LETSENG DIAMONDS, the only
operational diamond mine in
Lesotho, is set to double its capacity
with plans underway to ensure
that a new plant will be commissioned
by 2007. The increased
capacity will enable it to produce
100,000 carats a year.
The company is exploring various
options including public listing
to finance the expansion of its
operations. The Lesotho government
holds 24 percent of the shares
and also earns royalties.
Last year Letseng mine produced
37,000 carats at an average
value of US$1,200 a carat, giving it
a revenue of US$44 million.
Overall diamond mining is
expected to expand in the country
with other companies preparing to
open for business this year. One
such project is Liqhobong, which is
under construction and is expected
to begin production by the middle
of this year. (Business Day)


title:
Central bank to be tougher with inflation

Abstract:
THE RESERVE Bank of Zimbabwe
has said that it will adopt more stringent
policies to ensure the reduction
of inflation, the country¡¯s biggest
economic challenge at present.

body:
THE RESERVE Bank of Zimbabwe
has said that it will adopt more stringent
policies to ensure the reduction
of inflation, the country¡¯s biggest
economic challenge at present.
Another challenge is the generation
of sufficient foreign currency,
for which demand has persistently
outpaced supply at the auction floor.
Economists say that foreign currency
shortages at the auction floor
have risen to 94 percent of demand,
which has resulted in the re-emergence
of the parallel market which is
putting further pressure on inflation.
Some financial analysts have predicted
that the inflation will remain
in the three-digit region for the
greater part of this year, before shifting
to two digits in the last quarter.
The Reserve Bank has targeted
an annual inflation rate of below 80
percent by year-end, before achieving
the ultimate target of a singledigit
inflation by mid-2006. (The
Herald)


title:
Beijing Plus 10 – Investing in women's future

Abstract:
TEN YEARS after SADC and the rest of the UN community committed to
accelerating the elimination of gender inequality through targeted action
aimed at women's empowerment, world leaders and gender activists have
conducted a global review of progress.

body:
TEN YEARS after SADC and the rest of the UN community committed to
accelerating the elimination of gender inequality through targeted action
aimed at women's empowerment, world leaders and gender activists have
conducted a global review of progress.

The UN Commission on the Status
of Women (CSW) is facilitating the
global review of commitments
made during the UN Fourth World
Conference on Women in 1995.
SADC governments have been
actively involved in this process
since the preparatory phase began
in 2004, and have produced status
reports on action taken in adherence
to the Beijing commitments,
a d d ressing pro g ress, challenges,
constraints and forward - l o o k i n g
strategies.
The SADC Secretariat also produced
a 10-year progress report,
which drew its inspiration from
the country reports. This fed into
the UNECA-led Africa Review of
Beijing Plus 10, held in Addis
Ababa in October 2004, whose
report was a part of the global
review process.
Following the global review
whose theme was "Beijing at 10 ¨C
Achieving gender equality, development
and peace", the office of the
UN Secretary General has prepared
a seven-point strategy on investments
and policies for the coming
decade to:
 strengthen girls' access to education;
 guarantee sexual and re p roductive
health and rights;
 invest in infrastructure to
reduce women's and girls' time
burdens;
guarantee women's and girls'
p roperty and inheritance
rights;
 eliminate gender inequality in
employment;
 increase women's share of seats
in national parliaments and
local government; and
 redouble efforts to
combat violence
against girls and
women.

The strategic
parameters for
future action have
thus been outlined,
and SADC
governments have the task of moving
from commitment to action.
Investing in women's future is the
overarching vision, and this
implies broadening the approach
towards the critical areas that
SADC governments identified in
1995.


Abstract:
THE SADC secretariat
has a new head
of the Gender Unit,
Magdeline Mathiba-
Madibela.

body:
THE SADC secretariat
has a new head
of the Gender Unit,
Magdeline Mathiba-
Madibela.
The Gender Unit
was established in
1997 after a Council
of Ministers re c o mmendation.
The
Unit's function is to
advise all SADC institutions
on gender
issues, and work with
other officers in the
secretariat to ensure
that a gender perspective permeates
the SADC Programme of Action and
Community Building Initiative.
Mathiba-Madibela has worked
in the policy and coordination area
for eight years. She joins SADC
from UNAIDS Botswana where she
worked as a project manager . Before
joining UNAIDS, she worked for the
national HIV and AIDS Control
Programme.
Her vision is to contribute to the
advancement of women in the
SADC region by providing strategic
direction, effective management and
leadership of the gender programme
that is geared towards gender
equality, regional integration,
policy harmonization, institutional
capacity building,
partnerships, advocacy,
and lobbying.
Her message to the
gender networks
the region is that
they must be “more
organized than ever
before. They need
develop more effective
advocacy and
lobbying strategies
that will make a difference
in as far as
gender and development
is concerned.
The need to exploit each other¡¯s
strengths as partners is still necessary,
and we need to harness that
further.
"The social movement must
genuinely reflect on the review of
the Beijing +10 and take the relevant
measures to address the gaps,
and failures. Where we have made
successes, it is important to build
on such investments."
Born in Botswana in 1970, she
holds a Masters Degree in Social
Policy and Administration from the
University of Nottingham UK with
specialties in gender and health,
and a Bachelors degree in Social
Work from the University of
Botswana.


Abstract:
THE SADC Gender Unit is putting
two key recommendations to
Heads of State or Government at
their meeting in August 2005.

body:
THE SADC Gender Unit is putting
two key recommendations to
Heads of State or Government at
their meeting in August 2005.
The two recommendations are
to increase the target of 30 percent
women in all areas of decisionmaking
by 2005 to 50 percent in
line with the African Union, and to
elevate the SADC Declaration on
Gender and Development to a
Protocol.
The move comes amid concerns
from gender activists in
southern Africa that the non-legalbinding
status of the SADC
Gender and Development Declaration
leaves room for non-compliance.
By signing the declaration in
1997, the Heads of State or
Government committed to:
 place gender firmly on the
agenda of the SADC
P rogramme of Action and
Community Building Initiative;
 e n s u re equal re p resentation of
women and men in the decision-
making of member states
and SADC stru c t u res at all
levels;
 achieve at least a 30 percent target
of women in political and
decision-making structures by
year 2005;
 p romote women's full access
to, and control over productive
re s o u rces such as land, livestock,
markets, credit, modern
technology, formal employment,
and a good quality of life
in order to reduce the level of
poverty among women;
repeal and reform all laws,
amend constitutions and change
social practices that still subject
women to discrimination;
 enact empowering gender-sensitive
laws;
 p rotect and promote the
human rights of women and
children;
 enhance access to quality education
by women and men, and
removing gender stereotyping
in the curriculum, career choices,
and professions;
 recognise, protect, and promote
the re p roductive and sexual
rights of women and girls;
 take urgent measures to prevent
and deal with the increasing
levels of violence against
women and children; and
 encourage the mass media to
disseminate information and
materials in respect of the
human rights of women and
children.


title:
Food security: Partnership or patchwork?

Abstract:
ECOSYSTEM SERVICES in Southern Africa - A
Regional Assessment says the food insecurity in
southern Africa has more to do with lack of
access to food, rather than inadequate food
production.

body:
ECOSYSTEM SERVICES in Southern Africa - A
Regional Assessment says the food insecurity in
southern Africa has more to do with lack of
access to food, rather than inadequate food
production.
This is caused by a range of regional, global,
political and economic factors, resulting in
25 percent of the population being undernourished.
The report also reveals a downward trend
in the amount of protein produced per capita
in the last 25 years, which is now below the
recommended minimum while the carbohydrate
supply is barely adequate.
The report explores how the ecosystem
services can benefit human wellbeing including
the important and growing nature-based
tourism sector, contributions to the diet of
rural people and traditional medicines used
by the majority of southern Africans.
Examining the region's air quality, energy
from natural resources, biodiversity and fresh
water supplies, the report poses two scenarios
for the next 30 years.
The "partnership" future establishes cohesive
alliances, effective governments and
experiences a high degree of regional co-operation
and economic growth.
The "patchwork" future experiences a
sluggish economic growth and worsening
food production deficits.
Malnutrition, HIV and AIDS and the projected
climate change during the first half of
the 21st century could worsen the food security
situation and reduce the region¡¯s chances
of meeting the Millennium Development
Goals which include halving the number
of hungry people by 2015.
Produced by the Council for
Scientific and Industrial Researc h ,
P retoria, South Africa, 2004 as a
contribution to the Millennium
Ecosystem Assessment.


Abstract:
A NEW book on land and water provides a synopsis
of related management re s e a rch and
development challenges in 10 SADC member
states.

body:
A NEW book on land and water provides a synopsis
of related management re s e a rch and
development challenges in 10 SADC member
states.
The book identifies the main challenges facing
the region as policy, organizational issues,
research and development, and communicationrelated
matters.
Titled Regional Situational Analysis: Land and
Water Management in the SADC Region, the book
recognises that there is much experimentation
with new land and water management technologies
and methodologies.
The chapters examine issues such as government
commitment to agricultural research and
development in general and land and water
management in particular.
Projects/practices on land and water management
are also analyzed, with details on relevant
technologies and difficulties experienced
in their wider uptake by small-scale farmers.
Recommendations and strategies include
re s e a rch and training needs to increase the
skills available for re s e a rch and development.
The 164-page book is published by the SADC
S e c retariat¡¯s Land and Water Management
Applied Research Programme, and edited by C.
Nhira and A. Mapiki.
The publication was produced with support
from the 8th European Development Fund, and
is distributed free to interested regional stakeholders.
It is available as a book or CD ROM
from The Corporate Communications Unit of
the SADC Secretariat in Gaborone. Contact
pndebele @sadc.int or mkgosidintsi@sadc.int


Abstract:
MOZAMBIQUE IS separated from the United Republic of Tanzania by
the Ruvuma river, without a bridge to span their long, shared history.

body:
by Bayano Valy


MOZAMBIQUE IS separated from the United Republic of Tanzania by
the Ruvuma river, without a bridge to span their long, shared history.
That is now being rectified and the two governments have signed an
agreement of intention for physically bridging the river that divides (or
unites) their people.
The “Unity Bridge” is a 600-metre, bridge-road link between the two
countries. Almost 30 years in conception, the bridge could be a reality as
early as 2008.
The Unity Bridge project is on the short-term action plan submitted
by the SADC to the secretariat of the New Partnership for Africa's
Development (NEPAD).
The project is expected to boost development, not only in the riparian
regions of Mtwara in Tanzania and Cabo Delgado in Mozambique, but in the SADC region as a
whole as it is an important component of the Mtwara Development Corridor, a spatial development
initiative that includes Malawi and Zambia.

Apart from being geographically linked, Mozambique and Tanzania have historical, cultural,
social, political and economic links that extend far back into colonial and pre-colonial history.
The United Republic of Tanzania hosted and supported Mozambican freedom fighters in the
1960s and early 1970s until independence in 1975, and it also contributed with troops to help
Mozambique fight against aggression from neighbouring Rhodesia and South Africa.
The US$33-million bridge and road will be bankrolled by both governments. The Tanzanian
president, Benjamin Mkapa has stressed that neither Mozambique nor Tanzania is so poor that it
cannot afford to finance such an important and unifying project.


body:
PUBLICATIONS


body:
CURRENCY


body:
Public Holidays in SADC
June - August 2005


title:
Towards a free trade area in southern Africa

Abstract:
SOUTHERN AFRICA is moving steadily towards a
free trade area in 2008 with significant pro g ress having
been made in phasing out tariffs. More work
remains to be done on the removal of non-tariff barriers
to trade among SADC member states.

body:
SOUTHERN AFRICA is moving steadily towards a
free trade area in 2008 with significant pro g ress having
been made in phasing out tariffs. More work
remains to be done on the removal of non-tariff barriers
to trade among SADC member states.
A midterm review of the SADC Protocol on
Trade, undertaken recently to assess progress on
its implementation since 2000, has revealed some
key successes and challenges that SADC member
states have encountered as they seek to achieve
trade-driven growth and development.
The review says that the majority of member
states are on course in terms of tariff phasedown.
The target is to have 85 percent of all products
traded in the region at zero tariff by 2008.
The midterm review of the protocol assessed the
a d h e rence by member states to the agreed tariff
reduction schedules, application of rules of origin
including difficulties that may be encountered by
business, non-tariff barriers, special arrangements
on textiles and clothing, and on trade in sugar.
The exercise was also meant to assess whether
the protocol has made an impact in investment
promotion and industrial linkages.
The Integrated Committee of Ministers (ICM) of
SADC, which met in June in Maseru, noted that
“non-tariff barriers are a serious impediment to the
growth of intra-regional trade.”
The ministers agreed that through close collaboration
among customs authorities, private sector
and other stakeholders, creative ways can be “put
in place to increase transparency, improve the monitoring
capacity and eliminate non-tariff barriers in
the SADC region.”
On the complex issue of rules of origin, member
states have agreed to revise and simplify the
c u r rent rules on a selected number of pro d u c t
lines.
“The revision exercise, including identification
of product lines where the rules are considered
restrictive, will be undertaken by an expert group
in consultation with stakeholders in member
states,” the ICM agreed.
Special agreements are being negotiated for
sticky product lines such as sugar, textiles and
clothing. The sensitive nature of these goods has
forced the Trade Negotiations Forum to remove
them from the general list so that they are negotiated
separately.

Key strategies being
pursued

Gradual elimination of tariffs

Adoption of common rules of
origin

Harmonisation of customs
rules and procedures

Attainment of internationally
acceptable standards, quality,
accreditation and metrology

Harmonisation of sanitary
and phyto-sanitary measures

Elimination of non-tariff barriers

Liberalisation of trade in services.





Major implementation
challenges

Strengthen the supply side of
economies

Implement trade protocol within
fra m e work of theWo r l d
Trade Organisation (WTO )

Ensure that tariff reduction
does not negatively impact on
weaker/less developed member
states

Cushion vulnerable groups
such as the rural and urban
poor, small businesses,
informal traders and women,
as well as ensuring that these
groups benefit from the trade
protocol.




The Trade Protocol was signed in
1996 and went through a meticulous
negotiating process before implementation
began in 2000 with 11
member states participating.
Angola later acceded to the protocol
and the Secretariat has been
p roviding technical assistance to
the government in the preparation
of its tariff reduction offers for consideration
by other member states.
The Democratic Republic of Congo
is yet to accede.
The protocol has enormously
widened economic space in SADC,
opening trade to a market of more
than 200 million potential consumers
in the region. One of the
benefits of a SADC Free Trade Area
is the availability to the consumer
of goods that are competitive in
terms of quality and prices.
The removal of tariffs as well as
n o n - t a r i ff barriers is expected to
reduce the cost of imports from elsew
h e re in the region, thus benefiting
the regional consumers dire c t l y.
M o re investors are expected to take
advantage of a larger market cre a t e d
by the Free TradeA rea.
However, the Free Trade Area is
likely to result in a positive trade
creation effect as well as a negative
trade diversion effect. The challenge
is to minimize the negative
impact, especially on the weaker
economies of the region.
Intra-regional trade is curre ntly
estimated at 25 percent of all international
trade and is expected to rise to
35 percent by 2008. However, the
bulk of current intra-regional trade is
concentrated in the Southern A f r i c a n
Customs Union (SACU) – Botswana,
Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and
Swaziland.
Furthermore, SADC intraregional
trade is skewed in favour
of South Africa, the biggest economy
in the region.
The Trade Negotiating Forum
has observed that the midterm
review has not been able to give the
“fuller picture of the impact of the
implementation of the trade pro t o c o l
due to back-loading of tariff
phase downs by some member
states and also due to the short
time period on which the
review is based and on
which data is lacking.”
On the basis of this
observation, the ICM has
recommended that another review,
prior to the target date for achieving
the Free Trade Area in 2008, is
needed to focus on the impact of the
protocol on investment flows, risk
of polarization and balance of
benefits.


title:
Customs cooperation and trade facilitation

Abstract:
Common interpretation and application
of legal provisions by customs
officials in their daily duties of
facilitating international trade is
critical in any Free Trade Area.

body:
Common interpretation and application
of legal provisions by customs
officials in their daily duties of
facilitating international trade is
critical in any Free Trade Area.
The SADC Sub-Committee on
Customs Cooperation has been
working on ensuring that this
requirement is fulfilled in line with
provisions of the SADC Protocol on
Trade. The committee has since succeeded
in coming up with regulations
on SADC Rules of Origin;
Rules of Origin Manual for
Customs Officers; and Rules of
Origin Manuals for Traders.


Abstract:
It was reported at the Integrated
Committee of Ministers in June that
the development of a draft Finance
and Investment Protocol is in
progress.

body:
It was reported at the Integrated
Committee of Ministers in June that
the development of a draft Finance
and Investment Protocol is in
progress.
The strategic objective of the protocol
is to contribute to the establishment
of a Regional Common Market
w h e re there would be free movement
of capital, labour, goods and
services. The establishment of such a
market is the end goal of SADC in
the economic arena.
The protocol will facilitate regional
integration, co-operation and coo
rdination of financial and investment
policies in the SADC region.
The Memoranda of Understanding
that have been developed by
various finance and investment technical
committees have been converted into annexes, which form an integral
part of the protocol.


Abstract:
The 6th World Trade Organisation
( W TO) Trade Ministers Confere n c e
will be held in December 2005 in
Hong Kong.

body:
The 6th World Trade Organisation
( W TO) Trade Ministers Confere n c e
will be held in December 2005 in
Hong Kong. The conference, while
not expected to conclude the curre n t
Doha Development Negotiations,
will review progress made and agree
on the key modalities to enable the
conclusion of the negotiations possibly
in 2006.
The Integrated Committee of
Ministers of SADC has directed that
a special ministerial meeting, involving
all relevant sectors as well as the
region's negotiators in Geneva, be
convened to prepare the re gion's
position for the Hong Kong ministerial
conference.


Abstract:
FOLLOWING THE SADC/European
Commission negotiations on
an Economic Partnership A g re e -
ment (EPA) in July 2004, where a
Joint Road Map was agreed upon,
senior officials from both sides met
in December 2004 to agree on a
work programme for 2005.

body:
FOLLOWING THE SADC/European
Commission negotiations on
an Economic Partnership A g re e -
ment (EPA) in July 2004, where a
Joint Road Map was agreed upon,
senior officials from both sides met
in December 2004 to agree on a
work programme for 2005.
The main purpose of the meeting
was to agree on priority areas for
negotiations. SADC has proposed to
start offwith negotiations on sanitary
and phyto-sanitary measures, and
technical barriers to trade. These two
issues continue to act as major
impediments to market access for a
number of SADC countries wanting
to enter the European market.
The central role of re g i o n a l
integration as stipulated in the
Cotonou Agreement and its linkages
with efforts to reduce poverty,
as indicated in the SADC Regional
Indicative Strategic Development
Plan (RISDP), were compelling
factors for including it as a major
area to be covered in the negotiations.
The senior officials meeting in
December also agreed on establishing
the Regional Preparatory Task
Force, an organ that will be responsible
for the formulation of projects
identified during the negotiation
process and soliciting appropriate
financing for them.


title:
Implementation of Dar es Salaam Declaration key to achieving food security

Abstract:
SADC HEADS of State and Government adopted the Dar es Salaam
Declaration on Agriculture and Food Security on 15 May 2004, as a commitment
towards dealing with the challenges in agricultural production and provision
of food in the region.

body:
SADC HEADS of State and Government adopted the Dar es Salaam
Declaration on Agriculture and Food Security on 15 May 2004, as a commitment
towards dealing with the challenges in agricultural production and provision
of food in the region. The leaders agreed to develop and implement
short, medium and long-term action plans to address these challenges so as to
accelerate food production, guarantee food security and reduce poverty in the
region. They agreed to assess progress after two years.
Food security continues to be the
region's most pressing challenge
and SADC member states are committed
to effectively implement the
Declaration on A g r i c u l t u re and
Food Security so as to yield a lasting
solution to the current situation.
The declaration identifies shortterm
targets in the areas of irrigation
development, provision of
inputs, control of pests and diseases,
agricultural processing and
production.
The short-termtargets are for two
years (2004-2006), and pro g ress will
be reviewed at the end of every two
years from the date of signature.


IN THE medium-to-long-term
commitments (2004-2010), SADC
leaders agreed to address:
sustainable use and management
of natural resources;

disaster preparedness;

market access;

research, technology development
and dissemination;

 agricultural financing and
investment;

training and human resource
development;

gender equality;

 human health and mitigation
of HIV and AIDS; and,

other chronic diseases.





Irrigation development

SADC governments have undertaken
to accelerate the use of irrigation
technologies such as treadle and
motorised pumps, canalisation and
water-saving technologies, as well
as to mobilise resources for agroprocessing
and increase the use of
savings and credit schemes.
Irrigation initiatives in the
region are set to benefit from a
SADC Groundwater and Drought
Management project. The project
will be funded by a US$7.5 million
grant from the Global Environment
Facility of the World Bank and by
Sida.
This project will boost the
implementation of irrigation projects
that are already underway in
countries such as Malawi, Zambia
and Zimbabwe which have made
the development of irrigation a priority
in their agricultural sectors.
The project will be initiated by a
pilot programme to test groundwater
and drought management
strategies in the Limpopo river
basin in South Africa, which will
facilitate research into groundwater
dependent ecosystems.
Allocation of funds for
agriculture

According to the
communiqué of
SADC Ministers
of Food, Agriculture
and Natural
R e s o u rces who
met on the eve of
the Food Security
summit in May
2004, concern
was raised on the
need for financial
flows to agricult
u re from both
public and private sources.
Some SADC governments have
begun to set aside funds for agricultural
projects. For instance in
Namibia the government plans to
spend approximately US$10 million
on irrigation development.
A challenge still remains for
governments to fulfil the commitment
made by member states in
2003, following the Maputo
African Union Declaration, to allocate
at least 10 percent of their
national budgets to agriculture
and rural development within five
years.
The communiqué of the ministers
meeting also notes that the
region is encouraged to explore
innovative financing instru m e n t s
including provision of credit at
grassroots level.
Provision of inputs

The region has started working on
ensuring availability of agricultural
inputs for its farmers. Inputs such
as seed, fertiliser and machinery
have in the past hindered total utilisation
of production capacity in the
agricultural sector in the region.
SADC governments, together
with seed and fertiliser companies
and other stakeholders, are working
towards ensuring that all the
re q u i red inputs are available in
time for planting in the next season.
Logistical plans are alre a d y
being put in place in preparation
for the movement of seed fro m
countries with excess supply to
those where shortages exist.
The region is also working
t o w a rds harmonising grain and
food-aid policies so as to facilitate
easy transfer of grain and agricultural
inputs and to urg e n t l y
improve infrastructure and transportation
systems
at local, national
and regional levels.
Control of pests
and diseases

The Dar es Salaam
declaration re c o gnises
the stre ngthened
control of cro p
and livestock pests
and diseases as an
urgent priority.
The region has drafted a regional
migrant pest control strategy
which will focus on the following
pests: quelea birds, red locusts,
armyworms and larger grain borer.
Commendable pro g ress has
already been made in the area of
Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD)
control. SADC has mobilised funds
which have been used to contain
the spread of FMD in Malawi,
Mozambique and Zimbabwe and
prevent it from spreading to other
countries.
Regional food reserve facility

The establishment of a Regional
Food Reserve Facility was given top
priority in the Dar es Salaam declaration.
The SADC Integrated Committee
of Ministers, who met in
June in Lesotho, agreed on the
need to establish the food re s e r v e
facility that will allow the
region to respond better to food
emergencies.
Afund for the food reserve is on
the cards and will be governed by
an advisory board whose composition,
nature and governance will be
determined at SADC Secretariat
level.
SADC sought support from the
World Bank in 2003 to design a
Regional Food Reserve Facility.
As an initial step, the Wo r l d
Bank undertook short case-studies
in Malawi, Tanzania and Zambia to
determine nature, level and modality
of a possible strategic food
reserve facility, drawing on experience
from other regions of the
world.


Progress at a glance


Commitment Implementing status
Provision of inputs Initiatives at national
l e vel are taking place to
ensure availability of
seed and fertiliser.
Cooperation between
member states is
underway to ensure
access to inputs in
countries where
shortages exist.
Water management and irrigation
Irrigation projects are
being implemented in
member states and a
SADC project on water
management and
irrigation is on the
cards.
Develop regional food reserve facility
Research is being
carried out in the
region on modalities
and strategies for
development of the
facility.
Improve
market
access
SADC countries are
trading in cereals and
livestock regionally
and are lobbying for
fairer trade in the
international arena.
Allocate 10
perc ent
of national
budgets
to agriculture
and r ural
development
Member states are
yet to meet the 10
p e rcent target although
some countries have
significantly increased
allocation.


title:
A full agenda for SADC's silver jubilee summit

Abstract:
SADC'S HISTORIC Silver Jubilee
Summit on 17-18 August in
Botswana is set to deliberate on a
wide range of pertinent re g i o n a l
issues including the appointment
of new leadership for the secretariat.

body:
SADC'S HISTORIC Silver Jubilee
Summit on 17-18 August in
Botswana is set to deliberate on a
wide range of pertinent re g i o n a l
issues including the appointment
of new leadership for the secretariat.
The summit will discuss the
chairperson's report, which covers
key issues since the previous summit
last year in Mauritius.
South Africa, which chairs the
SADC Organ on Politics, Defence
and Security Cooperation, will also
table a report for discussion.
Key issues on the political front
include elections held in Botswana
(October) last year, Namibia
(November), Mozambique (December),
and this year in Zimbabwe
(March) and Mauritius (3 July).
Another other key political
issue likely to feature at the summit
is the electoral and constitutional
process in the Democratic Republic
of Congo.
The country is preparing to
hold a referendum on a new constitution
which if adopted will pave
way for elections. The poll was
postponed in June for six months
pending the creation of an appropriate
legal environment.
The summit is expected to
review pro g ress towards a Fre e
Trade Area in 2008 as well as current
multilateral trade negotiations,
including a new partnership agreement
with the European Union.
Progress on implementation of
the Dar es Salaam
Declaration on A g r i c u l t u re
and Food Security is expected
to come under scrutiny,
especially with the backdrop
of current food
shortages in Botswana,
Lesotho, Malawi,
Mozambique, Swaziland, Zambia
and Zimbabwe.
The HIV and AIDS pandemic,
which has severely dented development
efforts in the region, will
almost certainly feature during the
deliberations. The region is guided
by a declaration and action plan on
HIV and AIDS adopted by Heads
of State and Government in
Maseru in 2003.
On gender and development,
SADC Heads of State and
Government are expected to consider
a proposal to upgrade the SADC
gender declaration into a protocol,
thus making it a legally binding
instru ment.
The proposed protocol is
expected to raise the target for
women re p resentation in decisionmaking
positions from30 to 50 percent, in line with the African
Union.
The summit is expected to discuss
the outcome of the African
Union Summit which took place
early July in Sirte, Libya, and of the
Group of Eight industrialized countries
which among other issues
made far- reaching decisions on
debt relief and aid to developing
countries.
Progress will be reviewed on the
New Partnership for A f r i c a ' s
Development (NEPAD), as will be
p ro g ress towards the attainment of
Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs), in view of the forthcoming
UN Millennium Review Summit in
September.
A decision is expected on the
candidate membership status of
Madagascar which submitted its
application in August last year and
was to be assessed over one year.
Heads of State and Government are
expected to discuss the appointment
of a new executive secretary and
deputy.
A progress report will be heard
on the financing, design and construction
of the new SADC headquarters.
SADC House has become
too small for the enlarg e d
S e c retariat staff. The new headquarters
will be constructed in
Gaborone, which has hosted the
secretariat since 1980.
Senior officials followed by the
Council of Ministers will meet first
to pre p a re the agenda for the
Summit of Heads of State and
Government, the highest decisionmaking
body of SADC.
Special events are expected to
take place to mark the 25th
anniversary of SADC, which was
launched at a summit in Lusaka on
1 April 1980. Membership has
grown from 9 to 13 countries.


title:
AU calls for increased UN representation for Africa

Abstract:
The African Union has reaffirmed its desire to strengthen the leadership
of the United Nations General Assembly, to enable it to fulfil its role as
the most representative and democratic organ of the UN systems.

body:
The African Union has reaffirmed its desire to strengthen the leadership
of the United Nations General Assembly, to enable it to fulfil its role as
the most representative and democratic organ of the UN systems.
African leaders also endorsed the recommendation of the African
Union (AU) Executive Council of foreign ministers calling for the allocation
of two seats of permanent membership on the UN Security Council
to Africa with all the privileges, including the right to veto, and two nonpermanent
seats.
This is intended to strengthen the UN secretariat, making it more
responsive and democratic to the interests and aspirations of Africa,
African leaders said during the AU summit held in July in Libya.
The leaders also endorsed recommendations to increase from 15 to
26 the number of UN Security Council members.
Six of the 11 new members would be permanent seats, including two
for Africa, two for Asia, one for Latin America and the Caribbean, and one
forWestern Europe. The five non-permanent members would be divided
between Africa (two seats), Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the
Caribbean.
“ We reaffirm our commitment and determination towards gra n t i n g
the Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC) the status of a
c e n t ral coordination mechanism for the activities of the specialised
agencies of the UN systems and its subsidiary organs in the economic
and social domain with the view to enabling it to better fulfil its
role in attaining the Millennium Development Goals,” the leaders
declared.
ECOSOCC is the AU civil society organisation, which the African
leaders also want to strengthen to effectively coordinate the activities of
the UN agencies and Bretton Woods institutions of the World Bank and
International Monetary Fund.
Six countries are vying to represent the AU on the Security Council
as permanent members. These are Angola, Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, South
Africa, and Senegal.


Abstract:
BOTSWANA IS a country of great contrast. To the west, the sweeping sands
of the Kalahari desert spill over into Nambia. To the north, there is the stark
beauty of the Okavango Delta teeming with wildlife, and the Chobe river. To
the east, the arable lands and ranches with their long-horned cattle adjoin
Zimbabwe and South Africa.

body:
BOTSWANA IS a country of great contrast. To the west, the sweeping sands
of the Kalahari desert spill over into Nambia. To the north, there is the stark
beauty of the Okavango Delta teeming with wildlife, and the Chobe river. To
the east, the arable lands and ranches with their long-horned cattle adjoin
Zimbabwe and South Africa.
Botswana is today regarded as one
of Africa's economic success stories,
yet when the country attained
its independence from the British
in 1966, it was among the 25 poorest
and least developed countries
in the world.
The country has made gre a t
strides in development over the
years in the areas of economic
growth, education, infrastructure,
and mining, among others.
At the time of independence,
the country had very little physical
infrastru c t u re. There were few
tarred roads and many parts of the
country were inaccessible.
Significant changes have taken
place as a result of joint efforts by
the government, private sector,
communities and other stakeholders.
The national consultative
process is rooted in the kgotla system
of village meetings.
Leadership

Botswana has benefited immensely
from the leadership of
t h ree presidents since independence.
These are, the founding
p resident Seretse Khama, his successor
Ketumile Masire, and the
incumbent, President Festus
Mogae.
The electorate has put few
women into parliament but
President Mogae has taken action
to appoint more women to both
parliament and cabinet.
Diamonds

The country has benefited from the
exploitation of minerals, especially
diamonds, and the mining sector
has emerged as a major driver for
the economy through exploitation
of diamonds, copper, nickel, soda
ash and salt.
The growth in the mining sector
has led to a growth in exports and
f o reign currency earnings. The local
c u r re n c y, the Pula, is one of the
s t rongest currencies in the SADC
region.
The world's largest
producer of diamonds


BOTSWANA'S FINANCE Minister,
Baledzi Gaolathe, has said that this
ye a r 's revenue from diamonds,
wh i ch account for almost half the
g overnment's income, wo u l d
exceed the budget forecast by as
m u ch as 10 percent after deva l u ation
of the Pula. The finance ministry
has forecast earnings from diamonds
of US$1.8bn for the ye a r
ending March 2006. Botswa n a
d e valued the Pula by 12 percent
against a basket of currencies on
30 May to boost exports. (Business
Day Africa)


Exports

Exports in other products have been
boosted through benefits from multilateral
trade agre ements,
such as successive Lome
conventions on trade containing
concessions for
export of beef to the
E u ropean Union.
The combined growth in
the mining, livestock and
other sectors ushered in a
period of rapid gro w t h
and economic transformation.
As a result of this economic
growth, Botswana
has moved out of the
g roup of the poorest and
least developed countries,
and is a middle-income
country in World Bank
classification.
BOTSWANA FACTFILE
Head of state President Festus Mogae
National Day 30 September 1966
Population 1,736,000 (2002)
GDP US$6.5 billion (2003)
Imports US$3.467 billion (2004)
Exports US$4.459 billion (2004)
Literacy 81 percent
Urbanisation 46 percent
National HIV prevalence <br.rate 17.1 percent
Life expectancyat birth 55.6 years
Monthly annualised
inflation rate 6.3 percent (May 2005)
SADC Secretariat, Botswana Central Statistics Office

Infrastructure and services

The government, being the principal
recipient of revenues, invested in the
i m p rovement of the physical, social
and economic infrastru c t u re. The
result has been a marked impro v ement
in the delivery of services to the
population and the conditions for
investment in productive activities
and employment creation.
High public spending led to an
expansion in public sector employment,
and boosted employment in
the private sector, especially in cons
t ruction, retailing, districts and
services related to the diamond
industry.
Recent years have seen a slowing
down in the rate of growth, and the
challenge is to find new and pro d u ctive
activities to provide growth in
employment and incomes.
Drought

A public works programme has
been initiated as a response to the
current drought. President Mogae
declared Botswana "drought stricken"
after poor rainfall resulted in
widespread crop failure, and has
announced relief measures that will
run until June next year.
According to the Ministry of
Agriculture only 72,500 ha -- a
quarter of the cultivable 325,000 ha
-- was planted. "This year's cereal
p roduction is now estimated at
about 19,000 mt, about 10 percent of
the national requirement and less
than half of the 46,000 mt produced
during 2003/04," Mogae said.
National development

Through almost 40 years since
independence, Botswana has
exhibited relatively sound public
sector management. Government
has used its foreign exchange and
cash reserves to counterbalance the
cyclical short-term economic fluctuations.
The accumulation of foreign
exchange reserves has also
enabled Botswana to liberalise its
exchange contro l s .
Botswana has evolved a system
of national development
plans, based upon an overall set
of objectives and strategies, and
an estimated total budget leading
to a series of project spending
votes authorised by parliament.
vThis has been further developed
into systems for economic
planning and budget contro l ,
ensuring that development pro jects
are selected on the basis of
their economic and social
re turns.
Vision 2016

Botswana's longterm vision is
captured in Vision 2016, which
is 50 years after independence.
The document identifies the
major socio-economic challenges
faced by the country and pro p o s e s
a set of strategies to meet them,
based on the theme, "To w a rd s
P rosperity For All".
The development plans of
Botswana are rooted in four national
principles: democracy, development,
s e l f - reliance, and unity. The fifth principle
is botho,which defines a process
"for earning respect by first giving it,
and to gain empowerment by
empowering others."


title:
Gender specialist appointed Attorney General

Abstract:
ATTALIAH MOLOKOMME has been
appointed Attorney General of Botswana.

body:
ATTALIAH MOLOKOMME has been
appointed Attorney General of Botswana.
Molokomme has been a High Court
Judge in Botswana for the past two years. Prior
to that, she was a senior gender programme
officer at the SADC secretariat where she
headed the Gender Unit,
was actively invo l ved in
development of the SADC
D e c l a ration on Gender and
D e velopment, and established
a successful regional
support network of gender
organisations.


Abstract:
BOTSWANA'S KAONE Kario is the
2005 Nokia Face of Africa. She is
from Maun, which she describes
quite simply, “it's beautiful, it's
home.”

body:
BOTSWANA'S KAONE Kario is the
2005 Nokia Face of Africa. She is
from Maun, which she describes
quite simply, “it's beautiful, it's
home.”
Kario, who turned 19 on the
day of the pageant in South Africa,
won over four other finalists including
Nigerian and Zimbabwean contestants.
She won a 3-year modelling
contract and prizes valued at
US$30,000.
The competition
a t t racted contestants
from all SADC member
states and nine
other African countries.
Previous
winners since
the competition
began in 1998
were from
Namibia, South
Africa, Nigeria
and Senegal.


title:
SADC attains rapid shifts in gender equality
and women's empowerment processes

Abstract:
SOUTHERN AFRICAN countries
have experienced rapid shifts in gender
equality andwomen's empowerment
processes in the last decade.

body:
SOUTHERN AFRICAN countries
have experienced rapid shifts in gender
equality andwomen's empowerment
processes in the last decade.
The rapid shifts have been catalysed
by the frames of reference provided
by the 1995 Beijing Declaration
and Platform for Action (BDPFA )
and the 1997 SADC Declaration on
Gender and Development.
Nearly all SADC Member States
now have national machineries
responsible for gender, and gender
focal points within various ministries
with a mandate to strengthen
mechanism to promote the advancement
of women.
Strengthening mechanisms to
promote women's advancement is
one of the six critical areas of concern
which SADC identified to
focus on among the various obstacles
to women's empowerment and
advancement in the social, cultural,
economic, and political spheres.
At the Fourth World Conference
on Women (FWCW) held in Beijing,
China in September 1995, 12 critical
areas of concern were identified as
obstacles to women's empowerment
and advancement.
In September 1997, SADC took
its cue from the BDPFA and identified,
initially four, and subsequently
six, critical areas of concern to
focus on. These are:
Strengthening mechanisms to
promote women's advancement;

Add ressing inequalities in
power-sharing and decisionmaking;

Inequalities in access to economic
resources;

Protection of the human rights
of women and girl-child;

Women in the context of armed
conflict and peace-building; and

Gender capacity-building, training,
networking, and information
dissemination.


Ten years after Beijing, all SADC
member states have national gender
policies except Angola and
Swaziland, which are in the process
of developing theirs. This has been
complemented by national plans of
action on the implementation of
BDPFA, post-Beijing, and emerging
issues.

Representation of women in decision-making in

SADC Member States, 1997-2005



There has been a growing acceptance
of the importance of women's
participation in decision-making
with the majority of member states
witnessing increases in the number
of women in political decision-making
positions since 1995.
However, only a few SADC
countries have met the 30 percent
target of women in political and
decision-making positions by the
2005 deadline. By July 2005, only
South Africa and Mozambique had
passed the 30 percent target.
The challenges of pro m o t i n g
women's access to economic
resources such as land, a key productive
resource in SADC, as well
as employment rights, and the
removal of obstacles to other forms
of economic empowerment remain
top on the agenda.
Mauritius, Mozambique,
Namibia, South Africa, the United
Republic of Tanzania, and
Zimbabwe have established pro c e s ses
to engender budgets in their
endeavours to reduce inequalities in
access to economic re sources.
Some positive developments
have been recorded in legislating
against discrimination in the work
place and home, and all SADC
member states have ratified the
Convention on the Elimination of
all forms of Discrimination Against
Women (CEDAW).
In spite of all the positive
changes and the important frameworks
for action which have
emerged to influence the rapidly
changing gender and development
landscape in SADC, profound contradictions
remain.
The rapid pace of socio-economic
change in the gender arena is not
commensurate with the formal
response to address the existing gender
inequalities. A number of formal
policy responses have not measure d
up to the reality ofmarginalisation of
women and qualitative change
remains minimal for most. A good
example is policies to address HIV
and AIDS, most of which lack a gender
and women's rights perspective.
The gendered nature and marked
increase in HIV and AIDS infections,
illnesses and deaths is reversing the
gains made in the health, employment,
and education sectors, with
women and girls bearing the bru n t .
T h e re is greater stress on women and
girl's socially defined nurturing ro les,
particularly caring for the afflicted.


title:
Summit urged to elevate gender declaration to a protocol

Abstract:
GENDER AND women's empowerment
organisations in southern
Africa have called for the upgrading
of the SADC Declaration on
Gender and Development to a
Protocol in order to accelerate gender
equality in the region.
The recommendation is on the

body:
GENDER AND women's empowerment
organisations in southern
Africa have called for the upgrading
of the SADC Declaration on
Gender and Development to a
Protocol in order to accelerate gender
equality in the region.
The recommendation is on the
agenda of the SADC Council of
Ministers, whichmeets in advance of
Summit to prepare policy recommendations
for adoption.
Representatives of gender and
women's empowerment org a nisations
in the region met in
mid-July in South Africa to
share findings on how the
1997 SADC gender declaration
and its 1998
Addendum on violence
against women and children have
been implemented to date.
Audits on the performance of
SADCcountries in implementing the
declaration reveal that while awareness
of gender equality has increased
and prompted exemplary action, in
some instances that has placed
SADC at the fore f ront of global
debates, a Protocol on gender is
needed to accelerate and formalize
gender equality in the region .
As a legally binding instrument,
a Protocol would be more effective
in aligning national legislation than
a declaration, which is not legally
binding.
The audits reveal that policies,
legal provisions, and programmes to
a d d ress specific provisions in the
declaration have been put in place in
most areas, but inequalities remain in
existence because implementation has
remained weak with many countries
lacking mechanisms to help detect,
control, and prevent discriminatory
action that may occur in a society.
The provisions for gender equality
and women's advancement in
the SADC declaration are linked to
many others, such as the BDPFA,
CEDAW, the Protocol to the African
Charter on Human and People's
Rights on the Rights of Women in
Africa, and the MDGs.
To enhance effective monitoring
of pro g ress, the proposed SADC gender
protocol would have specific targets
and timeframes for achieving
gender equality.


title:
SADC principles and guidelines governing democratic elections Mauritius elects a new parliament and government

Abstract:
A NEW government emerged from
parliamentary elections held in
Mauritius in July, which were won
by the Social Alliance comprising
the Mauritius Labour Party and the
Mauritian Social Democratic Party.

body:
A NEW government emerged from
parliamentary elections held in
Mauritius in July, which were won
by the Social Alliance comprising
the Mauritius Labour Party and the
Mauritian Social Democratic Party.
The alliance won 38 seats in the
70-seat unicameral parliament,
enabling the former opposition parties
to form the island's new government
led by veteran politician,
Navinchandra Ramgoolam, the son
of the first prime minister of
Mauritius, Sewoosagur Ramgoolam.
The SADC Electoral Observer
Mission (SEOM), headed by the
South African ambassador to
Mauritius, Ajay Bramdeo, declared
the elections free and fair, saying the
poll will contribute " to the consolidation
of democracy and continue
in the path of development not only
in Mauritius but also in the region.”
Second best with 22 seats came
the governing alliance of the
Mauritian Militant Movement/
Militant Socialist Movement of Paul
B é re n g e r, the then chairperson of
SADC.
Hardly an hour had passed after
the announcement of the off i c i a l
results that Bérenger appeared on
national television to graciously
concede defeat.
“We must respect democracy,”
he said, adding that “the elections
took place in a calm and orderly
fashion. They were an example for
the SADC region and the world.” In
the same breath he resigned his post
and announced he would meet with
Ramgoolam to hand over his government's
most important dossiers.
Under the Mauritian electoral
system, 62 candidates out of the 70-
seat chamber are elected for a fiveyear
term by direct popular vote in
a block system where each voter
gets to cast three ballots for three
candidates from each of the 21 constituencies,
including the island of
Rodrigues off the southeast coast,
which elects two deputies.
The remaining eight candidates
are identified from a list of “best losers”
which factor in ethnic groups
and religious affiliation, among
other considerations. The other two
seats fell to the Organisation of the
People of Rodrigues (OPR).
The turnoutwas put at 82 percent
of just over 817,000 eligible voters.
There were over 80 election
observers representing the SEOM,
the SADC Parliamentary Foru m ,
the SADC Electoral Commissions
Forum, and the African Union.
SEOM deployed 13 observers
who observed elections throughout
the country's 21 constituencies for
two weeks.
Although Mauritius did not
reach the 30 percent target set by
SADC leaders to ensure the representation
of women in all political
and decision-making structures by
2005, Mauritians managed to vote
into parliament 12 women – 17 percent.
This compares favourably with
the past parliament which had 8.6
percent women. There were 63
women campaigning for seats in
the legislature.
Politicians and gender organizations
say the reason women shy
away from politics in the islands is
because political life is traditionally
male-dominated. “Women feel discouraged
to stand on a platform
and speak in public,” said Marie
Gislaine Henry of Social Alliance.
Furthermore, it does not help
that other women look at women
candidates as people who failed to
play their traditional role as mothers,
she said.
The elections were an important
milestone in the region's drive to
implement the SADC Principles
and Guidelines Governing
Democratic Elections adopted at
Grand Baie, Mauritius, in 2004.
This important document,
although not legally binding, seeks
to inform the region's electoral
p rocesses, challenging member
states to ensure that they re a l l y
work for the enhancement of
democracy within SADC, as well as
aligning the electoral legislation in
member countries.


Abstract:
THE DEMOCRATIC Republic of
Congo is in the process of developing
a newconstitution,which should
pave the way for general elections
scheduled for 2006.

body:
THE DEMOCRATIC Republic of
Congo is in the process of developing
a newconstitution,which should
pave the way for general elections
scheduled for 2006.
The draft constitution was adopted
by parliament in May, but before
entering into force, the new constitution
has to be submitted to a re f e re ndum
in November this year.
Analysts say the draft constitution
is the most liberal the country
has ever had. A ccording to the new
constitution, the president can be
elected for a maximum of two fiveyear
terms.
Unlike the previous constitution,
the president of the republic will no
longer be the head of government.
The president will share the executive
powers with a prime minister
elected from the leading political
parties in the parliament. However,
the president remains in charge of
defence, security and foreign policy.
The new constitution has also
set a minimum age limit of 30 years
for presidential candidacy. This
allows the incumbent, Pre s i d e n t
Joseph Kabila, who is 33 years old,
to run as a presidential candidate in
the forthcoming elections.
The elections, scheduled for
June 2005 according to the peace
a g reement signed in Sun City,
South Africa, have been rescheduled
for next year.
The postponement is the result
of a delay in providing the legal
documents enabling the
Independent Electoral Commission
to organise the elections. The president
of the commission, Apollinaire
Malu Malu, requested parliament
to postpone the elections by six
months.
In addition, two important documents,
namely the Electoral Law and
the Referendum Law are required
before preparations for the elections
begin. If necessary, the Independent
Electoral Commission is allowed to
request postponement by a further
six months.
The election process has alre a d y
started with registration of voters
taking place in Kinshasa and the
same process will soon begin in
other parts of the country.
The draft constitution states that
new provinces will be created. The
DRC currently has a total of 11
provinces. Ten new provinces to be
created under the new constitution
will be widely decentralised, both
politically and economically.
According to the draft constitution,
40 percent of taxes will re m a i n
in the provinces while 60 percentwill
be sent to the central government.


title:
Challenges for new government – sugar and textiles

Abstract:
SUGAR AND textiles were among
the issues that could have influenced
the outcome of parliamentary
elections in Mauritius, according
to economic analysts.

body:
SUGAR AND textiles were among
the issues that could have influenced
the outcome of parliamentary
elections in Mauritius, according
to economic analysts.
Mauritius has been posting a
four percent growth in Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) over the
past four years, one of the best in
the SADC region, but this has
slowed down due to changes in the
international market for sugar and
textiles. The European Commission
plans to slash sugar prices by about
40 percent over a two-year period
beginning in 2005.
Critics have noted that the move
will have grave consequences for
sugar industries in developing
countries. Mauritius, Mozambique,
South Africa, Swaziland and
Zimbabwe have well-established
sugar sectors.
It was against this backdrop that
within hours of being confirmed the
victor of the poll, the new
Prime Minister, Navinhandra
Ramgoolam, placed these sectors at
the top of his list of priorities.
Ramgoolam has already spoken
of implementing policies to revamp
the country's agriculture sector.
Other priorities will be the putting
into place of mechanisms to boost
the establishment of small and
medium enterprises to create more
jobs and wealth, and perhaps cushion
job losses.


title:
New SADC Secretariat Organisational Structure

Abstract:
As approved by SADC Council of Ministers on 25 February 2005, Grand Baie, Republic of Mauritius

body:
Click image to view full SADC Secretariat structure


title:
HIV and AIDS, challenge for regional integration

Abstract:
AS SADC moves towards deeper
integration, one of the major challenges
is the impact of HIV and
AIDS on social, political and economic
development.

body:
AS SADC moves towards deeper
integration, one of the major challenges
is the impact of HIV and
AIDS on social, political and economic
development.
Regarded initially as a health
issue in the early 1990s, HIV and
AIDS policy is now being integrated
into all sectors of development
t h rough a multi-sectoral appro a c h .
SADC Heads of State and
Government stated their firm commitment
through the adoption of the
Maseru Declaration on HIV and
AIDS in July 2003. The declaration is
being implemented through the
multi-sectoral strategic interventions
contained in the SADC HIV and
AIDS strategic framework 2003-2007.
The priority areas include access
to care, testing, treatment, pre v e ntion,
and social mobilization. The
declaration also resolved to simplify
mechanisms for the timely disbursement
of re sources to ensure that all
communities have adequate access
to funds to fight HIV and AIDS.
SADC member states have
designed policies to tackle the pandemic,
especially in the areas of
p revention and tre a t m e n t .
N u m e rous projects have been
implemented on awareness and
p revention, and the focus has
moved to treatment and care for
those living with HIV and AIDS.
SADC heads of state and government
have pledged to allocate at
least 15 percent of annual budgets
to improve the health services.
They are also committed to the
eradication of poverty, which has
exacerbated the impacts of the pandemic
in the region.
This is in line with the A buja
Declaration, adopted by the
O rganisation ofAfrican Unity (OAU)
Special Summit on AIDS in 2001,
which called for African governments to allocate 15 percent of
national budgets to health spending
with more emphasis on HIV and
AIDS.
The OAU declaration calls for
minimum spending to provide coverage
of essential prevention, care ,
and mitigation services in an effort to
reduce the spread of the pandemic.
Although the region is working
towards increasing access to antiretroviral
drugs to those infected
with the virus, access to nutrition
remains a top priority for governments
as they seek to give holistic
support to people living with HIV
and AIDS.


title:
Media institutions to
design workplacebased
policies

Abstract:
SOUTHERN AFRICA is finalising
a manual to guide development of
workplace policies in media institutions,
one of a number of projects
implemented under a two-year programme
by the Southern Africa
Editors Forum (SAEF).

body:
SOUTHERN AFRICA is finalising
a manual to guide development of
workplace policies in media institutions,
one of a number of projects
implemented under a two-year programme
by the Southern Africa
Editors Forum (SAEF).
SAEF has resolved that at least
80 percent of media institutions in
the region should have workplacebased
policies and programmes by
the end of 2006.
In addition, SAEF is working on
promoting ethical coverage of the
pandemic by media houses in the
region.


title:
Nutrition vital to HIV
and AIDS treatment

Abstract:
ZAMBIANS HAV E been urged to
integrate a nutritional component
into the treatment of HIV and AIDS.

body:
ZAMBIANS HAV E been urged to
integrate a nutritional component
into the treatment of HIV and AIDS.
The Churches Health
Association of Zambia
(CHAZ) says that providing
f ree antire t roviral dru g s
(ARVs) alone is not sufficient
for the treatment of
those infected.
CHAZ says that programmes to
ensure food security must be put in
place to ensure access to foodstuffs
required for a balanced diet for people
living with HIV and AIDS, as an
anti-re t roviral therapy will only
have the desired effect if the
patients are properly nourished.
An estimated 24,000 people are
onA RVs in the country and the government
is working towards incre a sing
the access to 100,000 people by
the end of the year. (The Post)


title:
HIV and AIDS affects land productivity in southern Africa

Abstract:
SOUTHERN AFRICA has the
world's highest HIV and AIDS
p revalence rates, a situation that is
having negative impacts on land
p roductivity and tenure rights, especially
for widows and children.

body:
SOUTHERN AFRICA has the
world's highest HIV and AIDS
p revalence rates, a situation that is
having negative impacts on land
p roductivity and tenure rights, especially
for widows and children.
With 70 percent of the re gion's
population depending on land for
livelihood and in view of land
reforms that are taking place or being
contemplated, the impact of HIV and
AIDS on land must take centre stage.
HIV and AIDS presents a challenge
to all aspects of land policy as
it affects people whom land policy
is intended to benefit, as well as the
personnel in the institutions that
support the policy implementation.
As a result of the pandemic some
landholders may be forced to change
their land use patterns, resulting in
lower productivity as they engage in
less labour-intensive practices.

Status of SADC legal instruments as of 25 July 2005
Name of instrument Date of signature Date of entry into force
SADC Treaty 17 August 1992 30 September 1993
Protocol on Immunities and Privileges 17 August 1992 30 September 1993
Protocol on SharedWatercourse Systems 28 August 1995 28 September 1998
Protocol on Energy 24 August 1996 17 April 1998
Protocol on Transport, Communication and Meteorology 24 August 1996 6 July 1998
Protocol on Combating Illicit Drugs 24 August 1996 20 March 1999
Protocol on Trade 24 August 1996 25 January 2000
Charter of the Regional Tourism Organisation of Southern Africa (RETOSA) 8 September 1997 8 September 1997
Protocol on Education and Training 8 September 1997 31 July 2000
Protocol on Mining 8 September 1997 10 February 2000
Protocol on the Development of Tourism 14 September 1998 26 November 2002
Protocol on Health 18 August 1999 14 August 2004
Protocol on Wildlife Conservation and Law Enforcement 18 August 1999 30 November 2003
MOU on Cooperation and Standardisation, Quality
Assurance,Accreditation and Metrology in SADC 9 November 1999 16 July 2000
Protocol on Legal Affairs 7 August 2000
Protocol on Tribunal and Rules of Procedure 7 August 2000 14 August 2001
Revised Protocol on SharedWatercourses 7 August 2000 22 September 2003
Amendment Protocol on Trade 7 August 2000 7 August 2000
Agreement Amending the Treaty of SADC 14 August 2001 14 August 2001
Protocol on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation 14 August 2001 2 March 2004
Protocol on the Control of Firearms, Ammunition and other Related Material in SADC 14 August 2001 8 November 2004
Protocol on Fisheries 14 August 2001 8 August 2003
Protocol on Culture, Information and Sports 14 August 2001 --
Protocol Against Corruption 14 August 2001 --
Protocol on Extradition 3 October 2002 --
Protocol on Forestry 3 October 2002 --
Protocol on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters 3 October 2002 --
Agreement Amending the Protocol on Tribunal and the Rules of Procedure 3 October 2002 3 October 2002
MOU on Cooperation in Taxation and Related Matters 8 August 2002 8 August 2002
MOU on Macroeconomic Convergence 8 August 2002 8 August 2002
Mutual Defence Pact 26 August 2003 --
Charter of Fundamental Social Rights 26 August 2003 26 August 2003
Declaration on gender and Development 8 September 1997 --
The Prevention and Eradication of Violence Against Women and
Children an Addendum to the Declaration on Gender and Development 14 September 1998 Do not require ratification
Declaration on Productivity 18 August 1999 Do not require ratification
Declaration on Information and Communications Technology (ICT) August 2001 Do not require ratification
Declaration on HIV and AIDS 4 July 2003 Do not require ratification
Declaration on Agriculture and Food Security 15 May 2004 Do not require ratification
* Highlighted entries indicate additions/changes made since August 2004



Those affected by or infected
with HIV and AIDS may be forced
to subcontract their land resources
to other users through renting, leasing
or sharecropping arrangements.
According to a paper by Oxfam
International and Save the Childre n
UK, resultant losses in yields due to
HIV and AIDS are caused by many
factors, including reduced labour as
a result of illness and the shift of
attention to increased demands in
caring for the sick; sale of pro d u c t i v e
assets such as seeds, equipment and
cattle; and the shifting of re s p o n s i b i lity
to the elderly and the less experienced
youth.
According to a SADC report, New
Approaches Needed to Food Security,
the fundamental decline in income
and agricultural production experienced
by HIV and AIDS aff ected
households calls for continued consumption-
oriented assistance in the
form of safety nets. Exposure to
poverty and inadequate nutrition
can accelerate the pro g ression fro m
HIV to full blownAIDS.
Productivity support should
focus on improving the productivity
of HIV and AIDS affected households
in general, with a special focus
on households headed by elderly
women and those with a chronically
ill household head. The report also
recommends interventions with a
"high food access to labour ratio".
SADC's Regional Indicative
Strategic Development Plan
(RISDP) emphasises a multi-sectoral
approach to the pandemic,
and sets out a target to halt and
begin to reverse the spread of HIV
and AIDS by 2015.


title:
Shared watercourses critical to water management
in the region

Abstract:
THE MANAGEMENT of shared
watercourses in the SADC region
has strengthened integration
among member states who have
committed themselves to collectively
implement water management
policies and programmes.

body:
THE MANAGEMENT of shared
watercourses in the SADC region
has strengthened integration
among member states who have
committed themselves to collectively
implement water management
policies and programmes.
Through the revised Protocol on
Shared Watercourses, the region
has sought to maximise on the
attributes of shared water management
while minimising on the
potential for competition or conflict
over resource scarcity.
The revised Protocol on Share d
Wa t e rcourses came into force in
2003, and succeeds the 1995 Protocol
on SharedWa t e rcourse Systems.
About 70 percent of southern
Africa's freshwater re s o u rces occur
in the region's 15 shared river basins.
Management of water re s o u rc e s
is a key challenge for southern Africa
given the regular occurrence of
d rought in the region. Water is a
decisive economic development
input factor, including its role in the
generation of electricity.
The bulk of southern Africa's
energy supplies come from hydro-power, andwith indications that the
region may be short of electricity
supplies by 2007, integrated water
re sources management as promoted
by the revised Protocol on Share d
Wa t e rcourses becomes critical.
Bothwater and energy fall under
the SADC Directorate of
Infrastru cture and Services, which
also has responsibilities for transport,
communications andmeteoro logy
services.
Despite shortages in potable
water supplies, the region's potential
in generating hydropower is
huge. For example, the Congo
River has untapped potential for
40,000 mega watts, energy that is
enough to power the whole of
Africa with even surpluses to supply
southern European countries
of Italy and Spain. A project to tap
the Congo's energy potential is
gaining political momentum
under the New Partnership for
Africa's Development (Nepad).
The first Protocol on Shared
Watercourse Systems signed in 1995
was based on the Helsinki Rules
which tilt heavily towards the principle
of territorial sovereignty of a
watercourse state. According to
these rules, an upstream state has the
right to usewater re s o u rceswithin its
territory with no regard to any eff ects
that this may have on the downstream
state.
The adoption by the region, in
April 1997, of the UN Convention on
the Lawof theNon-navigationalUses
of International Watercourses led to
the revision of the 1995 protocol.
The main differences between the
old and the revised protocols is that
the latter places emphasis on watercourses
as opposed to waterc ourse
states, and calls for the establishment
of river basin commissions, which
have been established for the
Zambezi, Limpopo, Okavango and
Orange Senqu river basins.
The SADC Protocol on Share d
Wa t e rcourses is being implemented
t h rough the Regional Strategic
Action Plan (RSAP) for integrated
water re s o u rces management and
development.
A number of projects developed
from the RSAP are currently ru nning,
with the most recent to get funding
being the Groundwater and Dro u g h t
Management Project funded by the
World Bank (through the Global
Environment Fund) and Sida.


title:
Making the Zambezi river basin
agreement a reality

Abstract:
THE ZAMBEZI river
basin states have re a ffirmed
their commitment
to operationalise the
Zambezi Watercourse
Commission (ZamCom)
through the implementation
of initiatives and projects
on water management
in the basin.

body:
THE ZAMBEZI river
basin states have re a ffirmed
their commitment
to operationalise the
Zambezi Wa t e rc o u r s e
Commission (ZamCom)
t h rough the implementation
of initiatives and projects
on water management
in the basin.
The aim of the ZamCom
agreement is to promote equitable
and reasonable use of the
water resources of the Zambezi
river basin and is also expected to
promote efficient management
and sustainable development
among the eight riparian states.
Officials from most of the basin
states met in the tourist re s o r t
town of Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe,
in July to discuss issues pertaining
to the implementation of the
ZamCom agreement signed in July
2004.
They discussed important initiatives
planned for the basin, including
the development of the Zambezi
Basin Initiative to address investment
and poverty eradication issues; a new
Agricultural Water Management initiative;
and the World Bank's
Zambezi Basin Irrigation and Rural
Livelihoods initiative.
These initiatives were presented
by officials from the SADC
D i rectorate for Food, Agriculture
and Natural Resources and the
World Bank.
The meeting considered issues
relating to the location of the
ZamCom secretariat and criteria for
selection of a host country; the composition
of the secretariat and selection
criteria for the secretariat staff.
A road map was adopted, based
on a concept note that sets out the
strategic preparations that need to be
undertaken and provides options
and steps to be followed before the
commission can become operational.


Abstract:
THE SOUTHERN Africa Environment
Outlook is an ambitious new report
that provides an integrated analysis of
southern Africa's environment.

body:
THE SOUTHERN Africa Environment
Outlook is an ambitious new report
that provides an integrated analysis of
southern Africa's environment.
The report, to be launched later
this ye a r, highlights key emerging
e nvironmental issues, and presents a
set of future scenarios for the region.
It comes 10 years after the first comprehensive
State of the Environment
in Southern Africa published in late
1994, and five years after the first
report on a single ecosystem, the
State of the Environment Zambezi
R iver Basin 2000.
The preparation of the report
was based on a wide consultative
and participatory process, during
which consensus around regional
p e r s p e c t ives and priorities were
built. The Outlook was constructed
around a firm data and indicator
d e velopment process. Regional
projects on geographical information
systems and indicator development
for state of the environment
assessment and reporting were supportive
to the process.
Experts from specialised organisations
and from national institutions
mandated to carry out state of env ironment
reporting were invo l ved in
providing inputs, as well as in the
review of the manuscript. This
ensured regional balance and scientific
credibility. Contributors, reviewers
and the technical editor are all SADC
nationals.
The process began in 1998, initially
to build a foundation through
issues identification, consensus
building on the ideal framework to
use in the analysis, as well as agreement
on the core datasets and indicators
to support the analysis.
The Southern Africa Environment
Outlook is a SADC report produced
under the Communicating the
E nvironment Programme (CEP), a
partnership of SADC with IUCN-The
World Conservation Union and the
Southern African Research and
Documentation Centre (SARDC).
This benefited from a capacity
development process driven by the
UN Environment Progra m m e
(UNEP) through the Africa
E nvironment Information Netwo r k
(AEIN). SARDC's I Musokotwa n e
E nvironment Resource Centre for
Southern Africa (Imercsa) is the
regional collaborating centre for the
Africa Environment Outlook, p r oduced
at the request of A f r i c a n
E nvironment Ministers, and the
Global Environment Outlook, both
produced by UNEP.
The traditional approach of env ironmental
reporting in the region
focused on national boundaries, sectors
or natural resources. In this 2005
report, the issues are presented in an
integrated manner, using the Drive rs
Pressure State Impact Response
(DPSIR) fra m e work. Drivers and pressures
are defined as the root causes of
e nvironmental change, and they can
be natural or human-induced. Th e
i n t e g rated assessment and reporting
approach, through the DPSIR fra m ework,
answers four questions that are
key to effective decision-making. Th e
questions are:
 What is happening to the environment

 Why is it happening

 What can we do, and what
are we doing about it

 What will happen if we do not
act now


title:
Joint training for SADC military part of
Africa's “common destiny”

Abstract:
SOUTHERN AFRICA has been
hosting sub-regional military
training in some member states,
most recently in Botswana where
3,300 soldiers from 12 countries
participated in the Thokgamo
(serenity) exercise in Maun.

body:
SOUTHERN AFRICA has been
hosting sub-regional military
training in some member states,
most recently in Botswana where
3,300 soldiers from 12 countries
participated in the Thokgamo
(serenity) exercise in Maun.
President Mogae said the joint
military exercise demonstrated
that the region has the will and
capacity to secure its own future.
"Besides being positioned to
react to local threats, this brigade
will become the pillar of the all-
African Standby Force, which is
being established by the African
Union."
Mogae noted that southern
Africa had been the arena of
armed conflict in recent memory
"as our people struggled to fre e
themselves from the shackles of
colonialism and apartheid, but
today we are increasingly able to
enjoy the fruits of sustained
peace.
"From being a location of international
concern and political rivalry,
southern Africa has thus transformed
into an example for others
of what can be achieved through
reconciliation and a common purpose."
The manoeuvres were organised
by Botswana and France in terms of
France's Re-Enforcement of African
Capabilities in Peacekeeping Programme
(RECAMP), and were commanded
by Brigadier Letsogile
Motsumi of the Botswana Defence
Forces.
All SADC member states participated
in the exercise, with the
exception of Mauritius and the
Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Windhoek Treaty signed in
August 1992, which forms the legal
and political foundation of the community,
envisaged that member
countries would develop common
political values, systems and institutions
as well as promote and
defend peace and stability. SADC
thus established the Organ on
Politics, Defence and Security in
June 1996.
At continental level, A frican
countries have decided to form subregional
military forces in North,
East, South, Central and We s t
Africa, through the African Union
(AU) for use in collective security
efforts.


Abstract:
SCIENTISTS IN South Africa have
developed a new invention for rainmaking.
This offers a new way of
seeding clouds through forc i n g
clouds to squeeze out nearly double
the amount of rain.

body:
SCIENTISTS IN South Africa have
developed a new invention for rainmaking.
This offers a new way of
seeding clouds through forc i n g
clouds to squeeze out nearly double
the amount of rain.
The invention comes at a
time when bre a k t h roughs in
weather modification are being
seriously sought in the re g i o n .
Experts say rain enhancement is
based on the idea that extra
water drops form around fine
salt inside clouds, but that
dumping salt often leads to useless
salt clumps and dangero u s
c o r rosion in airc r a f t .
Ways of using the innovation
to combat drought in the region
a re being studied. This can
i n c rease efficiency and is also
cost effective. (Sunday Times)


Abstract:
SOUTH AFRICA' S petroleum
giant, Sasol, is investing in the
development of natural gas pro jects
in order to offer alternative
sources of energy to consumers.

body:
SOUTH AFRICA' S petroleum
giant, Sasol, is investing in the
development of natural gas pro jects
in order to offer alternative
sources of energy to consumers.
Natural gas can be marketed in
many parts of the world using
Sasol's proven gas-to-liquid technology.
This technology turns natural
gas into a range of high-quality
energy and chemical products,
including high-performance gasto-
liquid diesel.
The diesel is low in aromatics
and has almost no sulphur content,
thus it produces fewer emissions
and contributes to a cleaner environment.
The gas-to-liquid diesel has a
far higher cetane (the diesel equivalent
of octane) rating than traditional
diesel, which puts it in a
league of its own in performance
terms.
The launch of this diesel to
selected world markets will
take place in 2006 and will
complement efforts by a
number of governments
to diversify and
strengthen their future
e n e rgy supply.
(Sawubona)


Abstract:
THE AFRICAN Union
Commission and Nepad
have established a panel of
eminent scholars, industrialists
and policy-makers,

body:
THE AFRICAN Union
Commission and Nepad
have established a panel of
eminent scholars, industrialists
and policy-makers, the African
Panel on Biotechnology (APB), to
design an African policy and strategy
for biotechnology and to provide
comprehensive and independent
science policy advice to
the continent.
The creation of this high-level
advisory group shows Africa's
determination to take a common
informed approach to addre s s
issues pertaining to modern
biotechnology and its applications
for health, agriculture ,
industry, mining and the enviro nment.
The APB will identify and recommend
specific ways of building
Africa's capacities to apply and
safely handle modern biotechnology.
(NEPAD Dialogue)


Abstract:
FRICAN COUNTRIES
have committed themselves
to establish networks of
Centres of Excellence in Biosciences
for agriculture, health, environment
and the mining industry, dedicated
to harnessing and applying life sciences
and biotechnology to remove
barriers to production, health and
environmental management.

body:
AFRICAN COUNTRIES
have committed themselves
to establish networks of
Centres of Excellence in Biosciences
for agriculture, health, environment
and the mining industry, dedicated
to harnessing and applying life sciences
and biotechnology to remove
barriers to production, health and
environmental management.
The Nepad/African Biosciences
Initiative (ABI) has been
designed to translate these commitments
into concrete programmatic
actions, recognizing that life
sciences and biotechnology offer
enormous potential for strengthening
development and innovation
in Africa.
The initiative covers three flagship
programmes of the Nepad sciences
and technology secretariat:
biodiversity science, biotechnology,
and indigenous knowledge and
technology.
(NEPAD Dialogue)


title:
Seed producers urged to take advantage of science,technology

Abstract:
THE MINISTRY of Science and
Technology in Zimbabwe is promoting
research for the development
of seed varieties suitable for
different climatic conditions and
environments in order to diversify
agricultural production to all
regions in the country.

body:
THE MINISTRY of Science and
Technology in Zimbabwe is promoting
research for the development
of seed varieties suitable for
different climatic conditions and
environments in order to diversify
agricultural production to all
regions in the country.
Farmers in wet areas are encouraged
to grow crops that are best for
their conditions, while those in dry
areas can plant drought-resistant
crops.
A Zimbabwean seed company is
c u r rently working on initiatives for
developing other seed varieties
through research in Zimbabwe and
in countries such as Malawi and
Mozambique. (The Herald)


title:
The textile industry Intraregional investment and trade key to
overcoming economic challenges

Abstract:
SOUTHERN AFRICAN countries
a re optimistic that incre a s e d
domestic investment and production
competitiveness will boost
their economies, which have been
negatively affected by a slowdown
in the textile industry.

body:
SOUTHERN AFRICAN countries
a re optimistic that incre a s e d
domestic investment and production
competitiveness will boost
their economies, which have been
negatively affected by a slowdown
in the textile industry.
With the phaseout of the World
Trade Organisation (WTO) quota
system at the beginning of 2005, textile
firms in the SADC region have
begun to seek measures that promote
investment within the region.
“ We need to look within the
region for investments which require
that we have our own mills. For such
investment to come, security, macroeconomic
stability, good governance
and labour issues need to be
a d d ressed,” says Agrina Mussa,
P resident of theAssociation of SADC
Chambers of Commerce and
Industry.
The region was benefiting from
the Multi-Fibre Agreement (MFR)
of the WTO, which protected the
textile industries in developing
countries.
Through benefits from the MFR,
Lesotho's textile industry emerged
as the biggest sector in the country;
and an estimated 83 percent of
Swaziland's exports are textiles.
Malawi and South Africa also have
substantial textile industries.
The business community in the
region argues that the WTO rules
p rotect the domestic interests of
giant producers in developed countries.
They believe it is time for
African countries to seek protection
of their own industries and, in
order to strengthen their position,
the textile firms plan to form a
regional trade association.
Companies in the textile industry
have been urged to work hard to
improve productivity in the face of
stiff competition from clothing and
textile powerhouses in A s i a .
According to the business community,
this can be done more efficiently
through the creation of dynamic
incentives by governments for
investors in the clothing and textile
industry.
Asian countries have been enjoying
unlimited access to the duty-fre e
US market after the quotas were lifted.
The removal of the quota restrictions
under the MFA means that
African producers are no longer protected
from the competition pre s e n ted
by Asian mass pro ducers.
“What we need now are strategies
that will pre p a re us for drastic
changes in the future,” said Martin
Kansichi, Malawi's Minister of Trade .
The slowdown in the textile
industry has affected social development,
especially where families have
been left with limited income due to
loss of employment where textile
companies have closed down.
Themost affected countries in the
region, Lesotho and Swaziland, are
working on diversifying their
economies in order to create employment
and boost economic growth .
At the regional level the implementation
of the SADC Trade
Protocol, which envisages a Free
Trade Area by 2008, is expected to
strengthen economic ties between
member states.


title:
SADC targets free movement of people in 2006

Abstract:
A DRAFT protocol to be presented
to the SADC summit could facilitate
the removal of visas and the
f ree movement of people in the
region as early as next year.

body:
A DRAFT protocol to be presented
to the SADC summit could facilitate
the removal of visas and the
f ree movement of people in the
region as early as next year.
“The specific objective is to facilitate
entry intomember stateswithout
the need for a visa for a maximum
period of 90 days per year,” the
Executive Secretary, Dr Prega
Ramsamy, said after a preparatory
meeting in Johannesburg.
He said this would pave the
way for the free movement of
goods and services, capital, trade
and people in the region.
SADC plans to have a free trade
area by 2008.
Elimination of visas is one of
the proposed measures to forg e
deeper integration and unlock the
region's development potential,
including access to tourist attractions
such as the transfrontier conservation
areas and national parks
in the region.
This will also please South
Africa's World Cup organizers who
had called for a regional Uni-Visa
before 2010, to help to spread the
economic benefits of hosting the
World Cup across the region.
South Africa won the bid to
hold the tournament one year ago,
and is expected to complete all
preparations by the end of 2007.


Abstract:
AN UMBRELLA organisation for
companies in information and communication
technology (ICT) has
been launched in Namibia.

body:
AN UMBRELLA organisation for
companies in information and communication
technology (ICT) has
been launched in Namibia. The ICT
Alliance Namibia will re p re s e n t
companies as well as computer professionals
and users.
Besides the promotion of ethical
and suitable use of computers in society,
and while protecting users fro m
being exploited through lack of
knowledge, the aims and objectives
of the ICT Alliance Namibia is to
influence and shape ICT policy-making
for the industry and the users as
well as drive ICT policymaking in the
country. (The Namibia Economist)


Abstract:
THE MALAWIAN government has
been hailed by the private sector for
fiscal discipline in the 2004/05
financial year.

body:
THE MALAWIAN government has
been hailed by the private sector for
fiscal discipline in the 2004/05
financial year.
Efforts to reduce the budget
deficit and measures to address the
inherited domestic debt burden and
arrears for the coming fiscal year
2005/06 have been welcomed.
A statement from the private
sector says if government continues
spending within the allocated
resources, the country's economic
performance will improve. Positive
spin-offs already enjoyed include a
reduction in interest rate from 35 to
25 percent last year.
The private sector also acknowledges
that its proposals for tax re f o r m
were taken on board in the new
budget. (The Chronicle, Malawi)


Abstract:
PLANS TO launch a new stockmarket
by June 2006 are underway in
Mauritius in an effort to attract foreign
investors to bring in new pro ducts
and new companies into the
country's various sectors, including
tourism and financial services.

body:
PLANS TO launch a new stockmarket
by June 2006 are underway in
Mauritius in an effort to attract foreign
investors to bring in new pro ducts
and new companies into the
country's various sectors, including
tourism and financial services.
The bourse will replace the
unregulated over-the-counter market
and will run in parallel with the
main Semdex market, which is
trading near re c o rd highs after
recent interest rate cuts.
Foreign investors are
barred from over-the-counter
trades, but will be welcome in
the new exchange, which will
require a minimum free-float
of 10 percent of a firm's shares
and simpler listing rules .
(Business Report)


Abstract:
THE NAMIBIAN government has
begun encouraging companies
countrywide to be proactive about
Black Economic Empowerment
(BEE).

body:
THE NAMIBIAN government has
begun encouraging companies
countrywide to be proactive about
Black Economic Empowerment
(BEE). The private sector is expected
to incorporate BEE in their planning
strategies and structures as a
means of ensuring longterm stability
and becoming fully integrated
into the mainstream of the
Namibian economy. (New Era)


Abstract:
SOUTH AFRICA' S Gauteng
p rovince is set to become “one huge
c o n s t ruction site” as work starts in
August on a multi-billion Rand
high-speed train project, described
by officials as Africa's biggest ever
public-private partnership.

body:
SOUTH AFRICA' S Gauteng
p rovince is set to become “one huge
c o n s t ruction site” as work starts in
August on a multi-billion Rand
high-speed train project, described
by officials as Africa's biggest ever
public-private partnership. Government
has awarded the tender
to a local and international consortium
for construction of the 80-km,
high-speed train designed to link
J o h a n n e s b u rg and its airport with
the capital, Tshwane (Pretoria) in
time for the 2010 World Cup.
(Southern Times )


Abstract:
ACCESS TO oil and natural gas, and their prices, are
hugely important axes of geo-political strategy and global
economic prospects and have been for a century.

body:
ACCESS TO oil and natural gas, and their prices, are
hugely important axes of geo-political strategy and global
economic prospects and have been for a century. This
book written by Toby Shelley, a Financial Times journalist
who has long covered the energy sector, provides re a d e r s
with essential information for understanding the shifting
structure of the global oil and gas economy -- where the
reserves lie, who produces what, trade patterns, consumption
trends, prices. The book highlights political and
social issues in the global energy sector -- the domestic
inequality, civil conflict and wide-spread poverty that
dependence on oil exports inflicts on developing countries
and the strategies of wealthy countries (especially the
United States) to control oil-rich regions .
Energy demand is on a strong upward trend. The reality
of the environmental damage caused by fossil fuels cannot
be doubted. What are the likely human consequences -
- changing disease vectors, unprecedented flooding, mass
migration? And what is to be done -- in the wealthy countries
where consumerism drives increasing growth in
demand, and in developing countries aiming to grow their
economies faster? A re alternative energy sources a
panacea?
This book addresses what is perhaps the most pervasive
and destabilising of the issues facing humanity.
Published by ZED Press in the
Global Issues series.


title:
The Water Business:
Corporations versus People

Abstract:
“There is a vital role for private expertise and resources in providing
water services. Unfortunately, if that role is forced
down the throats of the potential beneficiaries, they often
choke.”

body:
“There is a vital role for private expertise and resources in providing
water services. Unfortunately, if that role is forced
down the throats of the potential beneficiaries, they often
choke.” Mike Muller, Director General, Department of Water
Affairs, South Africa
Privatization of water supplies began in England in 1989
under Margaret Thatcher; in the next 10 years, nearly £10
billion went in profits to the new water companies. Today,
two giant corporations, Veolia and Suez, control 80 percent
of the international private water market and have some 300
million customers. Protests have broken out in country after
country -- Bolivia, Argentina, Ghana, South Africa -- and the
water giants are switching to new markets in China, North
America and Europe. Meanwhile well over a billion people
still lack access to clean water supplies.
This book tells the graphic story behind these facts and
figures. Drawing on her own interviews with the poor, the
experts and the corporate executives in Latin America,
Africa and Europe, the author, Swedish journalist Ann-
Christin Sjölander Holland, brings us a story much more
complicated than simply public or private provision,
or innovative mixes of the two. The ultimate question
is this: is water a human right or just another tradable
commodity?
Published by ZED Press in the
Global Issues series.


title:
Environment & Urbanization Meeting the Millennium Development
Goals in Urban Areas

Abstract:
ENVIRONMENT & URBANIZATION is
a twice yearly journal to encourage
researchers, teachers and other professionals
in Latin America, Asia and Africa to
write about their work, present their ideas,
debate issues and exchange information.

body:
ENVIRONMENT & URBANIZATION is
a twice yearly journal to encourage
researchers, teachers and other professionals
in Latin America, Asia and Africa to
write about their work, present their ideas,
debate issues and exchange information.
The current edition (Vol 17 No 1, April
2005) covers topics such as urban development,
governance of water and sanitation
issues, innovative financing for low-income
housing, the growing problem of forc e d
evictions and the need to find alternative
solutions, including “Getting ahead of the
game: A twin-track approach to impro v i n g
existing slums and reducing the need for
future slums”. Case studies are from Brazil,
Thailand, Cuba, India and South Africa
Environment & Urbanization is published
by the Human Settlements
Programme of the International Institute for
Environment and Development (IIED) in
UK and the Instituto Internacional de Medio
Ambiente y Desarrollo (IIED-América
Latina) in Argentina.


title:
A founding father of FLS and SADCC Seretse Khama (1 July 1921 – 13 July 1980)

Abstract:
“SERETSE KHAMA – as a man and as a President of his
country – was an exemplar of principled and quiet dignity.

body:
“SERETSE KHAMA – as a man and as a President of his
country – was an exemplar of principled and quiet dignity.
The anger at injustice which he felt, was never allowed
to find expression in personal abuse; and it never overrode
his reason. He could laugh at himself and the world
at the same time as he participated in the work of overcoming
the evils of apartheid and oppression.” Mwalimu
Julius K. Nyerere
ON 15 AUGUST 1994, the
Liberation Committee of the
O rganisation of A frican
Unity (OAU) held a special
closing session in Arusha –
attended by nine heads of
state, two vice-presidents ,
one prime minister and nine
foreign ministers – to celebrate
the continent's achievements,
and to pay tribute
to the courage of the freedom
fighters who had
fought and won independence
in several countries,
culminating eventually in the first democratic elections in South
Africa which had taken place a few weeks earlier.
This marked the formal and successful conclusion of the mandate
granted at the first OAU Summit on 22-25 May 1963, which
established the Coordinating Committee, set up a Special Fund for
voluntary contributions, pledged the support of all Member States,
and declared 25 May as African Liberation Day.
Mwalimu Julius Nyerere delivered the keynote address at the
special closing session, as the former President of the United
Republic of Tanzania, former chairperson of the Front Line States
and a founding father of the OAU. The OAU had entrusted him
and his country to host the Liberation Committee and to nominate
one of its nationals for appointment as the Executive Secretary.
In closing the Committee, Nyere re recognized the role of
Brigadier Hashim Mbita, who had been the Executive Secretary for
more than 20 years, since 1972, saying “we are very proud of his
contribution to the liberation of our continent.”
Nyerere reminded that the “two tasks which the OAU set for
itself were inextricably linked. Our ultimate purpose was always
the unity of all African nations. The achievement of that purpose
clearly required that the whole of Africa be freed first.”


Abstract:
THREE LEADERS of independent countries in southern
Africa who consulted often in the early 1970s, came to be
known as the Front Line States – Presidents Seretse Khama of
Botswana, Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia and Julius Nyerere of
the United Republic of Tanzania.

body:
THREE LEADERS of independent countries in southern
Africa who consulted often in the early 1970s, came to be
known as the Front Line States – Presidents Seretse Khama of
Botswana, Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia and Julius Nyerere of
the United Republic of Tanzania.
Chaired by Nyerere, the FLS worked together for the liberation of countries
still under colonial rule and apartheid. They were joined in 1975 by Samora
Machel and Agostinho Neto, the presidents of the newly independent states of
Mozambique and Angola.
The FLS realized that political independence alone was not sufficient. The
positive experience gained in working together was harnessed and transformed
into broader cooperation in pursuit of economic and social development.
1 April 1980

Between 1977 and 1979, FLS representatives consulted on how best to strengthen
cooperation. These consultations culminated in a meeting in Arusha in July
1979, which led to the creation of the Southern Africa Development
Coordination Conference (SADCC) on 1 April 1980 at a summit in Lusaka and
the establishment of its Secretariat in Gaborone, at Khama's invitation.
Chairing the summit that launched SADCC, Khama called for an integrated
region and the improvement of transport facilities. He said the objective
was “to lay the foundation for the development of a new economic order in
southern Africa and forge a united community.”
But he warned that, “the struggle for economic liberation will be as bitterly
contested as has been the struggle for political liberation.”
17 August 1992

The work of SADCC reinforced the need for regional cooperation in economic
development. Twelve years later, SADCC leaders decided to establish a legal
and more formal status, and to shift the focus from the coordination of development
projects to a more
complex task of integrating
their economies into a
regional community.
Heads of State and
Government signed a Declaration
and Treaty establ i s hing
the Southern A frican
Development Community
(SADC), at a summit in
Windhoek, on 17 August
1992. A key objective is to
“ strengthen and consolidate
the longstanding historical,
social and cultural aff inities
and links among the people
of the region.”


body:
PUBLICATIONS
Implementation of the Beijing Platform
for Action, SADC Region 2004 Progress
Report

Botswana, Gaborone, SADC Secretariat, 2004.

100pp.

This report presents a review and appraisal of
progress in implementation of the SADC Declaration
on Gender and Development, the African and Beijing
Platforms for Action; and was prepared as a
requirement to assess progress 10 years after adoption
of the African and Beijing PFAs in 1994 and 1995
respectively. SADC established an institutional and
operational framework to mainstream gender in the
region, and adopted a Plan of Action on Gender.
SADC acknowledges in the Foreword that their
achievements “on gender issues have been the
collective efforts by all stakeholders who have worked
tirelessly at national and regional levels.”

Available from: SADC Gender Unit, SADC Secretariat,
P. Bag 0095, Gaborone, Botswana. registry@sadc.int

Website: www.sadc.int

Africa Environment Information
Network. Strengthening
environmental
assessment and reporting

Kenya, Nairobi, UNEP, 2004.

7pp.

This gives background on the Africa Enviro n m e n t
Information Network (AEIN), outlining its mandate,
status and pro g ress to date. It contains
recommendations from AEIN sub-re gional
workshops for strengthening the collection and
dissemination of information relevant to monitoring
the environment outlook and trends on the continent.

Available from: UNEP, P. O. Box 30522, Nairobi ,
Kenya.

E-mail: roainfo@unep.org
Website: www.unep.org


Promoting Gender Equality and Women's
Empowerment in Africa: Questioning the
achievements and confronting the
challenges ten years after Beijing

Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, Economic Commission for
Africa, 2005.

42pp.

The paper looks at progress in implementing the
Beijing Platform for Action in Africa, interrogating the
adequacy of actions taken to date, with a focus on the
major crosscutting challenges yet to be addressed and
concrete measures to be taken.

Available from: UNECA, P.O Box 30647, Lusaka,
Zambia.
 E-mail: srdcsa.uneca@un.org
 Website:
www.uneca.org

HIV/AIDS and Democratic Governance
in South Africa: Illustrating the impact
on electoral processes

Strand, Per (et al)

South Africa, Pretoria, Institute of Democracy in
South Africa (Idasa), 2005

204pp.

This book illustrates the impact of HIV and AIDS
on electoral processes in South Africa and provides
the first available evidence of the influence of the
pandemic on the democratic process. It
demonstrates that HIV and AIDS is not just a
health crisis, but a pandemic that has implications
for political and social processes.

Available from: Idasa, Cnr Prinsloo and Visagie
Streets, Arcadia 0007, Pretoria, South Africa.

Website: www.idasa.org.za


African Union Non-Aggression and
Common Defence Pact

Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, African Union, 2005.

16pp.

African states adopted the defence pact at the fourth
ordinary session of the assembly, held in Abuja,
Nigeria, on 31 January 2005. The objectives are to
promote cooperation among Member States for nonaggression
and common defence; to promote peaceful
co-existence in Africa; to prevent conflicts of interstate
or intra-state nature; and to ensure that disputes
are resolved by peaceful means.

Available from: African Union, P.O. Box 3243, Addis
Ababa, Ethiopia.

E-mail: webmaster@africa-union.org

Website: www.africa-union.org

The 2005 Post-Election and Drought
Mitigation Monetary Policy Framework

by Dr. G. Gono

Zimbabwe, Harare, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe,
2005

187pp.

This monetary policy statement issued by the
central bank governor is a comprehensive review
of Zimbabwe's short-term economic performance.
It outlines additional pillars needed by the monetary
authority to buttress measures for an economic
t u r n a round. The monetary policy looks at financial
sector stability, regulatory reforms, inflationary
developments, and foreign exchange management.

Available from: The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe,
Samora Machel Ave, Box 1283, Harare, Zimbabwe

E-mail: rbzmail@rbz.co.zw.

Website: www.rbz.co.zw


body:
Public Holidays in SADC
June - August 2005
1 August Parent's Day DRC
8 August Peasant's Day Tanzania
8 August Heroes' Day Zimbabwe
9 August Defence Forces Day Zimbabwe
9 August National Women's Day South Africa
17 August SADC Day (commemoration) All
26 August Heroes Day Namibia
6 September Sonhlolo Day Swaziland
7 September Victory Day Mozambique
8 September Ganesh Chathurthi Mauritius
17 September Founder of Nation & National Heroes Day Angola
24 September Heritage Day South Africa
25 September Armed Forces Day Mozambique
30 September Botswana Day Botswana
1 October Public Holiday Botswana
4 October Independence Day Lesotho
4 October Reconciliation Day (Peace Day) Mozambique
8-9 October* Idd- El- Fitri Tanzania
10 October Mother's Day Malawi
14 October Mwalimu Nyerere Day Tanzania
14 October SADC Creators Day (commemoration) All
24 October Independence Day Zambia
* Depends on visibility of the moon



body:
August
3-5 South Africa
SADC Finance and Investment Ministers

A committee of ministers tasked with discussing the finance and investment
component of the Trade, Industry, Finance and Investment directorate, and
draft Finance and Investment Protocol.
9-14 Botswana
SADC Trade Ministers Meeting

Key issues for discussion include progress on the implementation of the
SADC Trade Protocol, negotiations for an economic partnership agreement
with the European Union, and preparations for theWorld Trade
Organisation (WTO) ministerial conference in Hong Kong in December.
12-14 Botswana
Standing Committee of Senior Officials of SADC

The technical advisory committee to Council of Ministers meets in advance
of Council, chaired by the country that is chairing SADC – Mauritius.
15-16 Botswana
SADC Council of Ministers

The Council is responsible for supervising and monitoring the functions and
development of SADC and ensuring that policies are properly implemented.
Council comprises ministers from each member state, usually from foreign
affairs, international cooperation, economic development, planning or
finance. Council precedes the Summit and prepares policy recommenda
tions for adoption by the leaders.
17-18 Botswana
SADC Silver Jubilee Summit

The Summit of Heads of State and Government is the ultimate policy-mak
ing institution of SADC. The Gaborone Summit is historic as it will be the
climax of celebrations to mark the regional community's 25 years of exis
tence. Summit will witness the official handover of the rotating SADC Chair
from the Prime Minister of Mauritius to Botswana's President.
21-27 Sweden
World Water Week

Organised by the Stockholm InternationalWater Institute, the symposium
will run scientific workshops, seminars and exhibitions for business experts,
inter-governmental bodies, as well as science and water management sec
tors. The GlobalWater Partnership Southern Africa will be active participants.
30/08-1/09 South Africa
The SADC/DFID Regional Meeting on STI Quality of Care

Organised by the SADC HIV and AIDS Unit with support from DFID and the
Health Systems Trust in South Africa, the meeting will be attended by directors
of health policy and service delivery from member states as well as other stake
holders. The theme is “SADC Regional Fe e d b a ck and ConsultativeWorkshop
on STI [Sexually Transmitted Infections] Management”.
31/08-02/09 Botswana
World Information Technology Forum 2005

The Government of Botswana, in collaboration with the International
Federation for Information Processing, will host a forum on global trends on
ICTs.
29/08-8/09 Zimbabwe
Regional Climate Outlook Forum (SARCOF 9)

Main objective is to develop a consensus climate outlook for the October
2005 to March 2006 rainfall season. The forum will discuss the potential
impacts of the climate outlook on other socio-economic sectors including
health, disaster risk management, water resources and hydropower manage
ment. Will also review the October 2004 and March 2005 season.

September
6- 9 Tanzania
Gender Festival 2005

Organised by the Tanzania Gender Networking Programme under the theme
“Gender, Democracy and Development: Popular Struggles for an Alternative
World”, the festival brings together gender-focused groups to discuss the
progress made on gender equality and social transformation.
13-16 South Africa
Society for Environmental Epidemiology Conference

The theme is “SustainingWorld Health Through Environmental Epidemiology:
Setting a New Global Research Agenda”. This is a forum for governmental,
industrial and community representatives to discuss issues pertaining to environ
ment and health.
14-16 UN, NewYork
Millennium +5 Review Summit

Heads of State and Government will meet for a comprehensive review of
progress made worldwide towards attaining the Millennium Development
Goals which they adopted in 2000.
19-21 Namibia
Regional Investment Conference

Under the theme “Emerging Investment Opportunities for Sustainable
Development in the Southern Africa Power Sector”, the Southern Africa Power
Pool will host a conference to address the shrinking of the generation surplus
capacity of energy in the SADC region and discuss investment incentives in the
electricity and energy sectors.

21-25 India
InternationalWomen and Health Meeting




body:
CURRENCY
Country Currency (US $1)
Angola Kwanza ( 100 Iwei) 89.20
Lesotho Maloti (100 lisente) 6.52
Mauritius Rupee (100 cents) 29.55
South Africa Rand (100 cents) 6.53
Zambia Kwacha (100 ngwee) 4542.50
Botswana Pula (100 thebe) 5.40
Madagascar Magache Franc 9275.00
Mozambique Metical (100 centravos) 24497.50
Swaziland Lilangeni (100 cents) 6.52
Zimbabwe Dollar (100 cents) 17694.15
DRC Congo Franc 496.00
Malawi Kwacha (100 tambala) 123.70
Namibia Dollar (100 cents) 6.52
Tanzania Shilling (100 cents) 1130.50
August 2005



