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. [read more]
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. [read more]
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. [read more]