# tblSANF

Abstract:
EXPERTS IN Namibia have put
their skills together to form a
company that will turn challenges
with water and wastewater
management into opportunities.

body:
EXPERTS IN Namibia have put
their skills together to form a
company that will turn challenges
with water and wastewater
management into opportunities.
The corporation, Aqua Utilities,
established four years ago,
believes that water tre a t m e n t
holds great opportunities for
privatisation, not only in
Namibia but also in neighbouring
countries.
The objective is to provide,
develop and manage water and
wastewater treatment plants for
local communities, regional
councils and industry. This includes
operation and maintenance
of waterworks, full water
treatment solutions and feasibility
studies, and concept engineering
of water treatment systems.
With 70 percent of Namibia's
water found in underg ro u n d
sources, its contamination
would spell disaster for the
country, which is arid and takes
water management as a major
priority. (New Era)


title:
New technology to help
remote areas access the
internet

Abstract:
RURAL AND remote areas in the
United Republic of Tanzania may
soon have access to reliable internet
connectivity thanks to a
newly introduced information
technology.

body:
RURAL AND remote areas in the
United Republic of Tanzania may
soon have access to reliable internet
connectivity thanks to a
newly introduced information
technology.
The technology is a positive
development for many remote
communities which are beyond
the reach of communications infrastru
cture, reliable internet connectivity,
access to libraries, and
interaction with other users
through e-mail.
The new technology uses
satellite communication, which
p rovides a uniform level of service
to all communities re gard less
of their location.
The technology includes a
central hub facility, internet backbone
connectivity, and fully indep
e n d e nt classroom, intra-class
computing facilities, training
programmes for administrators
and teachers, and an education
portal.
The education portal provides
a single point of interaction with
dynamic information, applications,
processes and people.
The satellite link will enable
any community to have access
to high quality education materials
from national, academic,
medical and law libraries, regardless
of where it is located.
(Financial Times)


Abstract:
SOUTH AFRICAN scientists
have found a tropical oil that appears
to protect against the consequences
of a heart attack and
is also a natural source of vitamin
A.

body:
SOUTH AFRICAN scientists
have found a tropical oil that appears
to protect against the consequences
of a heart attack and
is also a natural source of vitamin
A.
Red palm oil has been
found to have a positive
effect in rats, protecting
against the consequences
of heart attacks.
It is the only oil
that contains tocotrienol, a strong
anti-oxidant with high amounts
of vitamin A. This is important
for southern Africa where vitamin
A deficiency is a common
characteristic among children.
In its natural form, 100 grams
of red palm oil has 15 times
more vitamin Athan the equivalent
amount of carrots and 300
times more than tomatoes. (Cape
Argus)


title:
SADC intensifies monitoring of fishery activities

Abstract:
SOUTHERN AFRICA is making
significant progress in the
monitoring and surveillance of
fishing activities at sea in a bid
to ensure compliance to fishing
laws along the region's coast.

body:
SOUTHERN AFRICA is making
significant progress in the
monitoring and surveillance of
fishing activities at sea in a bid
to ensure compliance to fishing
laws along the region's coast.
SADC countries are cooperating
to improve cost-effective
and efficient fisheries surveillance
at sea, and inspectors from
three countries were on board
the Sarah Baartman on a journey
of 9,000 kms that took it away
from the home port of Cape
Town for a month.
The joint patrols were undertaken
in the waters of Mozambique,
South Africa and Tanzania,
and fisheries inspectors
from all three countries were on
board.
The joint patrols are operated
under SADC's maritime monitoring,
control and surveillance
programme partially funded by
the European Union. Crews and
inspectors are trained in boarding
procedures and inspections
at sea.
Together with aerial surveillance,
the inspectors patrolled
the waters of the east coast of
southern Africa at the same time
as a Namibian surveillance vessel
was at sea in Angolan and
Namibian waters, with inspectors
from Angola, Namibia and
South Africa on board.
Patrols were also undertaken
on the west coast by the Namibian
vessel Nathaniel Maxuilili
that returned to Walvis Bay after
a three-week patrol, that included
participation byAngola's two
patrol vessels, Temerário and
Preservado.
This was the second joint
fisheries patrol to be undertaken
by Namiba in a two-month
period. In June, South African
and Namibian vessels also conducted
joint patrols along the
west coast. More than 60 fishing
vessels were stopped and inspected
at sea during June and
July, with a number of fines and
prosecutions.
This has been the most comprehensive
civilian surveillance
operation ever undertaken at
sea around these coasts, and the
results have shown that surveillance
activities are critical to ensure
fishing vessels compliance
with the laws.
The monitoring activities are
in line with the SADC Protocol
on Fisheries whose priorities include
management of shared res
o u rces, law enforcement, access
agreements, high seas fishing,
artisanal fisheries, aquaculture,
protection of the environment,
human resources development,
trade and investment,
and information exchange.
The exercise was carried out
with the objective of testing the
command and control systems in
the countries involved, and add
ressing any weaknesses to raise
the standard of fisheries surveillance
throughout the re gion.
SADC states are also in the
process of adding another building
block to the satellite-based
vessel monitoring system (VMS)
operated by South Africa.
The VMS will track South
African fishing vessels and will
also be used by other SADC
countries. It is expected that by
the end of 2005, VMS information
will be exchanged in realtime
to enable member states to
see, on their VMS display, when
vessels enter their waters.
According to 2002 figure s ,
the trade in fish earns the region
an estimated US$3 billion.


title:
Fish For All summit adopts

The Abuja Declaration on Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture

Abstract:
AFRICAN GOVERNMENTS have adopted the Abuja
Declaration on Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture in
Africa.

body:
AFRICAN GOVERNMENTS have adopted the Abuja
Declaration on Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture in
Africa.
Fisheries ministers from Cameroon, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory
Coast, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa and
The Gambia, meeting at the Fish For All Summit held at the secretariat
of the Economic Community of West African States
(ECOWAS) in Abuja, Nigeria, endorsed an Action Plan based on
a five-point strategy.
The strategy focuses on supporting capture fisheries, developing
aquaculture, improving fish market chains, increasing
benefits from the fish trade, and supporting decision-makers
with information.
The Nigerian president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, who
closed the four-day summit, said, "If Africa's per capita consumption
of fish is just to be kept at its present level, though
grossly low and unacceptable, then fish production must be increased
by over 250 percent by 2015."
The Director General of the WorldFish Centre, Dr Stephen
Hall, noted that, "An investment of $30 million in the recently
launched NEPAD -World Fish Programme for Sustainable
African A quaculture could increase Africa's aquaculture production
by 10 percent annually to about 3 million tons over the
next 15 years, worth some US$1-2 billion.
“This could create employment for up to 5 million persons by
2020, and provide food security for millions more. It could also
generate exports to the value of US$50-100 million annually by
2020. Is that not a good return on investment?”
The Fish For All Summit was organized by the NEPAD secretariat
and the WorldFish Centre, an international scientific research organization whose mission is to reduce poverty and
hunger by improving fisheries and aquaculture.
The Abuja declaration embraces the principles of the NEPAD
vision of Africa's development, its objectives to eradicate poverty,
achieve food security and build the foundations of sustainable
development in the region.


title:
Power utilities sign WESTCOR shareholders
agreement

Abstract:
A SHAREHOLDERS agre ement
has been signed by the
power utilities from five SADC
countries aimed at operationalising
the Western Power Corridor
project and management
arrangements.

body:
A SHAREHOLDERS agre ement
has been signed by the
power utilities from five SADC
countries aimed at operationalising
the Western Power Corridor
project and management
arrangements.
The agreement signed on 7
September is a milestone in the
creation of a joint venture company,
Western Power Corridor
(WESTCOR).
The establishment of the joint
venture company follows the
signing of an Inter-governmental
Memorandum of Understanding
and the Inter-utility
Memorandum of Understanding
in October 2004.
WESTCOR is a regional pro ject
conceived through the combined
initiative of the SADC secretariat
and the power utilities of
Angola, Botswana, DRC, Namibia
and South Africa.
The project is intended to exploit
the environmentally friendly,
renewable, hydroelectric energy
of the Inga rapids site in the
DRC and will add about 3,500
megawatts of power to the
SADC region.
The project will also develop
the associated telecommunications and transmission infrastructure
in the western part of
SADC at an estimated cost of
US$7 billion. The funding is to
be sourced through the New
Partnership for Africa's Development
(NEPAD) and international
cooperating partners.
The WESTCOR project is expected
to create jobs and opportunities
for the people of southern
Africa. It will have a project
office in Gaborone.
The shareholders' agreement
comes at a time when the Southern
Africa Power Pool is stepping
up efforts to avert the anticipated
diminishing energ y
generation capacity in the region
by the year 2007.


title:
Trans-Kalahari highway, strategic link for
intra-regional trade

Abstract:
THE TRANS-KALAHARI
Highway has emerged as one of
themost successful infrastructure
developments in the SADC region
becoming a hub of business
activity across four countries,
Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia
and South Africa.

body:
THE TRANS-KALAHARI
Highway has emerged as one of
themost successful infrastructure
developments in the SADC region
becoming a hub of business
activity across four countries,
Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia
and South Africa.
The 595-kmroad that links the
capitals of Botswana and Namibia
gives access to remote western
districts of Botswana and serves
as a strategic coast-to-coast link
f rom Maputo on the Indian
Ocean to Walvis Bay on the Atlantic
coast of Namibia, forming
the Maputo-Walvis Bay economic
corridor.
The Presidents of Botswana
and Namibia have urged the
private sectors of the two countries
to make full use this infrastructure,
commissioned seven
years ago.
President Hifikepunye P ohamba
of Namibia describes
the Trans-Kalahari
Highway as a conveyor
belt for trade. " We
look at it with pride because
we did it."
He said, “the highway holds
an enormous potential... as a
link between the SADC region
and its overseas markets
through the port of Walvis Bay."
The highway provides a regional
transport corridor, intended
to reduce the timespan for
movement of imports and exports
from the neighbouring
countries to the European and
American markets by at least five
days compared to other traditional
routes in southern Africa .
The road also forms part of a
strategic link to which further
roads can be built to service
communities, and it also plays
an international role as it offers
cheaper routes to the DRC and
Namibia.
As of July last year, the highway
has been operating at about
50-60 percent of its capacity, up
from 15-20 percent in 2002.
Traffic increased following the
introduction of a single customs
document and bond for
Botswana, Namibia and
South Africa, and pre fere ntial
treatment at border posts
for registered trucking companies.
Truckers are, however, concerned
that the axle weight limit
in Botswana is lower than in
Namibia and South Africa by
one ton. "If we are carrying
more load, we can't pass
through Botswana," said one.
Customs officials at the
Botswana border say the highway
is mostly utilised by farmers
to transport cattle from
Namibia to South Africa.
The highway has become
very important for the cattle industry,
and enables cattle farmers
in western Botswana to
transport their cattle to the abattoir
in Lobatse, 600 kms away.
The highway has made an impact
on tourism, as it is the
shortest route between South
Africa and Namibia, and so
game reserves and other attractions
are more accessible.


Abstract:
BUSINESSPEOPLE in southern
Africa are optimistic about the
economy and feel the market is
stable, according to the latest
SADC Regional Business Climate
Survey.

body:
BUSINESSPEOPLE in southern
Africa are optimistic about the
economy and feel the market is
stable, according to the latest
SADC Regional Business Climate
Survey.
The survey shows that the
ove rall positive rating of business
performance is valid throughout
the region and all sectors are expected
to improve their performance
within this ye a r, according
to the Association of SADC
Chambers of Commerce and Industry
(ASCCI).
The Advisory Service for Private
Business, in cooperation
with ASCCI, has launched a Regional
Business Confidence
Index (RBCI) based on the surve y
results for both 2004 and 2005.
The index will be updated
annually based on performance
figures, employment and investment
outlooks and intra-SADC
investment and trade.
Over 500 companies drawn
mainly from the manufacturing
sector, with over 20 percent
from the primary and service
sectors, responded to this year's
survey which covers the period
ending March 2006.
The companies, according to
the survey, expect employment
in the next 12 months to remain
mostly unchanged or to increase
marginally, while investors and
entrepreneurs remain confident
in developing their businesses
domestically in their countries.
(Business Africa)


title:
“Integrate African culture into global knowledge”

Namibian prime minister calls on SADC to set
up African Culture Centre

Abstract:
THE PRIME minister of Namibia,
Nahas Angula, has proposed
the establishment of a regional
study centre of African culture
and traditional knowledge systems.

body:
THE PRIME minister of Namibia,
Nahas Angula, has proposed
the establishment of a regional
study centre of African culture
and traditional knowledge systems.
“The mobilisation of cultural
assets as re s o u rces for social
and economic transformation
is a daunting challenge, which
must be addressed if Africa is
going to pull itself out of
under development,” Angula
said.
“I believe it is important for
SADC to establish a centre for
the study of culture and traditional
knowledge systems in
o rder to integrate them into a
body of global knowledge.
Delivering the keynote address
at a one-day meeting of
SADC culture ministers in
Windhoek, Angula said the integration
of an African Culture
Centre into global knowledge
could have far-reaching effects
on the continent.
He said Africa's poverty and
underdevelopment could partially
be explained by its failure
to mobilise its assets as a means
of social transformation.
“We celebrate our cultures as
symbolic expressions, preserve
it as artefacts and protect it as a
heritage… But, we should go
beyond celebration. We should
not treat our cultural assets as
fossils and stop confusing culture
with poverty.
Angula said Africans need
full understanding to be able to
dynamise culture to meet the
challenges posted by globalisation.
“We must cultivate a deeper
understanding of our cultural
assets.”
“Social cohesion and sustainable
development are better
promoted through the unleashing
of positive cultural forces,
which are creative and growthenhancing.
In this context, culture
should promote inclusion
and sharing… This is what the
management of diversity as a
creative force is all about.”
Ministers from Angola, Mauritius,
Namibia, South Africa,
Zambia and Zimbabwe attended
the colloquium.


title:
Four journalists scoop SADC media awards

Abstract:
WINNERS OF the 2005 SADC
Media Awards were presented
with their prizes at the SADC
summit in August.

body:
WINNERS OF the 2005 SADC
Media Awards were presented
with their prizes at the SADC
summit in August.
The awards were presented
in four categories of television,
photo journalism, print and radio.
The winners are fro m
Botswana, Mauritius, South
Africa, and Tanzania
Tirelo Kganela of Botswana
won the award in the television
category for his documentary
June 16.
The documentary was based
on the 1976 protests against
apartheid by youth in South
Africa. The protest led to the
youths being shot, detained
or forced into exile. The
judges described Kganela's
documentary as "striking and
emotional."
The winner in the photojournalism
section was Ally Soobye
of Le Mautirician et Weekend of
Mauritius. His winning picture
focused on the historical moment
when SADC leaders listened
to the SADC anthem for
the fist time.
The regional adjudication
committee was impressed by
the high quality of entries in the
radio category, which were described
as innovative, well res
e a rched and interactive. The
winner was South Africa's
Shelly Knipe from a community
radio station, ABC Ulwazi.
The winning entry focused
on xenophobia and was commended
for including personal
testimony and expert opinion.
Perege Gumbo from the Ta nzanian
newspaper, The Guardian,
took the prize in the print category. His article outlined the importance
of reliable electricity
supply in efforts towards poverty
eradication in the re gion.
The aim of the awards is to
encourage the media to play a
leading role in the dissemination
of information on SADC
and to recognise the role of
journalists in the promotion of
regional integration.
The theme of the 2005 Media
Aw a rds competition was "Issues
and activities promoting integration
in the SADC region".
Meanwhile, the 2006 SADC
Media Awards competition has
been launched and will focus
on HIV and AIDS to encourage
the dissemination of information
on the pandemic to raise
public awareness.


Abstract:
THIS YEAR'S winners
of the 2005 regional
Secondary
S chools Essay competition
were awa rded
their prizes during
the recent SADC
summit in Gaborone.

body:
THIS YEAR'S winners
of the 2005 regional
Secondary
S chools Essay competition
were awa rded
their prizes during
the recent SADC
summit in Gaborone.
The topic for
the 2005 competition
was, "In the 25
years since it was formed, wh a t
has SADC achieved and what
more would you like it to do to
bring the economies and the
people of southern Africa together?"
The first prize was awarded to
Sunjamabye Balloo of Mauritius,
the second prize to Reuben
Mhamika of Tanzania, and the
third prize went toThato Senabye
of Botswana.


title:
Beyond Inequalities – Women in
Southern Africa

Abstract:
BEYOND INEQUALITIES is a series of publications
profiling the status of women and men in
southern Africa and the efforts to mainstream gender-equality concerns at all levels.

body:
BEYOND INEQUALITIES is a series of publications
profiling the status of women and men in
southern Africa and the efforts to mainstream gender-equality concerns at all levels.
The first set of profiles, on 12 SADC countries,
were published between 1998 and 2000. The new series
Beyond Inequalities 2005 is an update, in the context
of the dynamic changes, new challenges, setbacks
and opportunities that have occurre d .
The analysis is located within some important
frameworks: the Beijing Declaration and Platform
for Action (BDPFA), and the 1997 SADC Declaration
on Gender and Development, including the
1998 Addendum on the Prevention and Eradication
of Violence Against Women and Children.
The region has experienced rapid socio-economic
and political shifts, and the focus is increasingly
geared towards accelerated efforts on economic
emancipation. Thus, the New Partnership for
Africa's Development (NEPAD), and the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) in particular, identify
new benchmarks and targets. Most SADC member
states now have empowerment policies in place.
All countries identified critical areas of concern
from the BDPFA, and it is significant that a majority
identified issues of women's health (later including
HIV and AIDS), economic empowerment, and
education as key areas for targeted action.
In the political arena, there is a slow upward
trend of women occupying seats of power in SADC,
where representation in the legislatures rose from
an average 17 percent to almost 20 percent in the
last five years and continues to rise toward SADC's
30 percent (now 50 percent) target. This has been
surpassed in some countries, notably South Africa
w h e re 43 percent of the Cabinet are women.
All SADC countries have ratified the Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
Against Women (CEDAW), and all have adopted,
but few have ratified, the Protocol to the African
Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the
Rights of Women in Africa.
Four books of the series have been published
(Botswana, Malawi, Namibia and Zambia) with
others to be produced at intervals.
The books are available from SARDC
WIDSAA and national partners. E-mail widsaa@sardc.net sardc@maputo.sardc.net
Website www.sardc.net


title:
The WTO Global Agreement on Trade in Services
(GATS) and Health Equity in Southern Africa

Abstract:
THIS DOCUMENT looks at the
World Trade Organization (WTO )
General Agreement on Trade in Services
(GATS) and Trade Intellectual
Property Rights (TRIPS) and shows
how, through GATS, national policy
options that support equity in health
are threatened. This presents a serious
challenge to the ability of governments
in developing countries to
deliver adequate health services.

body:
THIS DOCUMENT looks at the
World Trade Organization (WTO )
General Agreement on Trade in Services
(GATS) and Trade Intellectual
Property Rights (TRIPS) and shows
how, through GATS, national policy
options that support equity in health
are threatened. This presents a serious
challenge to the ability of governments
in developing countries to
deliver adequate health services.
The paper argues that GATS places
the social need for health within a
business context, while healthcare is a
basic human right that cannot be determined
by profit.
The fact that the balance of concessions
favours exports of services fro m
developed countries to developing
countries increases the need for foreign
exchange to pay for services and
reduces local regulatory authority.
The paper highlights risks to
health equity of developing countries
entering into commitments under
GATS and proposes African alliances
to strengthen bargaining positions.
The paper recommends that
SADC and other regional economic
communities need space within the
existing multilateral trade framework
to provide access to health care
for citizens, and presents some policy
options for consideration in southern
Africa.
Contact S/E, Email admn@equinetafrica.
org
Website www.equinetafrica.org


title:
Mkapa invokes spirit of liberation struggle
to make poverty history in our lifetime

Abstract:
“DURING THE liberation struggle in southern Africa, it never occurred to me
that apartheid could be history in my lifetime.

body:
“DURING THE liberation struggle in southern Africa, it never occurred to me
that apartheid could be history in my lifetime.
“But when the then OAU, the Frontline States and the then G7 formed a united
f rontwith the struggling people of South Africa, apartheid was swept
away.
“The spirit of the Frontline States should invigorate us into action
– action that would see SADC emerge as the most purposeful, most
powerful andmost successfulAfrican regional economic grouping in
our lifetime…No other such region has the provenance and pedigre e
that we have in SADC.
“Faced with the formidable task of decolonisation in southern
Africa, and the seemingly impossible task of dismantling
apartheid, we had the political will, the energy, the resilience and
the enthusiasm to persevere until we triumphed.”
President Benjamin William Mkapa, United Republic of Tanzania,
August 2005
A shared future within a regional community


title:
SADC project to document history of
the liberation struggle

Abstract:
A PROJECT to document the history of the liberation struggle in
southern Africa has started in seven countries.

body:
A PROJECT to document the history of the liberation struggle in
southern Africa has started in seven countries.
The recent summit of SADC leaders in Botswana, marking the
Silver Jubilee of the regional community, noted that the “Hashim
Mbita Project” had begun implementation and reaffirmed their
commitment to the project.
The participating countries to date are Angola, Mozambique,
Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Hashim Mbita was Executive Secretary of the Liberation Committee
of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) for 22 years
from 1972 until after South Africa gained majority rule in 1994.
The committee was located in the United Republic of Tanzania where the first pre sident,
Mwalimu Julius Nyere re, and the Tanzanian people gave it their full support.
Mwalimu Nyerere, who died in 1999, was the first chairperson of the Front Line
States, which established the Southern Africa Development Coordination Confere n c e
(SADCC), that later became SADC.
Brig-Gen Mbita, the project patron, who is Tanzania's ambassador to Zimbabwe,
gave a keynote address at the launch workshop in Dar es Salaam inA u g u s t .
In his address to the national re s e a rchers, Mbita said the “decolonisation stru g g l e
which engulfed theAfrican continent during the last 60 years was basically one, though
fought in various parts and against diff e rent colonizing powers.”
Thus, the need to “re c o rd the inspiration, commitment, determination, sacrifices,
means, strategies and experiences gained at diff e rent stages became apparent,” he said.
Noting the decade that has passed since majority rule in South Africa and the
need to advance more rapidly toward this goal, he said the people attending the history
workshop “manifest the collective will of SADC Member States to leave for
posterity some written account of the political transformation of the region.”
He thanked Mozambique and Namibia for being the first to pledge resources for
the project, and South Africa for funding the initiation of the activities.
“The realization of this project has taken appreciable time, and for me it is coming
to light after almost 11 years of a passionate dream to have Africa take its destiny
into its own hands as it indeed did in the decolonisation process. First as victims,
second as defiant people and third as victors.”
“The stages that this process went through covered agitation, political organization
and eventually physical confrontation.
“The birth of the Frontline States as a dependable rear base and victory which
saw the establishment of SADC as an organ for economic transformation and consolidation
of the regional security, peace and defence must be carefully examined.
“What, for example, would this region be had there not been the likes of Presidents
Nyerere, Kenneth Kaunda, Sir Seretse Khama as well as the uncompromising
leaders of National Liberation Movements of the time?”
A shared future within a regional community


Abstract:
PRESIDENT FESTUS Mogae of Botswana, the SADC
chairperson, said he is “particularly pleased that the government
and people of Zimbabwe have honoured the
founding fathers of SADC for their contribution to freedom
and democracy, and for laying the foundation of
SADC 25 years ago, and bestowed them with the highest
national honour.”

body:
PRESIDENT FESTUS Mogae of Botswana, the SADC
chairperson, said he is “particularly pleased that the government
and people of Zimbabwe have honoured the
founding fathers of SADC for their contribution to freedom
and democracy, and for laying the foundation of
SADC 25 years ago, and bestowed them with the highest
national honour.”

Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere

For his exceptional accomplishments as the luminary and
conscience of African nationalism, the fulcrum of libera t i o n
efforts in the region, and outstanding contribution to the libe
ration struggle…
Chief Sir Seretse Khama

For his exceptional commitment to the eradication of
colonial domination, unyielding dedication to pan-
African ideas… and the pursuit of justice and equality…
Dr Kenneth David Kaunda

For his exceptional strength of resolve, selfless dedication,
revolutionary leadership and outstanding contribution to
the long and arduous struggle for equality, justice and selfdetermination…
Marshall Samora Moises Machel

For his exceptional revolutionary courage, unyielding determination,
selfless dedication, inspirational leadership
and outstanding contribution to the liberation struggle…
Dr Agostinho Neto

For his exceptional commitment, dedication, inspirational
leadership and outstanding contribution to the liberation
struggle.
A shared future within a regional community


body:
PUBLICATIONS
2005 Official SADC Trade, Industry and
Investment Review

Gaborone, Botswana, Southern African

Marketing Company, 2005

300pp.

This is a special issue marking SADC's 25th
anniversary. It highlights business
opportunities in the region, and has sections
on SADC's corporate profile; directorate
reports; projects; country profiles; trade,
industry and investment opportunities; key
business contacts and the exhibition
calendar.

Available from Southern African Marketing
Company (Pty) Ltd. P.O. Box 20111 2 ,
G a b o rone, Botswana

Tel (267)397 4316, Fax (267)397 4316/
393 6431,

E-mail samarketing@mega.bw

Website www.sadcreview.com

SADC Annual Report 2003/04

Gaborone, SADC Secretariat, 2004

67pp

The report gives an overview of economic,
social and political developments in the
region. It also gives an account of the
process of implementing the Regional
Indicative Strategic Development Plan
(RISDP), both at the level of the secretariat
and that of SADC national committees in
Member States. Other areas covered are
reports on progress in the priority areas of
regional cooperation and integration. The
final part of the report looks at the
development prospects and challenges for
2004/5. Available from SADC Secretariat


Republic of Botswana:
25th SADC Summit Brochure

Gaborone, Botswana, SADC Secretariat, 2005

180pp

The brochure is a special issue for SADC's
Silver Jubilee summit held in Botswana 17-
18 August 2005. It gives background
information on the history of SADC as well
as profiling the host country. The brochure
contains profiles of SADC's new presidents
and has 25th anniversary messages from
various Heads of State.

Available from SADC Secretariat,
P. Bag 0095, Gaborone, Botswana

E-mail registry@sadc.int

Website www.sadc.int

The Politics of the MDGs and the
Rainbow Nation (South Africa)

Harare, Zimbabwe, AFRODAD, 2005

21pp.

The socio-economic and political setting in
which South Africa finds itself today has
been shaped by both apartheid policies
and the political reforms of recent years.
As a result, the central feature of South
African society was a pervasive dualism
characterised by severe disparities in
access and entitlement to resources. These
inequalities limit opportunities for the
majority of the population, and thus the
achievement of the MDGs will hinge on
government's capacity to address this.

Available from African Forum and
Network on Debt and Development
(AFRODAD) P.O Box CY1517, Causeway,
Harare, Zimbabwe

E-mail afrodad@afrodad.co.zw.

Website www.afrodad.org



body:
October
17-21 South Africa
Agriculture Successes for Africa's Future:

A NEPAD Dialogue with Parliamentarians

Co-hosted by the African Parliament and NEPAD, this forum is
designed for parliamentarians in Africa to share their success
stories in agriculture.
3-21 France
UNESCO General Conference

The conference draws representatives of UN member states,
and meets every two years to determine the policies and the
main line of work.
14 All SADC
SADC Creators & Performers Day

Each member state will organise activities to commemorate the
important role that creators of intellectual work play in the
development and promotion of SADC's cultural heritage and
regional integration agenda.
30 Tanzania
Legislative and Presidential Elections

Tanzanians will vote for the next parliament and a new
president to take over from the incumbent, President Benjamin
Mkapa, who is standing down after two terms in office.

November
16-18 Tunisia
World Summit on Information Society (WSIS)

The second phase of the WSIS seeks to put in motion the plan
of action adopted in Geneva in 2003. Working groups have
been set up to find solutions and reach agreements in the fields
of internet governance and financing mechanisms.
25-10 Global
16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence

“For the Health of Women, For the Health of the World: No
More Violence” is the theme of this annual commemoration, a
continuation from 2004, which emphasises the connections
between women's human rights, violence against women and
women's health.
28-29 South Africa
The Changing Politics and Land in Africa

Theme is “Domestic Policies, Crisis Management and Regional
Norms”. Sponsored by the French Institute in South Africa, the
objective of the conference is to gain insight into the nature of
policymaking concerning land at the national level and at the
broader African level.


December
5-9 Nigeria
14th International Conference on HIV/AIDS and STIs in Africa

Organised by the Society for AIDS in Africa under the theme
“HIV and AIDS and the Family”, the conference will bring
together African scientists, political and social leaders, to share
their experiences in the management of HIV and AIDS, and
sexually transmitted infections.
13-18 China
World Trade Organisation (WTO) Ministerial Conference

The Ministerial Conference is the highest authority of the WTO
and takes decisions on all matters under multilateral trade
agreements. This year, the Conference will be meeting for the
sixth time since 1995.



body:
CURRENCY
Country Currency (US $1)
Angola Kwanza ( 100 Iwei) 88.98
Lesotho Maloti (100 lisente) 6.50
Mauritius Rupee (100 cents) 29.65
South Africa Rand (100 cents) 6.50
Zambia Kwacha (100 ngwee) 4550.50
Botswana Pula (100 thebe) 5.45
Madagascar Magache Franc 9150.00
Mozambique Metical (100 centravos) 24500.00
Swaziland Lilangeni (100 cents) 6.50
Zimbabwe Dollar (100 cents) 24108.80
DRC Congo Franc 485.00
Malawi Kwacha (100 tambala) 122.50
Namibia Dollar (100 cents) 6.50
Tanzania Shilling (100 cents) 1130.00
August 2005



body:
Public Holidays in SADC
October - December 2005
1 October Public Holiday Botswana
4 October Independence Day Lesotho
4 October Reconciliation Day (Peace Day) Mozambique
10 October Mother's Day Malawi
14 October Mwalimu Nyerere Day and
the “Climax of Uhuru To rch Race” Tanzania
14 October SADC Creators Day
(commemoration) All
24 October Independence Day Zambia
1 November Divali Mauritius
2 November All Saints Day Angola
2 November Arrival of Indentured Labourers Mauritius
4 November* Idd el Fitri / Eid ul Fitr Tanzania, Mauritius
11 November Independence Day Angola
9 December Independence Day Tanzania
10 December Human Rights Day Namibia
16 December Day of Reconciliation SouthAfrica
22 December National Unity Day Zimbabwe
25 December Christmas Day All SADC
26 December Boxing Day Botswana,Lesotho,
Swaziland,Tanzania,
Malawi
26 December Day of Goodwill SouthAfrica
26 December Family Day Namibia
26 December Public Holiday Zambia, Zimbabwe
27 December Public Holiday Zimbabwe
* Depends on visibility of the moon



title:
Food security strengthened by cross-border cooperation

Abstract:
FOOD SECURITY is one of the region's most
pressing challenges and active regional collaboration
is offering a key solution.

body:
FOOD SECURITY is one of the region's most
pressing challenges and active regional collaboration
is offering a key solution.
Intra-regional trade, forward planning, innovative
farming methods, food aid and a
shift away from the traditional but droughtvulnerable
staple maize, have helped southern
Africa to avert starvation in the face of persistent
droughts.
The four rainfall seasons since 2001 have all
but one been drought years. Only the 2003/04
season had sufficient and well-distributed
rains to ensure a good farming season in most
parts of the region.
Much of the national deficit this year will be
covered through intra-regional trade, with
South Africa supplying the bulk of the grain.
According to the August Cereal Balance
sheet of South Africa's Department of Agriculture,
the country's maize export plans for the
2005/06 marketing year are estimated at 1.56
million tonnes. These exports are destined
mainly for Zimbabwe and the Southern
African Customs Union countries (Botswana,
Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland).
As many as 10 million people in southern
Africa are food insecure and in need of food assistance
until the next harvest in April 2006, after
a below normal 2004/05 rainfall season.
The most affected countries are Lesotho,
Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Zambia
and Zimbabwe. Even Botswana, which
has not been affected by food shortages in recent
times, declared a state of disaster in July 2005.
Although regional estimates of cereal availability
in the SADC region suggest an improvement
over the previous season, most national
cereal totals are much lower than last
year's levels. The higher regional total is largely
a result of South Africa's bumper maize harvest
and high carry-over stock.
Regional cereal availability was 30.22 million
tonnes last year, and this year's estimates
place it at around 30.94 million tonnes.


In all member states, with the
exception of Angola, Lesotho,
South Africa and United Republic
of Tanzania, where production
increased since the last
cropping year, cereal availability
is below last year's totals, and
cereal gaps in the affected countries
are significantly higher.
The SADC region has an overall
cereal deficit of 1.07 million
tonnes, due to high cereal surpluses,
amounting to 4.18 million
tonnes, assessed in South Africa.
Critical cereal shortfalls are assessed
in Zimbabwe (1.62 million
tonnes), Malawi (838,000 tonnes),
Angola (624,000 tonnes) and
Mozambique (532,000 tonnes).
With a population of 12 million
people, Malawi is facing its
worst maize harvest since 1992,
producing just 1.23 million
tonnes, about 58 percent of the
country's annual needs. According
to Unicef, the rate of severe
malnutrition among Malawi's
children is rising "alarmingly".
The country needs US$88
million worth of food
aid, of which US$9 million
is needed to support
nutritional programmes
for children.
In Mozambique, "… water,
more than food, has been identified
as the most urgent need.
People have to travel gre a
distances – at times 20km
to the nearest source – to
access water.
“We have also received reports
of deaths of livestock and
disputes, all related to drinking
water," says Francisca Cabral of
Mozambique's Technical Secretariat
for Food Security and
Nutrition.
Apart from South Africa and Tanzania, all the other
SADC member states will be
required to import maize.
However, some of the cere a
shortfall will be covered
through food aid and substitution
with other non-cereal food
crops such as cassava, sweet
potato and plantains.
Household level vulnerability
assessments point to a poor
rainfall season as the main
cause of the food shortages during
the 2005/06 cereal consumption
period, with HIV and
AIDS, poverty and lack of farming
inputs as some exacerbating
factors.
Realising that food security
continues to be the region's most pressing challenge, SADC
heads of state and government
adopted the Dar es Salaam
Declaration on Agriculture and
Food Security in the SADC
Region in May 2004 as a
commitment towards dealing
with problems in agricultural
p roduction and provision of
food.
The leaders agreed to take
active measures to improve food
security, noting that agriculture
is “the backbone of the economy
in the SADC region”.
As many as 80 percent of the
population in the region depend
on agriculture for food, income
and employment, the leaders
said in the Declaration. The performance
of agriculture “has a
strong influence on food security,
economic growth and stability.”
They also recognized that the
challenges facing the region in
agriculture and food security
are many, and have their basis in
social, economic and environmental
factors.
The declaration, signed at a
summit hosted by Tanzania's outgoing President Benjamin
Mkapa, seeks to reduce poverty,
increase food production, and
guarantee food security by establishing
a regional food reserve,
among other things.
At the summit, development
targets and plans were
set, and an agreement reached
to review pro g ress in two
years. The review is due in
May 2006.
Southern Africa is also witnessing
a cassava and sweet-potato
boom as many farmers are
turning to these drought-resistant
tubers. Although less nutritious
than maize, cassava and
sweet potato farming is less
labour intensive.
In the face of frequent
d roughts the region is investing
heavily in irrigation. This
has seen the area under irrigation
grow from 1.63 million
hectares in 1985 to the present
1.96 million hectares. In addition,
a lot of investment is
being put into research and
p roduction of drought-tolerant
seed varieties.

Mogae thanks FAO due to food shortages.

THE CHAIRPERSON of SADC and president of Botswana, Festus Mogae
has thanked the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) for its
technical support in the development of an Agricultural Information
Management System for the region and other joint activities such as the
Regional Agricultural Water Management for Food Security Programme.
Mogae said the SADC region continues to experience problems of food
insecurity, insufficient investment in agriculture, high dependence on rain-
fed agriculture, and poor access to agricultural inputs and markets.
He was speaking at the FAO 60th anniversary summit in Rome,
where he appealed for technical and financial support from the international
community for some 10 million of the region's 240-million
population who will need food and non-food aid before May 2006.
Vulnerability assessments reflect food shortages due to drought in
Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Some of the shortfall will be met by other countries in the region.
Mogae also appealed for assistance in the related fight against HIV
and AIDS which he described as one of the most debilitating challenges
facing the region, and which is made worse by poverty and poor nutrition



Abstract:
THE CHAIRPERSON of SADC and president of Botswana, Festus Mogae
has thanked the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) for its
technical support in the development of an Agricultural Information
Management System for the region and other joint activities such as the
Regional Agricultural Water Management for Food Security Programme.

body:
Mogae thanks FAO due to food shortages.

THE CHAIRPERSON of SADC and president of Botswana, Festus Mogae
has thanked the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) for its
technical support in the development of an Agricultural Information
Management System for the region and other joint activities such as the
Regional Agricultural Water Management for Food Security Programme.
Mogae said the SADC region continues to experience problems of food
insecurity, insufficient investment in agriculture, high dependence on rain-
fed agriculture, and poor access to agricultural inputs and markets.
He was speaking at the FAO 60th anniversary summit in Rome,
where he appealed for technical and financial support from the international
community for some 10 million of the region's 240-million
population who will need food and non-food aid before May 2006.
Vulnerability assessments reflect food shortages due to drought in
Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Some of the shortfall will be met by other countries in the region.
Mogae also appealed for assistance in the related fight against HIV
and AIDS which he described as one of the most debilitating challenges
facing the region, and which is made worse by poverty and poor nutrition



Abstract:
THE DAR es Salaam Declaration
on Agriculture and Food
Security in the SADC Region,
adopted by SADC leaders 18
months ago, is due for a
progress review in May 2006.

body:
THE DAR es Salaam Declaration
on Agriculture and Food
Security in the SADC Region,
adopted by SADC leaders 18
months ago, is due for a
progress review in May 2006.
Monitoring of the implementation
by member states of
commitments made under the
Declaration is expected to improve
following a meeting of
senior government officials that
thrashed out bottlenecks that
were hampering the tracking of
progress.
The workshop was convened
in Botswana at the end
of October to simplify and
agree on the most appropriate
monitoring system to be used
by the SADC Secretariat in
tracking progress, as mandated
by the Extra Ordinary Summit
on Agriculture and Food Security
held in Dar es Salaam in
May 2004.
The Summit, whose objective
was to ensure food security
in the SADC region and reverse
persistent chronic food shortages,
adopted the Dar es
Salaam Declaration and Plan of
Action on Agriculture and
Food Security outlining short,
medium to long term measures
to improve the sector.
Placing the responsibility
of implementation of the declaration
on national governments,
the Summit directed
member states to submit sixmonthly
reports to the Secretariat
to facilitate regular monitoring
and evaluation of
progress. The first comprehensive
progress review is due in
May 2006.
“However, reporting from
member states has been erratic,”
the Director of the SADC
Food, Agriculture and Natural
Resources (FANR) Directorate, Directorate,
Margaret Nyirenda,
told the workshop in
Gaborone.


Dar es Salaam Declaration

Short term commitments 2004-2006

THROUGH THE declaration,
SADC leaders agreed on a
range of short, medium to long
term measures that require urgent
attention by member
states in order to improve agriculture
and ensure food security.
The broad short-term measures
for Member States to develop
and promote are:

provision of key agricultural
inputs;
agro-industrial development
and processing to
encourage value addition;
crop and livestock pests
and diseases including
revitalising national control
measures;
crop, livestock and fisheries
production through
increasing quantities of
drought tolerant crops as
well as short varieties and
stocks; and
water management and
irrigation with a view to
increasing budgetary
allocations for this
purpose.


On the critical objective of
provision of key agricultural
inputs, Member States specifically
agreed to:

establish domestic support
measures to vulnerable
smallholder farmers to
ensure access to key agricultural inputs;
institute measures for
timeous provision of quality
seeds to vulnerable farmers
and to encourage contract
seed production and to
attain regional selfsufficiency
by 2006;
encourage exploitation of
mineral deposits for fertiliser
production and make
maximum use of available
capacity to manufacture
fertilisers within the SADC
region in order to meet the
demand of the SADC region
in 5 years time;
ensure fair trade in fertilizers
and other agrochemicals;
endeavour to support tillage
services through the
promotion of draught power,
and the provision of
appropriate tillage
equipment and affordable
mechanisation;
encourage research and
development of affordable
equipment and farming
implements;
promote labour-saving and
gender-sensitive technologies
and improve infrastructure in
the rural areas; and
accelerate land policy reform
initiatives, share experiences
of best practices, and ensure
equitable access to land by
women.


She said by the end of the
first 12 months in May 2005,
only seven countries had
submitted partially completed questionnaires while only four had submitted progress
reports.
Consequently, said Nyirenda,
“the Secretariat has been
unable to fully monitor
progress on the implementation
of the Summit plans
of action”.
At its meeting in June, the
Integrated Committee of Ministers
(ICM) directed the Secretariat
to facilitate the revision of
the questionnaire and the reporting
format, a directive that
was endorsed by the Council of
Ministers in August.
In fulfilling the directive
the Secretariat convened the
workshop in Gaborone which
was attended by senior government
officials directly responsible
for reporting
progress in their respective
countries.
The meeting shortened the
questionnaire and as per ICM
directive, agreed that member
states shall submit completed
questionnaires once a year in
May while progress reports
will continue to be submitted
twice a year in May and November.
Some of the critical challenges
facing the region include
the need to increase productivity, eliminate food
deficits and increase intra-regional
trade in agricultural
products.
In addition, SADC faces the
challenges of resource mobilization
for agricultural development
from public and private
sectors as well as from the
international cooperating partners,
said Nyirenda.
Other challenges range
from limited productivity due
to lack of appropriate technologies
and infrastructure, to overreliance
on rain-fed agriculture
and the skewed global environment.
However, the region is richly
endowed with a wide range
of natural resources, which can
be utilized to turn the region's
fortunes around and thus ensure
food security.


Abstract:
THE CURTAIN comes down on
a historic year for SADC during
which the regional community
commemorated its Silver Jubilee.

body:
THE CURTAIN comes down on
a historic year for SADC during
which the regional community
commemorated its Silver Jubilee.
Formally launched in 1980
by nine leaders as the Southern
Africa Development Coordination
Conference (SADCC), the
organisation, whose membership
has since grown to 14 countries,
concluded yet another momentous
year in its history, that
is full of many achievements
and challenges.
Some of the daunting challenges
that the region has faced
over its 25-year history remained
the dominant issues on
the regional agenda this year.
They range from food insecurity,
poverty, HIV and AIDS to political
instability.
With food shortages affecting
significant parts of the region
this year due to wides
p read drought, comprehensive
implementation by member
states of the May 2004 Dar
es Salaam Declaration on Agriculture and Food Security remains
crucial.
Like most developing nations,
SADC country reports to
the UN Millennium Review
Summit held in September indicated
that while notable progress
has been made towards Millennium
Development Goals
MDGs), more still needs to be
done to achieve the targets set
between 2005 and 2015.
Key among the targets is attainment
of economic growth
rates sufficient to halve the proportion
of people living in
poverty by 2015. With modest
regional economic growth, averaging
less than four percent in
recent years, SADC may not
achieve the poverty MDG.
On the international
dimension of poverty
eradication, action on
the promises made by
the G-8 at their summit in Glen Eagles, Scotland in July
regarding debt relief is as keenly
awaited in the region as it is in
the rest of the developing world.
On the political front, SADC
has moved with measured
success.
Based on the SADC Guidelines
and Principles Governing
Democratic Elections, recent
elections have been given regional
approval. These include
the elections held last year in
which Mozambique and
Namibia chose new leaders who
were sworn in this year.
Zimbabwe and Mauritius
held elections this year that
were passed by SADC and other
regional observers, and bodies
such as the African Union.
The United Republic of Tanzania
was scheduled to hold
presidential and parliamentary
elections on 30 October but
these had to be postponed to
mid-December after one of the
candidates died, as the electoral
law stipulates 21 days for
renomination and another
month for campaigning.
The constitutional and electoral
process in the Democratic
Republic of Congo is moving
forward, albeit slowly, with
elections planned for early
March 2006.
These and other issues
formed the agenda of the SADC
Silver Jubilee Summit in August
in the capital of Botswana, Gaborone, a meeting that
marked the apex of regional anniversary
commemorations.
In a manner befitting the occasion,
the leaders made a number
of landmark decisions. Top
on the list was the adoption of
the “people's protocol” – the
Protocol on the Facilitation of
Movement of Persons in SADCwhich
now awaits ratification
by two-thirds of member states
before it comes into force. The
protocol adds to a list of 30-plus
legal instruments including sector
protocols signed by SADC
to date.

Number of protocols ratified since 1993

Sector protocols set the legal
framework for regional integration
and as one of the most successful
regional groupings in
Africa, SADC prides itself in a
history of unparalleled expansion
in socio-economic and political
integration.
The Silver Jubilee Summit
admitted Madagascar as the
14th member of the regional
grouping, expanding the SADC
economy to a potential market
of almost 240 million consumers.
Former Mozambican finance
and planning minister, Tomaz
Augusto Salomão, an economist,
was appointed by the
Summit as the new Executive
Secretary, deputised by Angolan
engineer, Samuel Caholo.
Salomão, who took up his
post on 1 September, began by visiting member states for consultations,
“to listen to their concerns,
what they think, and what
are their expectations.”
In an exclusive interview with
SADC Today, Salomão urged the
private sector and civil society to
play a stronger role in regional
development, and says he will
improve “the quality of dialogue”
with member states and
other stakeholders.
The Executive Secretary
spoke of the need to streamline
priorities presented in SADC's
long-term development strategy,
the Regional Indicative
Strategic Development Plan
(RISDP). This, he says, is necessary
to “quicken the pace of implementation”
and build capacity
to monitor the process.
Implementation of the RISDP
and its complementary framework,
the Strategic Indicative
Plan for the Organ (SIPO) on Politics,
Defence and Security Cooperation,
was set in motion at the
beginning of the year when the
SADC Council of Ministers approved
the Secretariat's annual
budget and business plans.
The Secretariat is currently
strengthening its capacity to implement
the strategy documents
and monitor the process. A key
meeting with international cooperating
partners is scheduled
for April 2006 to raise resources
needed for a further rollout of the RISDP and SIPO.


title:
SADC and European Commission sign EPA
facility of Euro 7.5 million

Abstract:
SOUTHERN AFRICAN states
are set to benefit from improved
capacity in trade negotiations
and faster integration into the
world economy, made possible
by a new financing agreement
signed between the SADC and
the European Commission.

body:
SOUTHERN AFRICAN states
are set to benefit from improved
capacity in trade negotiations
and faster integration into the
world economy, made possible
by a new financing agreement
signed between the SADC and
the European Commission.
The Economic Partnership
Agreement (EPA) Support Facility
is expected to strengthen the
capacity of the SADC Secretariat
and of SADC EPA member
states to participate more effectively
in negotiations with the
European Union and to design and implement trade and development
policies.
The Facility will also contribute
to the integration of
SADC Member States into the
world economy, and to poverty
reduction and sustainable economic
growth through improved
trade and trade policies.
The agreement signed by the
SADC Executive Secretary,
Tomaz Augusto Salomão, and
the head of the EC delegation in
Botswana, Claudia Wiedey, is
valued at 7.5 million Euros. The
signing ceremony was the final stage of a process that included
the signing of the agreement by
the authorising officer of the European
Development Fund on
behalf of the EC in Brussels.
Salomão acknowledged that
SADC EPA member states need
both financial and technical expertise
to successfully participate
in the EPAnegotiations. He noted
that the “signing of the agreement
could not have come at a
better time as it seeks to redress
the challenges of limited resources
and technical expertise
among others.”
Wiedey said that the EPASupport
Facility is a concrete outcome
of the joint EC-SADC efforts
to closely link trade and development
in the framework of
the Economic Partnership Agreement
negotiations. The overall
objective of the EPA would be
sustainable development of
SADC countries as set out in the
draft SADC–EC Joint Roadmap
for the negotiations.
The facility will provide
short-term technical assistance
and fund studies on trade policy
issues, run regional or national
workshops and training
activities, and strengthen the involvement
of the private sector
and non-state actors in EPA negotiations.
The project will also provide
grant funding for non-state actors'
activities with re g a rd to
trade issues. EPA information
products and an EPA webpage
will be created to regularly inform
the public about the EPA
negotiations and SADC-EU
trade relations.
The facility will also cover
part of the operational expenses
of the negotiating structures of
the SADC Secretariat and of
SADC EPAmember states.
The EPA negotiations are taking
place in the framework of the
Cotonou Agreement signed between
the EU and ACP countries
in 2000. It provides for the negotiation,
before the end of 2007, of
new regional trading arrangements,
compatible with the rules
of the World Trade Organisation.
The SADC-EU negotiations
of the EPA were launched in
Windhoek, Namibia, on 8 July 2004.


Abstract:
THE EUROPEAN Investment
Bank has reaffirmed its commitment
to building economic and
social cohesion of southern
Africa by opening an office to
coordinate its activities in the
region.

body:
THE EUROPEAN Investment
Bank has reaffirmed its commitment
to building economic and
social cohesion of southern
Africa by opening an office to
coordinate its activities in the
region.
The bank, which has two
other offices in Sub-Saharan
Africa, has just opened a new
office in Tshwane, South Africa
to serve the SADC region.
The EIB is the European
Union's financing institution and
seeks to contribute towards the
integration, balanced development
and economic and social
cohesion of the EU members
and their trading partners.
The regional office will service
southern Africa and the Indian
Ocean region and is expected
to increase the effectiveness of
EIB activities, in particular those
involving the private sector.
SADC Executive Secretary
Tomaz Augusto Salomão said
EIB presence would promote
greater foreign direct investment
into the region. He cited transaction
costs as major impediments to investment inflows.


Abstract:
SADC MEMBER States are set
to benefit from German expertise
in water management and
policy formulation following a
new agreement between the region
and the Federal Republic
of Germany.

body:
SADC MEMBER States are set
to benefit from German expertise
in water management and
policy formulation following a
new agreement between the region
and the Federal Republic
of Germany.
German Technical Cooperation
(GTZ) has availed 2.5 million
Euros to SADC to facilitate
the harmonisation of national
policies related to the water
sector, including legislation
and management strategies.
Under the implementation
agreement, GTZ will second an
expert on technical co-operation
re g a rding transboundary water management as well as a
project co-ordinator and shortterm
experts.
Water policy development
and review processes, knowledge
management, legal review
and drafting of water legislation
and implementation
processes of catchment strategies
within shared watercourses
are the areas that short-term
experts will focus on under the
agreement.
The agreement came into
force in October after being
signed by SADC Executive Secretary,
Tomaz Augusto Salomão, and Tomas Schild of GTZ.


Abstract:
THE DEMOCRATIC Republic
of Congo is set to embrace the
proposed changes to the national
Constitution via the 18 December
referendum and avoid a
potential leadership vacuum.
The mandate of the current
transitional government comes
to an end in June next year and
through the referendum, the
people of DRC will decide
whether elections will take place
in early 2006 to elect a popular
government.

body:
THE DEMOCRATIC Republic
of Congo is set to embrace the
proposed changes to the national
Constitution via the 18 December
referendum and avoid a
potential leadership vacuum.
The mandate of the current
transitional government comes
to an end in June next year and
through the referendum, the
people of DRC will decide
whether elections will take place
in early 2006 to elect a popular
government.
The transitional government
fears that should
a “No” vote prevail, a
power vacuum could be
created as it would not be
possible to uphold the decision
to have elections
next year.
“If that happens [the
majority votes No], then it
will be anybody's guess
because the transitional
government ends in June.
“But we are certain
that the elections will take place in March next year,” said
the DRC ambassador to Zimbabwe,
Mawampanga Mwana
Nanga, in an interview with
SADC Today.
If the people of DRC vote
“Yes” on 18 December this
would facilitate the holding of
general elections on 27 Marc h
2006 as planned. The country's
Independent Electoral Commission
(IEC) says that, if necessary,
a presidential runoff
would follow in April, at a date
to be announced.
However, Reverend Apollinaire
Malu Malu, the president
of the IEC, fears that the entire
peace process could be derailed
with the recent postponement of
the referendum on the
new Constitution. The
referendum had been
set for 13 November
but was delayed until
18 December.
The referendum was postponed
because the identification
and enrolment of voters has
taken longer than expected. Initially,
this voter registration was
scheduled to take place within
three months but was still ongoing
by early November.
The exercise was met with unforeseen
hurdles due to the immense
size of the country, coupled
with the degradation of the
communications infrastructure.
In some cases, people had to
travel distances of more than
100 km to access the identification
and enrolment centres scattered
across the country.
As if that was not enough,
the equipment to register voters
had by end of October not arrived
in some mountainous
areas, particularly the eastern
parts of the country.
Other obstacles have been security - related. In the volatile
Ituri district in the northeast of
the country, the IEC was prevented
from identifying and enrolling
local voters.
In Bunia, some militias attacked
the commission's technicians
and took the election materials
and equipment, including
computers and generators.
The UN observer team's logistics
department was struggling
to ensure that the whole country
is covered.
The initial deadline for general
elections was 30 June this
year, and from that date riots
rocked Kinshasa, the country's
capital city, and Mbujimayi in
East Kasai, in the centre of the
country.
Some opposition political
parties, such as the Rally for
Democracy and Social Progress
(UDPS) of Etienne Tshisekedi,
wanted the transitional government
to leave office on that date
in line with the Sun City
Agreement signed in
South Africa.
That agreement, signed
on 2 April 2003 by the
then belligerent groups,
paved the way for a transitional
government
which within 24 months
would wind up and facilitate
a democratically
elected government.
The crisis was brought
to an end when parliament
granted the government
a further 12 months to fulfil its commitments.
If elections go ahead in
March as planned, the elected
president is expected to be
sworn in on 30 June, DRC's Independence
Day.
Reverend Malu Malu remains
positive that the government
and the parliament will
make it possible to hold the elections
in time.
“The referendum law is
ready and has been translated
into the four major national languages
of Kiswahili, Lingala,
Tshiluba and Kikongo because
all Congolese people have to understand
this important text,”
he explained.
Necessary facilities have
been made available for physically
challenged persons including
the blind and the deaf.
DRC's population is estimated
at 60 million. The IEC had
initially targeted to register about half of the total population
-- between 25 to 28 million
potential voters.
By early November, the
commission had enrolled about
20 million people and had revised
the target to about 21 million
people by the end of the
operation.
“Technically, we cannot do
more,” Rev Malu Malu said.
Meanwhile, some essential
laws were not ready by end of
October as the IEC was still
awaiting parliamentary approval.
These included the Electoral
Law and the Amnesty Law.
According to the parlimentary
spokesperson, Raphael Luhulu,
the National Assembly was
ready to discuss the two pieces
of legislation and adopt them
but the government had not
submitted them.
The electoral laws are necessary
in the identification of potential
candidates for the various
political offices.
Several candidates have declared an interest to compete for
the presidency. These include
the incumbent Joseph Kabila, of
the People's Party for Reconstruction
and Democracy; Jean-
Pierre Bemba, who is the current
vice-president of the republic in
charge of economics and finance;
Azarias Ruberwa, the
vice-president in charge of politics,
defence and security; and
P rofessor Arthur Z'Ahidi
Ngoma, vice-president in charg e
of culture and social issues.
Another candidate is
Tshisekedi, remembered for his
opposition to Mobutu Sese Seko
who was overthrown in May
1997 by Laurent Desire Kabila, father
of the incumbent president.
Justine Kasavubu, the only
woman candidate, is the
daughter of Joseph Kasavubu,
the first president of DRC,
when Patrice Lumumba was
prime minister.


title:
Benjamin William Mkapa
Third president of the United Republic of Tanzania
Stands down in December 2005 after two terms in office

Abstract:
THE UNITED Republic of Tanzania is an independent, unitary, sovereign and democratic
state founded on 26 April 1964 by two independent states – Tanganyika (independence
9 December 1961) and Zanzibar (independence 10 December 1963)
with the objective of building a unified society based on freedom, human rights and
peaceful existence. The vast country covers an area of almost 1 million sq km and has
a population of more than 34 million, according to the census in 2002. All Tanzanians
enjoy rights and responsibilities embedded within the country's Constitution.

body:
THE UNITED Republic of Tanzania is an independent, unitary, sovereign and democratic
state founded on 26 April 1964 by two independent states – Tanganyika (independence
9 December 1961) and Zanzibar (independence 10 December 1963)
with the objective of building a unified society based on freedom, human rights and
peaceful existence. The vast country covers an area of almost 1 million sq km and has
a population of more than 34 million, according to the census in 2002. All Tanzanians
enjoy rights and responsibilities embedded within the country's Constitution.
MKAPA WAS elected President
in 1995 as the candidate of
Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM)
with 62 percent of the popular
vote, and increased this to almost
72 percent the second time
he faced the electorate in 2000,
showing the positive response
to his focus on improving the
economy and the economic conditions
of Tanzanians. During
his term in office, he restored
the dignity of Tanzania's currency
and that of the civil service,
he established foreign currency
reserves equivalent to
eight months imports, and
presided over a telecommunications
revolution that modernized
and expanded access. He
strengthened the education sector
due to his belief that an educated
population is a national resource, and Tanzania expects to achieve the
Millennium Development Goal of full enrolment in primary education by
next year. The health delivery system has been improved significantly and
so has the road network connecting key centres in the country, as new roads
were built and main highways upgraded, using local resources.

MKAPA WITH the founding
president, Mwalimu
Julius Nyerere, who established
the national ethic,
the common vision and
values which form the
bedrock of Tanzanian society.
Nyerere, who died on
14 October 1999, near the
end of Mkapa's first term in office, was popularly known as Baba wa Taifa (Father of the Nation). He
set the agenda of liberation, democracy, and common humanity in his vision
for the continent, and was a key figure in the African struggle against
colonialism. After a period of building national unity through the singleparty
system, Nyerere led the transition to multi-party politics and stood
down as president in 1985. The second president, Ali Hassan Mwinyi,
served two terms after winning the first multi-party elections. Mkapa is
credited with returning Tanzania's sense of direction and good governance.
On this foundation, he prioritised economic development, stabilizing the
macroeconomic environment and the exchange rate, widening the space for
local and foreign investment, and reducing inflation to single digits, at less
than 5 percent. The challenge for Mkapa's successor is to focus on agricultural
development while sustaining the momentum of economic growth
and development, and maintaining peace and stability.
PRESIDENT MKAPA with the First
Lady, Anna Mkapa, who also played a
role in strengthening the profile of development
activities in the country. The
outgoing president increased the number
of guaranteed seats for women in
parliament to a minimum 30 percent, saying that “our countries will not attain their full potential until we put
more women at the centre of whatever we want to achieve.” Mkapa cochaired
the World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalisation,
whose report recognized the resentments stemming from the fact that too
few people are benefiting from the opportunities provided by globalisation
and the technology driving it. The report says that efforts to build a more inclusive
globalisation have to begin at home, urging countries to strengthen
regional cooperation “for a stronger voice in the governance of globalisation.”
Mkapa called on his SADC colleagues to work faster and push harder.
“Let us not forget that those who benefit from the current processes and
regimes of globalisation will not be in a hurry to reform the system. …A
Sotho proverb says, ‘A bird will always use another bird's feathers to feather
is own nest.' What we are saying in the Report is that the time has come
for the feathers to be spread more evenly and fairly.”
MKAPA HOSTED the Summit of
SADC Heads of State and Government
in August 2003 and served as
SADC Chairperson for the following
year, during which he placed
emphasis on timebound targets,
and action. This is evident in the
15-year Regional Indicative Strategic
Development Plan (RISDP)
launched in early 2004, during his term as SADC Chairperson. He hosted the Extra-Ordinary SADC Summit
that produced the Dar es Salaam Declaration on Agriculture and Food Security,
leaving a regional legacy in this sector through development targets and
plans, including for a regional food reserve. He has been passionate on the
subject of land and agrarian reform saying, “we must never forget that smallholder
peasants produce the bulk of the food in the region.” He is critical of
the world's wealthiest countries for imposing tariff barriers and subsidizing
their farmers, squeezing African producers from their markets and placing
African economies “at the mercy of commodity prices and the weather”.
Mkapa took every opportunity to speak firmly in support of Zimbabwe's
land reform programme. “There are governments – some of them very good
friends and development partners of ours – which are upset with me because
of my steadfast refusal to censure the Zimbabwean government for what they
claim are human rights abuses and democratic deficits in this country. I think
we have reached a point where, like good friends, we have agreed to disagree
on Zimbabwe. I am glad they have not insisted on choosing friends for us.”
HANDING OVER the gavel as SADC Chairperson
to Prime Minister Paul Berenger in Mauritius
in 2004, Mkapa urged his colleagues to accelerate
the pace of regional integration. He
called for more policy coherence “and greater
political will to lift our vision and focus from
the national to the regional. If we are too bogged down by what we want nationally out of accelerated integration, we
risk losing sight of the greater benefits awaiting all of us in the longer term.
The largest tribe in Tanzania, the Wasukuma, have a proverb: ‘I pointed out
to you the stars, and all you saw was the tip of my finger'. Let us resolve
today to live our eyes beyond the tip of the finger to the stars.”


title:
United Republic of Tanzania

Union elections postponed to 14 December

Abstract:
MORE THAN 15 million Tanzanians
are registered to vote in
elections on 14 December for a
Union president, parliament (the
Bunge) and local councillors. The
Union elections were postponed
from 30 October following the
death of an opposition vice-presidential
candidate, after a highprofile
campaign.

body:
MORE THAN 15 million Tanzanians
are registered to vote in
elections on 14 December for a
Union president, parliament (the
Bunge) and local councillors. The
Union elections were postponed
from 30 October following the
death of an opposition vice-presidential
candidate, after a highprofile
campaign.
Benjamin William Mkapa is
standing down after two terms
as President of the United Republic
of Tanzania. The main
contenders in a field of nine
candidates to replace him are
Jakaya Kikwete of the ruling
party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi
(CCM), who is the current Minister
of Foreign Affairs and
International Cooperation;
Ibrahim Lipumba of the Civic
United Front (CUF) and Augustine
Mrema of the Tanzania Labour Party (TLP), who got
16.26 and 7.8 percent of the
votes respectively in the 2000
elections.
The president is chosen with
the vice-president through direct,
equal and personal universal
suffrage, and is elected by a
simple majority of valid votes
cast. The Union president is the
head of state and government,
and commander-in-chief of the
armed forces, the Tanzania People's
Defence Forces (TPDF).
The Bunge has a total of 324
seats, including 232 elected constituency
seats and 75 special
seats allocated to women who
are awarded seats on a proportional
basis to the number of
candidates a party returns. This
represents a minimum guarantee
of 30 percent women in the
legislature. The remaining seats are reserved for the Attorney-
General, presidential nominees,
and five from the House of Representatives
in Zanzibar. Thirteen
political parties are contesting
the elections.
The national electoral law
makes provision for additional
time for nomination and campaigning
in the event of the
death of a presidential candidate
or their running mate.
However, since Zanzibar enjoys
an autonomous status in
non-Union matters, the Zanzibar
Electoral Commission
(ZEC) was guided by its own
electoral law to proceed as
planned and hold elections on
the two islands of Unguja and
Pemba to choose the Zanzibar
p resident, members of the
Zanzibar House of Representatives
and local councillors.


title:
SADC ELECTORAL OBSERVER MISSION
Preliminary Statement on the Zanzibar Elections held on 30 October 2005

Abstract:
AT THE invitation of the Zanzibar
Electoral Commission the
Southern African Development
Community (SADC) deployed an
Election Observers Mission to the
2005 Presidential, House of Representatives
and Councillors'
Elections. The Mission was guided
by the SADC Principles and
Guidelines Governing Democratic
Elections as its terms of reference.
The Mission was led by
Hon. John Pandeni (MP), Minister
of Regional and Local Government,
Rural Development and
Housing of the Republic of
Namibia.

body:
AT THE invitation of the Zanzibar
Electoral Commission the
Southern African Development
Community (SADC) deployed an
Election Observers Mission to the
2005 Presidential, House of Representatives
and Councillors'
Elections. The Mission was guided
by the SADC Principles and
Guidelines Governing Democratic
Elections as its terms of reference.
The Mission was led by
Hon. John Pandeni (MP), Minister
of Regional and Local Government,
Rural Development and
Housing of the Republic of
Namibia.
The Mission was launched in
Zanzibar on 24th of October
2005. However, SADC had preelection
observers constituted
by the Diplomatic Missions
accredited to the
United Republic of Tanzania.
The Mission was
supported by professional
staff from the Office of the Chairperson of the
Organ on Politics, Defence and
Security Cooperation and the
SADC Secretariat. The team
comprised of 22 observers covering
the width and length of
Unguja and Pemba Islands.
The Mission would like to
congratulate the people of the
United Republic of Tanzania and
in particular the people of Zanzibar
Islands following the holding
of peaceful, professionally managed
and transparent elections.
The people of Zanzibar have expressed
their will in a peaceful
and impressive manner that will
go a long way in contributing to
the consolidation and strengthening
of democracy and development
not only in Zanzibar but
also in the SADC region as a
whole. SADC Mission wishes
therefore, to commend the people
of Zanzibar for high levels of political
tolerance and maturity displayed.
This, in SADC Mission's view, bodes well for nurturing a
culture of multipartyism as an essential
instrument towards the
entrenchment of democracy.
In general the pre-election
phase was characterised by
peace, tolerance and political
vigour of the party leaders and
candidates.
With regard to the polling
process, it is SADC Mission's
overall view that the elections
were conducted in an open and
transparent manner. The polling
stations opened and closed at
the appointed times.
It is worth noting that, in general,
all stakeholders from party
agents, ZEC monitors, law enforcement
agencies, local observers
and presiding officers performed
their duties as expected.
In the discharge of its duties
and responsibilities the SADC
Mission interacted with political
parties and electoral authorities.
It also met with the African Union Observer
Mission, the Election Commissions
Forum of SADC Member
States, the Parliamentary
Forum of SADC Member States,
Civil Society Organisations and
opinion-makers as well as members
of the media. These meetings
served to gain an insight of
the political environment and
electoral management and to
compare notes on various aspects
of the election process.
SADC was humbled by compliments
extended by the people of
Zanzibar wherever its members
were present. SADC would like
to thank all those who have
been of assistance to the members
of the Mission.
During its observation the
Mission noted the following:

A commendable level of political
tolerance, maturity and
civil behaviour of political
leadership across the Zanzibar
Islands;
Peaceful manner in which supporters of diff e rent
parties behaved when attending
political rallies and
meetings;
Visible policing before, during
and after political campaign
meetings, casting and
counting of votes;
The presence of party agents
in the polling stations during
the vote casting and counting;
A commendable gender equity
in the electoral management
and electorate;
Adequate facilities provided
to the voters which made the
process orderly.


SADC Mission however,
noted concerns expressed by
some voter card holders whose
names did not appear in
voter's roll and belated posting
of voters roll to allow fast identification
of names at respective
polling stations. The Mission
was encouraged by the positive response by the Electoral
authorities in addressing
the above concerns providing
clarification to the citizens.
These observations do not in
any way demerit the whole
electoral process and democracy
in the Zanzibar Islands.
Once again, SADC Mission
congratulates the people of the
United Republic of Tanzania
and in particular the people of
Zanzibar Islands for peaceful,
professionally managed and
transparent elections. It is the
view of SADC Mission that the
results shall indeed reflect the
will of the people and that the
elections were credible and legitimate.
The Mission also
commends all political parties
and candidates for their ins
t ructive political maturity,
which once again demonstrates
the peaceful culture
that Tanzania has earned over the years.


title:
Praise for gender equity in Zanzibar poll management

Abstract:
THE ZANZIBAR Electoral Commission (ZEC) received
praise for observing gender equity and
women were a constant presence throughout
polling stations, mostly as managers.

body:
THE ZANZIBAR Electoral Commission (ZEC) received
praise for observing gender equity and
women were a constant presence throughout
polling stations, mostly as managers.
Political parties delegated women as party
agents in many of the polls. Clearly the Moslem
holy month of Ramadhan where more is demanded
of women to prepare the early evening
light meals and to feed the family before sunrise
was not a deterring factor and did not work
against their participation.
The main regional election observation mission,
from SADC, said there was a commendable
gender equity” in the electoral management
and the electorate.
SEOM findings on gender balance were
echoed by the Commonwealth Observer Group
whose team leader said, “we're pleased to see
large numbers of women amongst the voters and
the polling station staff.”
Slightly over half of Zanzibar's 509,906 registered
voters were women, and there was one
woman among the six presidential candidates; 23
of 219 candidates for the House of Representatives
in Zanzibar were women; and 28 out of 340 vied for seats in the local government elections.


title:
CCM wins Zanzibar poll, President
Karume re-elected

Abstract:
TANZANIA'S RULING party,
Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM),
and its presidential candidate
and incumbent, Amani Abeid
K a rume, won the 30 October
poll in Zanzibar.

body:
TANZANIA'S RULING party,
Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM),
and its presidential candidate
and incumbent, Amani Abeid
K a rume, won the 30 October
poll in Zanzibar.
Karume was re-elected for a
second five-year term by 53.2
percent of the voters, with
239,832 votes cast in his favour.
His closest challenger, Civic
United Front (CUF) presidential
candidate, Seif Shariff
Hamad, garnered 46.1 percent
of the total, which accounts for
207,733 of votes cast.
CCM returned 30 of its candidates
to the 50-seat Zanzibar
House of Representatives. All
were elected on the main island
of Unguja. CUF swept all 19
seats contested on the northern
island of Pemba, its main
stronghold. The election for one
seat in Unguja was postponed
to 14 December.
There was a high turn-out
which ZEC put at 90.8 percent – 460,581 ballots cast for the
presidential elections. ZEC
had registered 509,906 voters.
Zanzibar's main opposition
party challenged the election
results and said it would not
recognise Karume's government.
The CUF leader had
told journalists on 30 October
after casting his ballot that the
elections were being conducted
smoothly and that if things
remained as they were he
would “accept the results even
if I lose”.
The election observer missions
were positive about the
poll, and the statements
ranged from “free and fair” to
“credible and legitimate” to
“good elections”. These were
the views of the observers
from SADC and the Commonwealth,
among others, and
they were unanimous in saying
that the poll had been
peaceful, professionally managed and transparent.


title:
A regional framework for coordination of
traditional medicines

Abstract:
A SADC ministerial committee
will recommend the development
of a framework for the coordination
of traditional medicine
in the region, which will see
traditional medicines used alongside
modern medicines in the
treatment of various diseases.

body:
A SADC ministerial committee
will recommend the development
of a framework for the coordination
of traditional medicine
in the region, which will see
traditional medicines used alongside
modern medicines in the
treatment of various diseases.
The committee was established
by SADC leaders at their
Summit in Mauritius last year to
make proposals on the promotion
of research on safety, efficacy
and use of traditional medicine in
addressing major diseases and as
nutritional supplements.
Summit also “underscored
the importance of nutrition and traditional medicine in addressing
health challenges, in particular
HIV and AIDS.”
The leaders noted that the
“major contributing factors to
the spread of the pandemic include
widespread poverty, gender
inequality, illiteracy, stigma
and discrimination and inadequate
healthcare delivery systems
as well as substance
abuse.”
The ministerial committee
on traditional medicine established
by the Summit is made
up of the health ministers from
Malawi, South Africa, Zambia
and Zimbabwe.
The initiative seeks to accord official recognition to traditional
medicines, hitherto
used in secrecy. It is not uncommon
that relatives of a patient
admitted in hospital
sneak in herbs and traditional
roots if they do not see any imp
rovement in the condition of
their kin.
Zimbabwe's health and
child welfare minister Dr David
P a r i renyatwa, Malawi's health
minister Dr Heatherwick
Ntaba, Zambia's deputy Health
Minister Dr Kapembwa Simbao
and South African health minister
Dr Manto Tshabalang-Msimang agreed at a recent meeting
that it was time research
into traditional medicines was
strengthened.
The research would focus on
different priority areas, including
HIV and AIDS, malaria, tub
e rculosis, maternal and child
health among other things.
"We have agreed to consider
the use of the parallel system,
but recognising the need to interact
and cross-referral whenever
necessary. If a doctor fails
to treat a disease, they should be
able to refer it to a traditional
practitioner because in certain
instances this has been known
to work," the ministers said in a
joint communique.
The ministers agreed that
they wanted traditional medicines
to be thoroughly examined
so that these could be integrated
into the national health
delivery systems of SADC
Member States.
They encouraged SADC
members to develop appropriate
legislation for the establishment
of councils for traditional
medicine, protection of practitioners
and consumers, including
the issue of licensing traditional
medical practitioners


Abstract:
ZIMBABWE HAS commissioned
a project to produce
biodiesel, an alternative source
of fuel already in use in South
Africa and seen as the way forward
for most southern African
countries that rely on fuel imports
to power their industries
and move their cargo.

body:
ZIMBABWE HAS commissioned
a project to produce
biodiesel, an alternative source
of fuel already in use in South
Africa and seen as the way forward
for most southern African
countries that rely on fuel imports
to power their industries
and move their cargo.
Biodiesel is a clean burning
fuel which runs in any unmodified
diesel engine. This fuel is an
environmentally friendly alternative
to the higher emission
petroleum diesel used in large
transport vehicles and some
cars and trucks.
In addition, biodiesel can be
made from renewable resources
such as vegetable oil or
animal fat and even from used
cooking oil, an abundant waste
product.
Biodiesel is currently being
manufactured at an industrial
scale by large
companies but can also
be made on a small
scale with simple
technology.
The Zimbabwean project
will see more than 31,000
hectares of the jatropha curcas
tree being planted. The seeds of
the tree are then processed into
biodiesel. The country will produce
its first diesel in three years
time.
Other countries where the
technology is already in use are
Egypt, Germany, India and
Brazil. The new technology allows
countries to cut down on
their fuel imports and to process
the oil for other industrial uses,
including soap making and
lighting.


Abstract:
SOUTH AFRICA'S  Mpumalanga
province is bringing science
laboratories to the rural communities
to bridge the gap between
the rich and poor and allow students
to turn theory into action.

body:
SOUTH AFRICA'S Mpumalanga
province is bringing science
laboratories to the rural communities
to bridge the gap between
the rich and poor and allow students
to turn theory into action.
A trail-blazing project
launched by the province recently
saw high school students from
rural areas having wellequipped,
mini science laboratories
at their doorsteps.
The laboratories are small,
compact, durable boxes that
weigh no more than 15kg and do not need electricity. They
come with printed and electronic
manuals, as well as equipment
and chemicals for the
Grade 8 and 9 Natural Science
curricula.
"The mini-labs are designed
to bridge the gap between secondary
and tertiary education
by stimulating an interest in science,"
said provincial education
spokesperson Thomas Msiza.
"The new laboratories will allow
pupils to put theory into
practical learning." (BuaNews)


title:
US$11 billion for nine expansion projects

SADC plans to boost electricity generation

Abstract:
SADC REQUIRES about
US$11 billion for nine expansion
projects aimed at boosting
the region's electricity generation
capacity over the next
seven years.

body:
SADC REQUIRES about
US$11 billion for nine expansion
projects aimed at boosting
the region's electricity generation
capacity over the next
seven years.
The funds are expected to
come from governments, private
sector, financial institutions and
power utilities, as well as
through the African Union's
New Partnership for Africa's
Development (NEPAD).
The projects include the
Western Corridor Power Project,
a regional project conceived
through the combined
initiative of the SADC Secretariat
and the power utilities of
Angola, Botswana, DRC,
Namibia and South Africa.
A shareholders agreement
signed recently by the power
utilities from those countries is
aimed at operationalising the project and its management
arrangements.
The agreement, signed in
September, was a milestone in
the creation of a joint venture
company, Western Power Corridor
(WESTCOR), following
the signing last year of an Intergovernmental
Memorandum of
Understanding and an Interutility
Memorandum of Understanding.
The project is intended to
exploit the environmentally
friendly, renewable, hydroelectric
energy of the Inga rapids
site in the DRC and will add
about 3,500 megawatts of
power to the SADC region. The
project will also develop the associated
telecommunications
and transmission infrastructure
in the western part of SADC.
Transmission lines are to be
built between Zambia and Namibia, with a capacity to
transmit 200 megawatts. Construction
will start in 2006 and
the project should be completed
by 2008.
Two other transmission
lines will connect Malawi to the
Zambian power system and
Zambia to Tanzania. Zambia
also needs funds for the expansion
of a hydropower station
and Botswana for the expansion
of a 100-megawatt, coalfi red power station to 300
megawatts.
The projects aimed at expanding
electricity generation
capacity in the region include
a pipeline to transport gas
f rom off the Namibian coast to
Namibia's Kudu gas power
station, which is expected to
produce about 800 megawatts.


title:
South Africa proposes to eliminate
import-parity pricing



Abstract:
SOUTH AFRICAN  companies
are set to benefit from lower
input costs if proposals by their
government to eliminate Import
Parity Pricing (IPP) go
through.

body:
SOUTH AFRICAN  companies
are set to benefit from lower
input costs if proposals by their
government to eliminate Import
Parity Pricing (IPP) go
through.
IPP is the practice of selling
locally produced goods on the
domestic market at a price that
customers would pay if they
were importing the same
products.
The South African government
is considering a multipronged
approach that could
result in the scrapping of import
duties, use of incentives to
force IPP practitioners to lower
prices, and reforms in competition
legislation.
The new set of policy proposals
seeks to eliminate the IPP
model, which has been criticised
for unfairly inflating prices.
Users of steel and chemicals as industrial inputs will benefit
from the change of policy.
The government is looking
at how to use incentives such
as electricity rebates to encourage
companies to move away
from IPP and also at strengthening
competition laws and removing
tariffs on some imported
products.
By introducing the new proposals,
the South African government
hopes to reduce the
cost of inputs for downstream
players so that they do not pay
a price that includes import tariffs
and transport costs as if they
had imported the product .
(Business Report)


title:
Lesotho launches new
strategies to boost
economy

Abstract:
LESOTHO HAS targeted the
next three years as the watershed
period during which it
will seek to boost its economic
performance and eradicate
poverty.

body:
LESOTHO HAS targeted the
next three years as the watershed
period during which it
will seek to boost its economic
performance and eradicate
poverty.
Job creation and bolstering
food production will be the cornerstones
of the Lesotho government's
fight against poverty,
according to the country's
Poverty Reduction Strategy
Paper that put the kingdom's
unemployment rate at 31 percent.
Under the plan, the government
will channel most of its
energy and resources into supporting
small, medium and
micro-enterprises as part of a
broader strategy to boost economic
growth.
Measures being proposed
include creating an enabling
investment climate, which will
involve expediting business licensing
and easing immigration
procedures.
(allAfrica.com)


title:
Namibia launches
indigenous business
forum

Abstract:
NAMIBIA HAS taken a bold
step to economically empower
the majority black population by
forming a body to spearhead the
full participation of indigenous
businesspeople in the economy.

body:
NAMIBIA HAS taken a bold
step to economically empower
the majority black population by
forming a body to spearhead the
full participation of indigenous
businesspeople in the economy.
The Indigenous Business
Forum seeks to promote dialogue
between the public and
private sectors in supporting
local businesses and is seen as
providing a boost to small and
medium enterprises, which are
a vital component of the country's
industrialisation.
The launch of the forum ties
in with regional efforts to redress
imbalances created
through years of colonialism as
well as to help restore confidence
in the abilities of indigenous
business entrepreneurs.
Namibian President Hifikepunye
Pohamba noted at
the launch of the forum that it
was time for a change in ownership
of the country's means
of production that had largely
remained unchanged since independence
in 1990. (Business
Report)


title:
Angola is SADC's World Cup team for 2006



Abstract:
AS ANGOLA is celebrating its
30th anniversary of independence
this year with a peace
process that ended almost as
many years of civil war, it has
capped this victory with another
one on the soccer pitch, emerging
as the only SADC competitor
for the 2006 World Cup finals
in Germany.

body:



AS ANGOLA is celebrating its
30th anniversary of independence
this year with a peace
process that ended almost as
many years of civil war, it has
capped this victory with another
one on the soccer pitch, emerging
as the only SADC competitor
for the 2006 World Cup finals
in Germany.
This will be the maiden appearance
of the Palancas Negras
(Black Impalas), as the team is
affectionately known.
Peace returned to Angola with
the signing of an accord in April
2002, following the death of rebel
leader Jonas Savimbi, and ushered
in an ambitious national reconstruction
effort aided by revenue
from the oilfields.


But the war had left Angolan
infrastructure in need of a serious
rebuilding exercise, including
a well-coordinated demining
programme and commitment
to the recovery process
from all citizens.
From the ashes of the terror
war waged on the Angolan citizenry
for decades by the National
Union for the Total Independence
of Angola (Unita), the
country has begun to show
progress in reconstruction, including
preparations for national
elections next year, and the
qualification for the global soccer
showcase will boost national
morale.
Angola was officially admitted
to the World Cup during
the 1986 qualifiers whose finals
were hosted by Mexico.

This is not the first football
victory for Angola, which won
the Council of Southern African
Football Associations (Cosafa)
Castle cup a record three times
in 1999, 2001 and 2004.



In 2001, when war was still at
its peak, the Under 20 national
soccer team also won the
African Youth Championship in
Ethiopia, and qualified for the
last 16 at the global level.
The qualification of Palancas
Negras was largely been attributed
to that team effort.
Soccer pundits say that the
team captain Fabrice "Akwa"
Maieco and Pedro Mantorras
were the key to qualifying, and
they have received much praise
for their contribution to the success
of the team.
The players' exposure to the
Portuguese and other foreign
leagues have helped the team to
gain international experience.
Mantorras plays for the Portuguese
side Benfica while captain
Akwa plies his trade in Qatar.
Akwa scored the winning
goal against Rwanda on the last
day of the qualifying matches,
squeezing out Nigeria to take the
sole group ticket to the finals.
Angola joins fellow debutantes
Ghana, Ivory Coast and
Togo along with Tunisia as
Africa's representatives to Germany
2006.
Angola's participation at the
p restigious tournament will
raise the profile for southern
Africa as the region prepares for
the historic 2010 World Cup to
be hosted by South Africa.
Other southern African qualifiers
at a World Cup tournament
were Zaire (now the Democratic
Republic of Congo) in 1974, and
South Africa in 1998 and 2002.
At the African Cup of Nations
finals to be held in Egypt
in early 2006, Angola will be
joined by fellow SADC countries
DRC, South Africa, Zambia
and Zimbabwe. The five
SADC countries are among 16
African countries which qualified
to compete in the biennial
tournament.




title:
Memories of legendary boxer Lottie Mwale live on

Abstract:
THE COLOUR of the
gloves that took the
legendary Zambian
boxer Lottie Mwale to
a 24-year-long successful
boxing career may
have faded with time
but his life is stuck in
the collective memory
of his country and its
neighbours.

body:



THE COLOUR of the
gloves that took the
legendary Zambian
boxer Lottie Mwale to
a 24-year-long successful
boxing career may
have faded with time
but his life is stuck in
the collective memory
of his country and its
neighbours.
Mwale's disciples
still remember very
well how his blue boxing
gloves punched 477 bouts.
He held on and only lost three.
Mwale's success is incomparable,
and the region is still
struggling to produce a boxer
that will come close to his
stature .
The chain of fights that
Mwale won included
the Commonwealth
Gold Medal in 1974,
following a long spell of amateur boxing. He also won
the World Military Games in 1976
after turning professional at the
age of 24.
Then he took a parallel direction,
against all odds. After
one year of professional boxing,
he fought Tony Sibson in England
where he maintained his
heroic tactics and went on to
win the fight.



Simply put, Mwale was a
beacon of boxing in the region where he marshalled
acclaim and support.
He was nicknamed
“Gunduzani”, coined to
suit the taste of his fans
back home. Gunduzani,
in his native language
Nsenga, means “shake
them”.
His juggling boxing
tactics, his authority in
the boxing ring and
his ability to deliver
what he promised the
fans is a reason for his memories living long after his
demise.
Mwale died recently after a
long struggle with Parkinsons
disease which caused him paralysis.
He had been in and out of
Zambia's University Teaching
Hospital until he gave up on
his life.
He was born in 1952 in
Zambia.
The SADC region mourns the
death of a legendary boxer.






title:
SADC Today Exclusive

Interview with Kenneth David Kaunda

Abstract:
TO CONCLUDE the SADC Silver Jubilee year, we interviewed Dr Kenneth
Kaunda, the first President of Zambia and former Chairperson of the Front
Line States, about his perspectives on the history and future challenges of
SADC, a regional community of which he was a founder. The interview was
conducted by Zambian journalists Amos Chanda and Patson Phiri at Dr
Kaunda's home in Lusaka.

body:

TO CONCLUDE the SADC Silver Jubilee year, we interviewed Dr Kenneth
Kaunda, the first President of Zambia and former Chairperson of the Front
Line States, about his perspectives on the history and future challenges of
SADC, a regional community of which he was a founder. The interview was
conducted by Zambian journalists Amos Chanda and Patson Phiri at Dr
Kaunda's home in Lusaka.

Q Looking back 25 years ago to the founding Summit you hosted in 1980,
what are your impressions of the region?

KK 1980 was a great year because the region was just coming out
of the envelop of closure. It was a year when the region was opening
itself to the modern world.

I received my colleagues from Tanzania, Mozambique, Angola,
Botswana and others. Altogether, we were nine. We met and
discussed the beginning of things. It was a very happy occasion.
We agreed to get moving and formed a coordinating conference
[the Southern Africa Development Coordination Conference
(SADCC)].

PWhat motivated you and your colleagues to do this?

KKWe were engaged in a very bitter struggle against apartheid. I
realised that the rest of the region will not be free entirely if
apartheid [in South Africa] continued. The white people thought
they were superior because of their colour.

There was once a Prime Minister of Rhodesia and Nyasaland,
now Zambia and Zimbabwe and Malawi. One prime minister [Welensky]
for all these countries! There was a partnership he had
agreed upon with the British: the same partnership as exists “between
a horse and a rider”. Now, as a black man, can you fail to
identify a “horse” and a “rider”? They had dirty minds. That partnership
was blackmail. This is what led to the start of the struggle.
T h e rewas apartheid, so the political independence we enjoyed
was not enough. We depended on South Africa for our economy.
I thought of unity. You see, Europeans, as individual countries
w e re always quarrelling. Yet they are now a union. I thought we
could create one community. It was a coordinating conference
and now a community.

Q What challenges do you see SADC facing today?

KK We have now moved but a lot still needs to be done. It is not
easy. Even in Europe there are still difficulties. They are old countries
but they still have difficulties in having the real unity. We need
to fight poverty and disease, HIV and AIDS, etc.

Q How should the region respond to HIV and AIDS?

KK There is still need for a more coordinated institutional framework.
The churches, the NGOs and various organisations should
form one regional grouping because all the countries have been affected.
They cannot afford to fight HIV and AIDS as individual
countries because the people are one.

In my humble opinion, there is need for every country to hold a
national conference involving all stakeholders who should later
come together as a region. It worries me that every country and
o rganization is working in isolation. Mind you, we are the hardest
hit area in this region. At the moment, there is too much isolationism.

QWhat is your view on peace and security in the SADC region?

KK The leaders, even in the affected countries in the Great Lakes
region are doing a great deal of work. I know of some leaders who
have been asked by the African Union to unite these nations. But
the problem is deep. It is very deep. These wars were financed by
colonial masters. They wanted to keep the countries isolated so
that they could amass the wealth in these countries. They sowed
the seed of destruction.

But does someone know what the individuals who were behind
that agenda are doing by now. So even when they try to help stop
these wars, there is need to look at what is deep down the cause.
They could still be fuelling these wars, but it is just a matter of reorganization.
It will not be easy to stop wars in these sister countries but I appreciate
the efforts put up so far.

QDo you see hope for sustainable unity in the region after civil war in
DRC and Angola?

KK We must appreciate what is happening in Europe. Europeans
have seen wars but they have moved from that situation. They are
now uniting, like we have seen the establishment of a uniform currency,
the Euro. It is working well. It has become very famous. ...
I am looking at a situation where SADC will also have its own
single currency. We may not be around as founding fathers of
SADC when the region will have a single currency but there will
come one. Definitely.

Apart from that, there is need for free movement of people and
goods as well as services. That is true unity. Why shouldn't we
unite? We are all God's children united from an era of colonialism.
We need to remove the roadblocks and have unity. I hope the
leaders can also put in place institutions which should unite us.
They have already achieved something but they should not sit
down. They must move faster.

The ministers of transport should look at the possibility of connecting
the existing rail lines from one region to another so that
people can move freely and to any destination in Africa at lower
costs. The Tanzania-Zambia Railways can be linked to the Horn of
Africa. In the south, Zambia is already linked to Zimbabwe and the
rail line can be moved to other regions. That is my view on how I
want Africa to be. But there is need to move faster.


title:
Land and agrarian reform
on three continents]

Abstract:
THIS BOOK examines the resurgence of rural
movements in Africa, Asia and Latin America, notably
those that have recently emerged in Brazil
and Mexico, Zimbabwe and the Philippines. Others
in Africa included are Malawi, Ghana and
South Africa, and an examination of land conflicts
in general in sub-Saharan Africa.

body:


THIS BOOK examines the resurgence of rural
movements in Africa, Asia and Latin America, notably
those that have recently emerged in Brazil
and Mexico, Zimbabwe and the Philippines. Others
in Africa included are Malawi, Ghana and
South Africa, and an examination of land conflicts
in general in sub-Saharan Africa.
The analysis is based on country case studies
that seek to identify their social composition,
strategies, tactics, and ideologies; to assess their
relations with other social actors, including political
parties, urban social movements, and international
aid agencies and other institutions; and to
examine their most common tactic, land occupation,
its origins, pace and patterns, as well as the
responses of governments and landowners.
This is the first comparative study of land and
agrarian reform across the South in the recent
context, amid the challenges of globalisation. It
examines the structure of the land occupation
movement in Zimbabwe and the inherited agroindustrial
complex, as well as ideological influences
and the role of the international financial institutions.
Various models of land reform are presented.
The book predicts that landlessness and
land hunger will grow in Malawi and South
Africa in the foreseeable future.
The longer term potential impact of these rural
movements is demonstrated. In economic terms,
the possibility of tackling poverty through the redistribution
of land is considered and the reorganisation
of production on a more efficient and
socially responsible basis. In political terms, the
role and impact on landowners and transnational
capital are examined.
The book brings together for the first time
across three continents, an intellectually consistent
set of original investigations into this new
generation of rural social movements.
Reclaiming the Land, edited by Sam Moyo and
Paris Yeros, published by David Philip/New
Africa Books in Cape Town and ZED Books
in London, in association with The African
Institute for Agrarian Studies, 2005.




title:
Information management and its impact on
development

Abstract:
THIS IS a book about the widening
information gap and its impact on
development. It is not a book about
technology, but about the importance
of managing information in
any form.

body:



THIS IS a book about the widening
information gap and its impact on
development. It is not a book about
technology, but about the importance
of managing information in
any form.
Noting that development is
“largely about empowerment”, the
book says there are two crucial elements:
people should have the necessary
information to make choices;
and their views should be valued
and listened to.
The book is for development
managers in all sectors, and argues
that information should be the responsibility
of everyone in any organization,
especially the managers.
It shows that effective information
management is almost always related
to capacity building. "The value
of information is how it is used."
The text is well organized, well
written and accessible. The contents
include the expected chapters on
how to use knowledge, and the role
of ICTs, together with innovative
concepts such as "information architecture"
(information flow within
an organization), information
economics (financial resources ) ,
and strategic approaches.
Information Management for Development Organisations, by Mike
Powell, second edition, published
by Oxfam GB, 2003.







title:
BW Mkapa on the value of freedom,
and the hope for dignity

Abstract:
OUR ELDERS taught us that a tree with deep roots cannot be easily uprooted.
SADC has deep roots. We cannot forget those roots – roots that lie
deep in the comradeship moulded in a shared struggle for freedom, for justice
and for dignity.

body:


OUR ELDERS taught us that a tree with deep roots cannot be easily uprooted.
SADC has deep roots. We cannot forget those roots – roots that lie
deep in the comradeship moulded in a shared struggle for freedom, for justice
and for dignity.
By chance of history, Tanzania became independent with majority
rule earlier than other countries in southern Africa and by a firm practical
commitment to the principle – that our freedom would remain incomplete
as long as our brothers and sisters in the rest of the continent
were not free – Tanzania became the home of choice for freedom fighters
and revolutionaries.
We willingly played that role, seeing it not as a burden on our shoulders,
but as a privilege felt in our hearts to stand firmly for justice, for principled
humanity and for dignity. It was, indeed, a privilege to work with
those of you who were part of that struggle.
This now is a place and time for reflection; where we can reminisce
about a war bravely fought and rightly won. Times have changed, yes. But
the value of our freedom has not diminished. We have to draw inspiration
from the past, and build principled commitment to a shared struggle for
balanced regional economic development.
For, political freedom in poverty is only half freedom. When you are
poor in material terms, people tend to think you are also poor in intellect.
So, they want to think for you, and decide for you. Now, that is not
freedom. …
Two years before the then Tanganyika became independent, Mwalimu
Julius K. Nyere re spoke in the then Tanganyika Legislative Council, and
he said:

“We, the people of Tanganyika, would like to light a candle and put it on top
of Mount Kilimanjaro which would shine beyond our borders giving hope where
there was despair, love where there was hate, and dignity where before there was
only humiliation.”
Today, all our countries are free in political terms, but our people still
need hope – a different kind of hope – hope not just to live, but also to
live well; hope not only to continue to be free, but to be free in decency
and dignity.
I welcome you to Tanzania so that together we may mould ourselves
into a modern-day candle, whose light will shine beyond the borders of
each individual member country, and also into the rest of our continent,
giving hope where there is despair, love where there is hate and dignity
that comes from victory in the war against poverty, and HIV and AIDS.

Substance of speech by the Host President welcoming colleagues to the SADC
Summit, Diamond Jubilee Hall, Dar es Salaam, 25 August 2003. Mkapa served as
the third President of the United Republic of Tanzania from 1995-2005.








Abstract:
To the houses, to our crops,
to the beaches, to our fields
we shall return<br

body:



We shall return

To the houses, to our crops,
to the beaches, to our fields
we shall return

To our lands
Red with coffee
White with cotton
Green with maize fields
we shall return

To our mines of diamonds
Gold, copper, oil
we shall return

To our rivers, our lakes
our mountains, our forests
we will return

To the shade of the mulemba
To our traditions
To the rhythms and bonfires
we shall return


To the marimba and the quissange
to our carnival
we shall return

To our beautiful Angolan homeland
our land, our mother
we shall return

We shall return
to liberated Angola
independent Angola.

A poem by Agostinho Neto, Aljube Prison in Lisbon, October 1960

From Sacred Hope – Poems by Agostinho Neto, published by the Angolan
Writers Union, 1986, sponsored by the National Bank of Angola. Translated
to English by Marga Holness. Original painting by António Domingues in the
author's private collection.





body:
CURRENCY CHECKLIST
Country Currency (US $1)
Angola Kwanza ( 100 Iwei) 90.98
Lesotho Maloti (100 lisente) 6.70
Maurítius Rupee (100 cents) 30.31
South Africa Rand Rand (100 cents) 6.70
Zambia Kwacha (100 ngwee) 4,100.00
Botswana Pula (100 thebe) 5.66
Madagascar Malagasy Franc 9,202.00
Moçambique Metical (100 centavos) 26,700.00
Swazilandia Lilangeni (100 cents) 6.54
Zimbabwe Dollar (100 cents) 60,790.90
DRC Congo Franc 487.50
Malawi Kwacha (100 tambala) 122.00
Namíbia Dollar (100 cents) 6.70
Tanzania Shilling (100 cents) 1,149.50

November 2005



body:
EVENTS DIARY 2005


Nov-Dec 2005
25 Nov-10 Dec
Global
16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence

“For the Health of Women, For the Health of the World:
No More Violence” is the theme of this annual commemoration,
a continuation from 2004, which emphasises the connections
between women's human rights, violence against women and
women's health.

December
1 Botswana

8-9 India
Launch of the 1st SADC Report on HIV and AIDS

SADC-India Forum

The inaugural forum will be held on the basis of an MOU between
SADC and the government of India signed in October 1997. The
MOU provides a framework for promoting technical cooperation
on identified economic priority areas for regional development.
5-7 Botswana
Stakeholder Dialogue, Participation and Networking
Initiative Conference


Zambezi Action Plan Project 6 Phase 2. IUCN's Regional Office
for Southern Africa and SARDC's Musokotwane Environment
Resource Centre host a conference to discuss the development of
an integrated water resources management strategy for the
Zambezi River Basin, consult with stakeholders, and share
information on other basin initiatives.
7 Mozambique
SADC Seed Security Network Steering Committee


Meeting organised by the Food, Agriculture and Natural
Resources (FANR) Directorate to develop methodology for early
warning system for seed security.

8-9 Mozambique
Harmonization of Seed Regulations

A workshop for SADC permanent secretaries and directors of
policy and planning.




13-18 China
World Trade Organisation Ministerial Conference
The Ministerial Conference is the highest authority of the WTO and
takes decisions on all matters under multilateral trade agreements.
The ministers will be meeting for the sixth time since 1995.


January 2006

24-29 Global
6th World Social Forum


To be held simultaneously in three regions of the world in Mali,
Venezuela and Pakistan, the forum provides an opportunity for
social movements, NGOs and civil society organisations opposed
to neo-liberalism and capital imperialism to debate and formulate
proposals and plans for action..




26-29 Switzerland
The World Economic Forum


An international forum that brings together business and civil
society leaders, media and policy makers in an intensive five-day
programme of workshops and panel discussions that focus on
crucial economic issues
February
14-17 Mauritius
Light Engineering Investment Promotion &
Business Co-operation Meeting


Organised within the framework of the EU-SADC Investment
Programme (ESIPP), a joint programme that is designed to attract
foreign investment into the region. Meeting aims to promote the
development of the light engineering sector through a series of
one-to-one business meetings with investors.


20-24 Botswana
SADC Council of Ministers


Ministers from each member state sit in Council, usually from the
ministries of foreign affairs, economic development, planning or
finance. The Council is responsible for supervising and monitor
ing the functions and development of SADC, and ensuring that
policies are properly implemented, as well as making
recommendations to Summit.






body:
Public holidays in SADC

December 2005 - February 2006

Public holidays in SADC

December 2005 - February 2006

 9 DecemberIndependence Day Tanzania
10 December Human Rights Day Namibia
16 December Day of Reconciliation South Africa
22 December National Unity Day Zimbabwe
25 December Christmas Day All SADC
26 December Boxing Day Botswana, Lesotho,Swaziland, Tanzania, Malawi
26 December Day of Goodwill South Africa
26 December Family Day Namibia
26 December Public Holiday Zambia, Zimbabwe
27 December Public Holiday Botswana, Malawi, Zimbabwe
 1 January New Year's Day All Countries
 2 January Public Holiday Botswana, Mauritius, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe
 3 January Public Holiday Botswana
 4 January Martyrs' Day Angola, DRC
10/11 January* Eid-ul Adha Tanzania, Mauritius
12 January Zanzibar Revolutionary Day Tanzania
15 January John Chilembwe Day Malawi
16-17 January Heroes' Day DRC
18 January Kabila Hero Day DRC
29 January Chinese Spring Festival Mauritius
 1 February Abolition of Slavery Mauritius
 3 February Heroes' Day Mozambique
 4 February National Armed Struggle Day Angola
11 February Thaipoosam Cavadee Mauritius
26 February Maha Shivratree Mauritius


* Depends on visibility of the moon



body:
PUBLICATIONS


Protocol on the Facilitation of

Movement of Persons

14pp.

Gaborone, Botswana, SADC Secretariat,
2005

The overall objective of this protocol is
develop policies aimed at the progressive
elimination of obstacles to the movement
persons of the region into and within the
territories of state parties.
Available from SADC Secretariat,

P. Bag 0095, Gaborone, Botswana.

Email registry@sadc.int

www.sadc.int



The Illegitimacy of External Debts:
the Case of the Democratic


Republic of Congo

32pp.




Harare, Zimbabwe, AFRODAD, 2005

This report attempts to establish and
document the illegitimacy of the DRC's
foreign debt. It further argues that the huge
chunk of the DRC external debt should not
be an obligation to the nation, it is a
regime's debt, a personal debt of the power
that incurred it – led by Mobuto Sese
Seko -- and consequently it should have
gone with the fall of his power.
Available from African Forum and
Network on Debt and Development
(AFRODAD). 
P.O Box CY1517, Causeway,

Harare, Zimbabwe.

E-mail afrodad@afrodad.co.zw.

Website www.afrodad.org


The Loan Contraction Process in
Africa -- Making Loans Work for the
Poor:


the Case of Mozambique

28pp.


Harare, Zimbabwe, AFRODAD, 2005

The rate of Mozambique's external debt has
accelerated since the 1980s as a result of
political factors associated with the civil war
and the cyclical natural disasters that have
affected the country. This resulted in the failure
to implement some national projects when part
of external financing was devoted towards
disaster relief. Despite the positive impact of
the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC)
initiative in terms of debt burden alleviation,
external debt remains a serious threat to overall
efforts towards poverty reduction and socioeconomic
development.
Available from African Forum and Network on
Debt and Development (AFRODAD), Harare.

Zimbabwe Millennium Development
Goals: 2004 Progress Report

Harare, Zimbabwe, UNDP, 2004

72pp



This first Zimbabwe Millennium Development
Goals (MDG) report seeks to re-affirm
Zimbabwe's commitment to social
development and poverty eradication. By
recognizing the strong link between poverty,
gender and the HIV and AIDS pandemic, the
report draws attention to Goals 1 (poverty), 3
(empowerment of women) and 6 (HIV and
AIDS), as the national priority goals, which
underlie the achievement of MDGs in
Zimbabwe.
Available from UNDP 8th Floor, Takura

House, 67-69 Nkwame Nkrumah Avenue,

Harare.

E-mail registry.zw@undp.org.

Website www.undp.org.zw








title:
SADC in regional initiatives to
avert power deficit

Abstract:
SOUTHERN AFRICA has embarked on a number
of short and long-term projects to bolster its power
generation capacity by more than 42,000
megawatts (MW) as the region steps up efforts to
avert a shortage of electricity in 2007.

body:
SOUTHERN AFRICA has embarked on a number
of short and long-term projects to bolster its power
generation capacity by more than 42,000
megawatts (MW) as the region steps up efforts to
avert a shortage of electricity in 2007.
The SADC region, with some of Africa's fastest
expanding economies, is feared to run out of surplus
generation capacity after 2007.
Net regional generation capacity is expected to
clock 45,000 MW by 2007 against peak demand of
well over 45,000 MW at that time.
The past 10 years have seen demand for power
within the region increasing at a rate of about three
percent per year but that increase has not attracted
a corresponding increment in investment in generation
and transmission infrastructure.
As a result, generation surplus capacity has been
declining, resulting in warnings that SADC could
experience a critical shortage of electricity.
At present, the region has a combined total installed
generation of 52,743 MW but the net generation
output is around 45,000 MW, according to the
Southern African Power Pool (SAPP).
To operate optimally, SAPP must ensure it maintains
a generation reserve level of 10.2 percent or
higher at all times. It is projected that at current demand
growth levels, the region could exhaust its reserve
capacity by after 2007 and would not be able
to meet further increases in demand for power.
This has prompted member states, through
SAPP, to embark on a systematic programme to
build additional generation capacity by either constructing new power stations or enhancing the
performance of existing facilities.
SAPP has developed a 20-year
generation and transmission expansion
plan, which highlights
the benefits of coordinated planning
and the attendant cost reductions
that can be achieved if
the projects are carried out jointly
as compared to individual implementation.
The coordinated plan will
only cost the region US$8 billion
to boost generation capacity
while the sum of the individual
expansion plans by the respective
power utilities is expected
to cost US$11 billion.
A total of 22 short-term pro jects
are at various stages of implementation
across the region
which, once completed, would
boost SADC's power generation
capacity by 11,564MW. The shortterm
projects are scheduled to be
ready between 2005 and 2010.
These include the Capanda
hydroelectric power project in
Angola, which is expected to
add another 260 MW of power
to the regional grid on completion
in 2007 and the refurbishment
of the Inga 1 and 2 coalpowered
project in the Democratic
Republic of Congo will enhance
regional capacity by a further
500 MW in 2007.
There are at least three new
projects in South Africa – one
coal-powered facility and two
gas projects – that will inject an
additional 5,600 MW into the regional
power network between
2005 and 2010.
Other short-term projects
include the second phases of
the 110 MW Muela hydro electric
project in Lesotho, due for
completion in 2010, and
Malawi's Kaphichira
hydroelectric project ,
which will increase the
plant's generation capacity
by 64 MW.
Namibia's power
utility, NamPower,
plans to boost its capacity by 800
MW around 2009 by constructing
the Kudu power station,
which will be powered by gas.
The Maguga power station in
Swaziland, which is due for
completion in 2007, will add another
20 MW to the regional
grid while four projects in Tanzania
scheduled for completion
between 2005 and 2007 have a
combined capacity of 220 MW.
The Tanzanian projects, two
each at Ubungo and Kinyerezi,
will be powered by gas.
Zambia has earmarked four
projects for expansion or refurbishment
between 2006 and
2009, an exercise that will boost
its generation capacity by 1,290
MW. The Kafue Gorge Lower
hydroelectric station, south of
Lusaka, is expected to have a capacity
of 600 MW when its capacity
is expanded at a projected
cost of US$500 million.
The Zambian government
plans to export most of the
power produced at this plant to
Zimbabwe, Botswana and the
DRC. The existing plant, known
as the Kafue Gorge Upper
power plant, currently produces
900 MW. The combined output
of the two plants will be 1,500
MW after completion of the
World Bank-funded rehabilitation
programme.
The governments of Zambia
and the DRC have agreed to upgrade
their 220-kilovolt (KV) regional
interconnection to an imp
roved transmission level to
allow other SADC countries to
tap Inga's energy supplies.
Zambia's Copperbelt Energy
Corporation (CEC) and the
DRC's SNEL have made headway
in the planned upgrading
project that includes construction
of a new 220-KV line between
Chingola in Zambia and
Karavia near the southern DRC
city of Lubumbashi.
CEC officials say in addition
to the new transmission line, the
two countries will also repair
the current 220-KV line to significantly
raise the amount of
hydropower that can be
transmitted from DRC to other
SADC countries.
The Zambia-Tanzania Interconnection
Project involves construction
of a 700 km, 330-KV
transmission line to supply up
to 200 MW of power at an estimated
cost of US$153 million to
both countries.


SAPP InstalledandNet GenerationCapacity

Country Utility Installed Capacity (MW) Net Capacity (MW)


Angola ENE 742 590
Botswana BPC 132 120
Lesotho LEC 72 70
Malawi ESCOM 305 261
Mozambique EDM 307
HCB 2 075 2 250
Namibia NAMPOWER 393 390
South Africa ESKOM 42 011 36 207
Swaziland SEB 51 50
Tanzania TANESCO 591 480
DRC SNEL 2 442 1 170
Zambia ZESCO 1 632 1 630
Zimbabwe ZESA 1 990 1 825
TOTAL 52 743 45 043
Source SouthernAfrican Power Pool


Namibia's and Botswana's
electricity utilities, NamPower
and BPC respectively, have
agreed to build a cross-border
transmission line at a cost of
US$7.7 million.
Refurbishment of the Kariba
South and Hwange power stations
in Zimbabwe will boost
e n e rgy output by 960 MW between
2007 and 2008 while a
new gas project at Lupani
to the west of the country
will generate 300 MW of power
by 2009.
At least 26 long-term power
projects with a total generation
capacity of 31,743 MW are on
the cards to further boost regional
generation capacity.
These will build on the increased
capacity created by the
short-term expansion pro j e c t s ,
and are expected to be operational
between 2010 and 2027.
The most significant of these
is the giant Western Power Corridor
(WESTCOR) project initially
involving five SADC
countries but other member
states can join. WESTCOR is a
regional project conceived
through the combined initiative
of the SADC Secretariat and the
power utilities of A ngola,
Botswana, DRC, Namibia and
South Africa.
The project seeks to exploit
the hydroelectricity energy of
the Inga rapids site in the DRC
and on completion around 2010,
it will add about an extra 3,500
MW to the SAPP grid.
Another major hydroelectric
power project, to be known as
the Grand Inga Phase One, is
planned for the DRC and will
increase SADC's generation capacity
by 6,000 MW by 2012
when it is expected to be
completed.


title:
SADC fast-tracks infrastructure and SDIs

Abstract:
A ROBUST regional transport
system and a solid infrastructural
base hold the key to attracting
investment into the SADC region,
improving competitiveness
and promoting trade.

body:
A ROBUST regional transport
system and a solid infrastructural
base hold the key to attracting
investment into the SADC region,
improving competitiveness
and promoting trade.
The region has embarked on
a fast-track programme to boost
its infrastructure and one of the
strategies being pursued is the
Spatial Development Initiative
(SDI), also known as the development
corridor concept.
In its 15-year regional development
blueprint, SADC acknowledges
that bridging the
infrastructure gap has potential
for deepening integration
through the sharing of the
production, management and
operations of infrastru c t u re
facilities, hubs and development
corridors.
This point also came up
prominently during the recent
familiarisation tour of SADC
member states by the Executive
Secretary, Tomaz Augusto Salomão.
While touring Angola, Salomão
emphasised the importance
of developing a solid regional
transport network to facilitate
cooperation among
member states.
He was particularly concerned
at the continued lack of
development on the Lobito Corridor
as a strategic re g i o n a l
transport system as it provides
an outlet to the sea for several
countries, including the Democratic
Republic of Congo and
landlocked Zambia.
Salomão noted that development
corridors such as Lobito
contribute to the industrial and
mining development of member
states and that “strong economic
impacts are envisaged
through employment creation,
exploitation of mineral resources
and increased markets
for products.”
The SDI is a regional development
programme that seeks
to generate sustainable economic
growth through mobilisation
of private investment capital
in order to empower local
communities.
SDIs often centre on the need
to develop and promote crossborder
trade, investment, infrastructure development and
tourism.
A key SDI is the Maputo Development
Corridor where a
new highway connecting South
Africa and Mozambique is
a major component. So is
the Mozambique A luminium
Smelter (Mozal) pro j e c t ,
which now employs hundre d s
of people.
Most SDIs intersect South
Africa, the largest economy in
the region. South Africa currently
has an SDI programme in
place, whose sole objective is to
focus high-level support in
areas where socio-economic
conditions require concentrated
government assistance and
where inherent economic potential
exists.
This ensures that investments
are fast-tracked and that
synergies between the various
types of investments are
maximised.
More than 130 investment
opportunities have been identified
along the South A frican
side of the Maputo Development
Corridor in the provision
of infrastructure, agriculture ,
mining, energ y, chemicals,
tourism and manufacturing
sectors.
The Trans-Kalahari Highway
has emerged as one of the
most successful infrastructure
developments in the region .
The highway creates a hub of
business across five countries –
Mozambique, Swaziland,
South Africa, Botswana and
Namibia – providing a strategic
coast-to-coast link from Maputo
on the Indian Ocean to
Walvis Bay on Namibia's A tlantic
coast.
Although the Trans-Kalahari
Highway stretches 595 km between
Gaborone and Windhoek,
it creates a transport corridor
that straddles approximately
3,000 km from Maputo in
Mozambique, through the north
of Swaziland, Mpumalanga,
Gauteng and Northwest
provinces of South A frica,
Botswana, and then thro ugh
Namibia to Walvis Bay.
Another initiative is the
Gariep Spatial Development
Initiative through the Northern
Cape and southern Namibia,
and south-western
Botswana. Some of the natural
resources suited for investment
include the Kgalagadi
Transfrontier Park and the
Kudu natural gas field. Other
major investments include the
Oranjemund power station,
worth U$320 million.
Another is the Okavango
Upper Zambezi tourism initiative
that involves Botswana,
Zimbabwe, Namibia, Zambia
and Angola. The project is cent
red on a core development
a rea of 260 sq km incorporating
game parks in the five countries.
This project is driven by a desire
to protect the wetland systems
in the area. This area is said
to have a tourism carrying capacity
of 4 million visitors
a year.


Abstract:
SADC HAS established a 10-
person tribunal, a body whose
main responsibility will be to
assist member states in dispute
re solution.

body:
SADC HAS established a 10-
person tribunal, a body whose
main responsibility will be to
assist member states in dispute
re solution.
The SADC Tribunal, which
will be based in Windhoek,
Namibia, will be responsible for
resolving conflicts among member-
states as well as ensuring adherence
to, and proper interpretation
of, the SADC Treaty and
other subsidiary instruments
binding the regional grouping.
It was established under Article
9 of the SADC Treaty as a
build-up to the regional integration
process and will be an arbiter
among member states.
It will provide advisory
opinion to the Heads of State
and Government Summit,
Council of Ministers and other
organs of SADC.
Member states that feel
aggrieved by another state will
be given a hearing if they
present their complaint before
the tribunal.
Mozambique's Judge President
Luis Mondlane was elected
as president of the tribunal.
Other members are Rigoberto
Kambovo (Angola), Onkemetse
Tshosa (Botswana), Isaac Mtambo
(Malawi), Aringa Pillay
(Mauritius), Petrus Damaseb
(Namibia) and Stanley Maphalala
(Swaziland).
The United Republic of Ta nzania
has Frederick We re m a
while Zambia will be re presented
by Fredrick Chomba and Zimbabwe
by Antonia Guvava.
Judges have already made
solemn declarations to perform
impartially, independently and
conscientiously and to preserve
the secrecy of the deliberations in
line with Article 5 of the SADC
Protocol on Tr ibunal.
The judges were selected
by their national judicial
bodies based on
credentials required for
appointment to the
highest judicial office in their
territory.
The tribunal will allow the
parties at conflict to summon
witnesses for oral testimonies
to prove their cases while experts
would be summoned to
guide the team on technical
matters.
It also has powers to impose
penalties on witnesses who deliberately
fail to appear before it
or appear but refuse to testify
without valid reasons.
Witnesses will take an oath
in line with the laws and guidelines
of their countries of residence.
The tribunal guidelines also
provide that a member state
shall treat a witness who violates
the rules of the tribunal in the
same manner as if the offence
has been committed before one
of its own courts.
“The member states concerned
shall prosecute the offender
before its competent
court at the instance of the Tribunal,”
say the rules.
Experts and witnesses summoned
by the tribunal will be
entitled to a refund on their expenses
and compensation for actual
loss of earnings from the Office
of the Registrar of the SADC
Tribunal.
The tribunal would preside
over matters relating to the interpretation,
application or validity
of SADC protocols and all subsidiary
instruments adopted
within the framework of the
SADC community.
The verdict passed by the
tribunal would be communicated
to the states in conflict or any
other parties.
"In terms of Article 15 of the
Protocol on Tribunal, the Tr ibunal
will have jurisdiction over
disputes between States, and
disputes between natural or
legal persons and States," reads
a statement released by the
SADC secretariat.
Namibia will host the Tribunal
under an Agreement between
the government and the
SADC Secretariat.


title:
SADC standardisation policy gets EC support

Abstract:
SADC MEMBER states are set to
benefit from harmonisation of
standards and quality assurance
policies following a Euro 14.1
million injection by the European
Commission (EC) into a regional
programme that seeks to eliminate
technical barriers to trade.

body:
SADC MEMBER states are set to
benefit from harmonisation of
standards and quality assurance
policies following a Euro 14.1
million injection by the European
Commission (EC) into a regional
programme that seeks to eliminate
technical barriers to trade.
As part of a deal, the EC will
make available funds to assist
southern African countries enhance
trade and investment,
protect consumers through improved
safety and health standards,
and improve the competitiveness
of suppliers of products
and services.
The EC funds will help in
the implementation of the fiveyear
SADC support programme
in Standardisation, Quality Assurance,
A c c reditation and
Metrology (SQAM).
SQAM seeks, among others,
to eliminate technical barriers to
trade among member states and
between SADC as a bloc and
other trading blocs.
The agreement will ensure
enhanced EC assistance in implementing
the World Trade Organisation's Agreement on Technical
Barriers to Trade (TBT), support
to standards bodies in the development
of industrial standard s ,
creation of a regional accreditation
network, assistance in harmonising
laws and regulations,
and in creating a favourable environment for greater private
sector involvement.
The project will also provide
technical assistance and training
to staff in SQAM institutions in
SADC member states.
The agreement was signed in
Botswana by SADC executive
secretary, Tomaz Augusto Salomão
in the presence of Anders
Henriksson, the EC director for
the Horn of Africa, Eastern and
Southern Africa, Indian Ocean
and Pacific.


Abstract:
THE UNITED States says it
will resuscitate its annual consultative
meetings with SADC,
almost five years after suspending
the meetings to
protest the participation of
Zimbabwe.

body:
THE UNITED States says it
will resuscitate its annual consultative
meetings with SADC,
almost five years after suspending
the meetings to
protest the participation of
Zimbabwe.
US Assistant Secretary of
State, Jendayi Frazer, said recently
that her government was
ready to resume meetings of the
SADC-US Forum, suspended in
2001 after regional leaders objected
to American attempts to bar
Zimbabwe from taking part.
Acknowledging that the
Zimbabwe issue had impeded
US dialogue with SADC in the
past few years, Frazer announced
that the US administration
would bring Zimbabwe
into a broader discussion with
peers in the region.
The forum is a gathering of
SADC ministers and business
re p resentatives with their
American counterparts. The
first SADC-US Forum was held
in Botswana in April 1999 and
was opened by President Festus
Mogae.
The forum seeks to enhance
cooperation between
the US and SADC on economic
and socio-political issues.
On the economic front, discussions
focus on ways and
means of improving the climate
for foreign and domestic
investment as well as capacity-
building in the SADC region.


Abstract:
ZIMBABWE SAYS its trade
with other SADC member
states is increasing amid indications
of an upsurge in intra-regional
trade.

body:
ZIMBABWE SAYS its trade
with other SADC member
states is increasing amid indications
of an upsurge in intra-regional
trade.
SouthAfrica remains Zimbabwe's
biggest trading partner, accounting
for 26 percent and 57
p e rcent of the country's exports
and imports re spectively, according to Zimbabwe's Central Statistical
Office.
Exports to South Africa grew
by five percent during the first
nine months of 2005 while Zambia
absorbed 17 percent of Zimbabwe's
merchandise exports
during the same period.
Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique
and Namibia are Zimbabwe's
othermajor trading partners
from the re gion.
South Africa's exports to
SADC member states also gre w
by more than 17 percent between
January and September 2005,
with sales of goods and services
to Mozambique, the Democratic
Republic of Congo and Zimbabwe
rising by 28 percent, 27 percent
and 22 percent, respectively.

(The Herald)


Abstract:
THE TAZAMA pipeline, the
fuel lifeline for landlocked
Zambia, is being recapitalised
and rehabilitated to meet the
pumping requirements of Zambia
and increase oil exports to
the region.

body:
THE TAZAMA pipeline, the
fuel lifeline for landlocked
Zambia, is being recapitalised
and rehabilitated to meet the
pumping requirements of Zambia
and increase oil exports to
the region.
Tazama Pipeline managing
director, Largeman Muzelenga
said recently that, although the
condition of the infrastructure
on the pipeline is relatively
good and the pumping requirements
for the local market and
for export can still be met, the
company would continue with
the recapitalisation and rehabilitation
of infrastructure started
a few years ago.
The Tazama pipeline is
Zambia's main source of fuel,
which is pumped from the port
of Dar es Salaam to Indeni refinery
in Ndola, a cheaper
mode of fuel transportation
compared to road transport. Indeni
is one of very few refineries
in Africa located inland.
Zambia also imports refined
petroleum products from other
countries, notably South Africa.
The Zambian government
owns 50 percent of the refinery
while TotalFina owns the other
50 percent. Tazama Pipelines
has a contract with the refinery,
governing the commercial operations.

(The East African)


Abstract:
THERE WAS little cheer for
southern Africa and other developing
countries at the conclusion
of the sixth round ofWorld Trade
O rganisation (WTO) talks in
Hong Kong in December 2005.

body:
THERE WAS little cheer for
southern Africa and other developing
countries at the conclusion
of the sixth round ofWorld Trade
O rganisation (WTO) talks in
Hong Kong in December 2005.
Trade ministers from 149
countries narrowly averted the
collapse of the trade talks with a
compromise that set in motion
four months of intensive negotiations
to complete a global treaty
that is crucial to the health of the
world economy.
Negotiators have to finalize
the bulk of a new trade deal by
the end of April.
After protracted negotiations,
the European Union finally
agreed to eliminate export subsidies
by the end of 2013. Southern
Africa and other developing
countries were looking for these
to be scrapped earlier.
“The target date of latest 2010,
acceptable by all others, would
have been the minimum but that
was not agreed to by the EU,”
said the Southern and Eastern
African Trade, Information and
Negotiations Institute (SEATINI).
There was also little victory
for cotton farmers from developing
countries.While export subsidies
will be eliminated in 2006,
this constitutes only a small portion
of the trade distortion.
There was no agreement on
trade-distorting domestic subsidies
estimated at some US$3.8
billion or between 80 and 90 percent
of total United States support
for cotton. Domestic subsidies
also make up almost all of
the European cotton subsidies.
African cotton farmers had
hoped for real commitment
from developed countries on
market access, domestic support
and export competition. They
wanted a plan to help them cope
with competition from their
counterparts, mainly in the
United States, who benefit from
government subsidies that drive
down global prices.
Other key obstacles to a comprehensive
trade agreement include
import tariffs on farm produce
and the freeing-up of trade
in industrial goods.
Least developed countries
(LDCs), which are the main target
of the Doha round of WTO
talks, got less than promised.
They asked for quota-free market
access to rich countries' markets
for all LDC products and countries
but the draft agreement was
silent on a binding commitment.
There is also an escape
clause that countries having difficulties
providing such market
access can provide access for
only 97 percent of products .
This escape clause allows developed
countries to continue to
protect “sensitive products”
that are of export advantage to
LDCs, such as textiles and
clothing, rice, sugar, leather
products and fishery products .
The worst deal, according to
SEATINI, was in services and
non-agricultural market access
where negotiations tilted
towards the direction demanded
by the EU and other developed
countries.
The alternative services proposal
of more than 100 developing
countries was not reflected
in the final ministerial declaration
and textual changes proposed
by developing countries
were rejected.


title:
Botswana wants greater use of its railway line

Abstract:
BOTSWANA SAYS it offers
one of the cheapest and
fastest routes to the north
from South Africa and wants
other SADC member states to
make greater use of its railway
facilities.

body:
BOTSWANA SAYS it offers
one of the cheapest and
fastest routes to the north
from South Africa and wants
other SADC member states to
make greater use of its railway
facilities.
A Tswana legislator,
Oreeditse Molebatsi recently
implored other SADC member
states, in the spirit of regional
integration, to consider
using Botswana Railways
when transporting goods to
Zambia and other countries
to the north.
Botswana's Minister for
Works and Transport, Lesego
Motsumi, said some countries
had already started using the
railway line and hoped more
would follow suit.
Most SADC member states
import goods or raw materials
f romSouthAfrica or use South
African ports as points of
entry for goods imported fro m
outside the region.
(Mmegi)


title:
DRC voters favour a new Constitution, elections

Abstract:
THE PEOPLE have spoken in
the Democratic Republic of
Congo and have said yes to a
new Constitution in the referendum
held in December.

body:
THE PEOPLE have spoken in
the Democratic Republic of
Congo and have said yes to a
new Constitution in the referendum
held in December.
DRC is now on course for
its first democratic elections in
more than four decades, set
for 29 April.
The final tally of the referendum
results released by the
country's Independent Electoral
Commission (IEC) puts
the percentage at 84.31 percent
in favour of the new constitution
while 15.69 percent voted
against.
According to the IEC, about
15.5 million people or 61.97
percent of the 25 million registered
voters cast ballots at more
than 36,000 polling stations on
18-19 December.
Observers hailed the conduct
of the referendum and praised
the people of the DRC for their
patriotism and massive participation.
A total of 5,000 local and
280 international observers witnessed
the voting process.
The Electoral Institute of
Southern Africa (EISA) said the
referendum should be considered as the first step to the elections,
and urged the electoral
commission to fine-tune its electoral
management skills and increase
the capacity of the electoral
agents to guarantee even
greater success in the forthcoming
elections.
The “yes” vote effectively
stops a potential leadership vacuum
that would have resulted if
the new constitution was rejected.
The tenure for the current transitional
government – a creation of
a compromise peace deal re ached
between former warring parties
in 2003 – comes to an end in June.
Previous attempts to hold
democratic elections in this vast
country of more than 55 million
people have faltered.
A new transitional constitution
was adopted in April 2003,
thanks to an all-inclusive powersharing
accord signed by all political
parties in Pretoria on 17 December
2002 and formally ratified
by all parties on 2 April 2003.
This accord formed the basis
of the current transitional government
headed by President
Joseph Kabila and four vice
presidents drawn from the main
opposition parties.
Another positive signal for
the forthcoming elections is the
re-entry of opposition leader,
Etienne Tshisekedi, who has
agreed to participate, thus
brightening the chances of an inclusive
transition after several
years of political instability.
Tshisekedi announced on 2
January that he was rejoining
the electoral process in order to
contribute to the development
of his country.
His Union for Democracy
and Social Progress (UDSP) has
for the past two years snubbed
the process that led to a historical
peace deal signed in 2003.
"The UDSP, faced with its responsibilities
before God and
history, undertakes to lead the
Congolese people, desirous of
peace and change, to the final victory
in the coming elections,"
Tshisekedi declared to
reporters in Kinshasa.
Tshisekedi served thre e
terms as prime minister during
the regime of Mobutu Sese Seko
before clashing with the former
Zairean leader. Mobutu was
ousted in 1997 after being at the
helm for close to 32 years.


title:
Tanzania polls “peaceful, free,
transparent, credible”

Abstract:
ELECTION OBSERVERS
praised the conduct of the 14
December elections in the United
Republic of Tanzania, and
the voters whom they said
turned out in surprisingly large
numbers.

body:
ELECTION OBSERVERS
praised the conduct of the 14
December elections in the United
Republic of Tanzania, and
the voters whom they said
turned out in surprisingly large
numbers.
The SADC Election Observer
Mission (SEOM), headed by
Minister John Pandeni fro m
Namibia, said the process was
conducted “meticulously and
lawfully”, the elections were
“peaceful, free, transpare n t ,
c redible and professionally
managed” and “reflected the
will of the people”.
SEOM also praised the
“high sense of gender equity
and youth re p resentation in the
electoral process”, and said
t h e re was a peaceful atmosp
h e re and a high level of political
tolerance.
The African Union said the
elections were conducted efficiently,
in line with regulations
and in a secure environment,
and there was good cooperation
between polling officials and
party agents, building consensus
on many decisions. Other
major points included the high
turnout of voters, especially
women, and respect for the secrecy
of the ballot.
Baleka Mbete, the Speaker of
the National Assembly in South
Africa and a member of the Pan-
African Parliament, who headed
the AU delegation, said that
in the areas covered by the AU
observers, there were no incidents
of “party agents disagreeing
with the outcome of the
counting and verification of the
ballots and number of votes.”
“Overall the elections were
free and fair,” the AU mission
said, citing a few small problems
that could be rectified in
future elections.
SEOM noted that the Constitution
should be available to observers
in English, that law enforcement
agencies should not
help to organize voting queues,
use of indelible ink should be
standardized (dipping or painting
the nail), and the voters roll
should be released timeously
and checked carefully.


Abstract:
DRC elections for a new president
and parliament have
been set for 29 April. The re gistration
of voters was closed
in November 2005 but the IEC
has had to extend the nomination
process for candidates to
allow Etienne Tshisekedi's
UDSP to file papers.

body:
DRC elections for a new president
and parliament have
been set for 29 April. The re gistration
of voters was closed
in November 2005 but the IEC
has had to extend the nomination
process for candidates to
allow Etienne Tshisekedi's
UDSP to file papers.
More than 25 million people
have re gistered to vote. Several
candidates will contest the pre sidential
seat, including the incumbent,
President Joseph Kabila
of the People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy.
Other presidential candidates
include Tshisekedi
and Jean Pierre
Bemba of Congo Liberation
Movement.


title:
President Kikwete to build on
Nyerere values and Mkapa economics

Abstract:
JAKAYA MRISHO Kikwete,
the fourth president of the
United Republic of Tanzania,
has promised continuity of
policies and improved living
conditions for Tanzanians.

body:
JAKAYA MRISHO Kikwete,
the fourth president of the
United Republic of Tanzania,
has promised continuity of
policies and improved living
conditions for Tanzanians.
Kikwete was sworn into office
on 21 December 2005 after
sweeping more than 80 percent
of the valid votes cast in elections
the previous week. He
promised to defend the gains
made by his predecessor, especially
in the economic sector,
and to ensure good governance
and the rule of law.
He promised to maintain
peace, tranquility, national
unity, accomplish the unfinished
projects in education and
health, promote human rights
and combat poverty.
Two major areas of focus
will be to confront unemployment
by creating new jobs, and
to expand agricultural production
in the countryside.
Kikwete's message has been
consistent, pledging to sustain
the previous achievements
with “renewed determination,
vigour and at a faster pace”.
The manifesto of the ruling
party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi
(CCM), says, “We should adhere
to the call by the Father of the
Nation, Mwalimu Nyere re, that
wemust runwhile otherswalk,”
echoing a famous statement by
the founding pre sident.
Asked by local media about
the legacy of the first thre e
p residents, Kikwete said the
founding president, Mwalimu
Nyerere, was “instrumental in
building a united, peaceful, stable
country; Mzee Ali Hassan
Mwinyi spearheaded political
and economic reforms; and I
credit President [Benjamin]
Mkapa for managing macroeconomic
stability.”
Kikwete also credited the incumbent
with commendable efforts
to stamp out corruption.
“ We have got to continue with
the efforts, strengthening the
Prevention of Corruption Bureau
is one of the means of fuelling
the anti-corruption drive.”
He said he would try to
avoid “cronyism and re c ycling”
in the appointment of
ministers and key officials, and
would use a criteria of “patriotism,
love for the nation, integrity,
hard work and experience.”
Kikwete pledged to provide
water for every Tanzanian and
to buildmore schools and health
facilities, expand the telecommunications
network and improve access to electricity. Road
construction and other infrastructure projects started under
Mkapa will continue, as will the
struggle against HIV and AIDS.
Another of Nyerere's famous
slogans of nation building
was uhuru na umoja, “freedom
and unity”, and the results
of Tanzania's 2005 elections
showed why.


title:
CCM won almost 90
percent of seats in
the Bunge

Abstract:
THE TANZANIAN parliament,
the Bunge, has been increased to
324 members, made up of 232
members elected on 14 December
and the remainder appointed.

body:
THE TANZANIAN parliament,
the Bunge, has been increased to
324 members, made up of 232
members elected on 14 December
and the remainder appointed.
Of the appointed members
of parliament, 75 seats are guaranteed
for women, re p re s e n ting
30 percent of the figure for
elected seats. The 75 women
members are appointed by the
National Electoral Commission
based on the number of votes
won by the parties represented
in parliament.
A further 10 members are
appointed by the Union president,
five seats are occupied by
members of the Zanzibar
House of Representatives, and
there are two seats reserved for
the Attorney General and the
Speaker of Parliament.
Chama Cha Mapinduzi
(CCM) easily won the parliamentary
elections with 206 seats. Opposition
parties won only seven
seats on the mainland, with five
going to Chama cha Demokrasia
na Maendeleo (Chadema) and
one each to the Tanzania Labour
Party (TLP) and the United Democratic
Party (UDP).
Some of the constituency
seats were won by women, including
most of the 19 CCM
women candidates.
The picture was more divided
in the semi-autonomous re gion
of Zanzibar, where the southern
island of Unguja returned all but
one member from CCM while
the northern island of Pemba returned
a full slate of 18 opposition
Civic United Front (CUF)
members to the Bunge.
The total number of elected
seats won by the opposition was
26, and the next leader of the opposition
in parliament will come
from the island of Pemba, as
CUF failed to win a single mainland
seat.
Some 70 percent of registere d
voters turned out at the polls.


title:
Profile of Jakaya Kikwete
President of the United Republic of
Tanzania

Abstract:
JAKAYA MRISHO Kikwete,
55, has been in public service
for more than 30 years, yet he is
one of the youngest leaders in
east and southern Africa.

body:
JAKAYA MRISHO Kikwete,
55, has been in public service
for more than 30 years, yet he is
one of the youngest leaders in
east and southern Africa.
The new president is a longtime
party cadre who has been
in cabinet for 17 years. He
served as Minister of Foreign
Affairs and International Cooperation
for the past decade, and
was previously the Minister of
Finance and Minister of Energy
and Minerals.
Kikwete has been a member
of the National Executive Committee
of CCM since 1982, and
a member of the Central Committee
of the party for the past
nine years. He emerged from
the party youth wing and has
strong support from the youth
in the country.
Born in Msoga village in the
historic Bagamoyo district of
Coast region on 7 October 1950,
Kikwete belongs to a very
small ethnic group, one of more
than 120 ethnic groups that
make up the United Republic
of Tanzania. He holds a BA in
economics from the University
of Dar es Salaam.
He entered party work at
district level, and also served in
the Tanzania People's Defence
Forces (TPDF), promoted to
captain in 1979 and lieutenantcolonel
in 1991. He became the
chief political instructor of
TPDF in 1984 and is now their
Commander-in-Chief.
CCM selected its presidential
candidate in a care fully
considered process that involved
the selection of one person
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.


title:
Council to approve regional programme for 2006

Abstract:
SADC POLICY programme for
2006 will be discussed and approved
by the regional community's
ministers when they meet
as council on 23-24 February in
Botswana.

body:
SADC POLICY programme for
2006 will be discussed and approved
by the regional community's
ministers when they meet
as council on 23-24 February in
Botswana.
The Council, which meets
twice a year, is responsible for
supervising and monitoring the
functions and development of
SADC and ensuring that policies
are properly implemented.
The SADC Council of Ministers
meets in February often to
deliberate on institutional matters
including the current res
tructuring of the regional
body's various institutions, as
well as approving yearly budgets
and strategic plans for implementation
by the Botswanabased
Secretariat.
The ministers, usually from
member state ministries of foreign
affairs, international cooperation,
economic development,
planning or finance, meet again
on the eve of Summit in August/
September to prepare policy
recommendations for heads
of state and government.
In Botswana, Council will
review pro g ress on a number
of decisions taken so far, in
particular the critical institutional
reform. The reform
process has centralised management
at the Secretariat ,
clustering the 21 countrybased
sector coordinating units
and commissions into four directorates
that are now operating
from Gaboro n e .
The directorates are on
Trade, Industry, Finance and Investment
(TIFI); Food, Agricult
u re and Natural Resourc e s
(FANR); Infrastructure and Services
(IS); and Social and
Human Development and Special
Programmes (SHD).
Another directorate has been
established to deal with politics,
defence and security affairs.
Major challenges have arisen
especially with regard to
staffing the new structure, as
well as construction of new
headquarters to accommodate
the enlarged team. As of January,
a number of positions were
yet to be filled.
At its meeting in February
2005, Council extended the transitional
arrangement of having
both seconded and regionally
recruited staff until the end of
March 2006 by which time staff
are expected to be in place.
Staff secondment was meant
to be a temporary measure
while proper job descriptions
and transfer of functions from
member states were being finalised to facilitate recruitment
on a contract basis. The previous
Council of Ministers decided
on a quota system to ensure
balanced re p resentation fro m
member states.
The Council of Ministers is
also expected to review the operations
of the Integrated Committee
of Ministers (ICM). The ICM
is part of the new governance
structure of SADC established to
replace what were previously
sectoral committees of ministers.
It is composed of two ministers
f rom each member state and attendance
at meetings depends on
items on the agenda and concerns
of member states.
Other issues on the agenda
of Council include a report on
the African Union and its New
Partnership for Africa's Development
(NEPAD) programme,
cooperation with the international
community including the
European Union which relates
to SADC through the Berlin Initiative
as well as the Economic
Partnership A g reements that
are currently being negotiated.
Council will also discuss
preparations for the SADC Consultative
Conference scheduled
for 26-27 April in Windhoek ,
Namibia.
The conference is aimed at
building a new partnership between
SADC and its international
cooperating partners, mobilise
re s o u rces for the rollout of regional
strategic plans and thus
facilitate the implementation of a
common agenda for SADC.
The theme of the Consultative
Conference is “Partnership for
the Implementation of the
SADC Regional Indicative
Strategic Development Plan
(RISDP) and the Strategic Indicative
Plan of the Organ on
Politics, Defence and Security
(SIPO)”.


title:
Salomão tours member states, sets targets for region

Abstract:
SADC EXECUTIVE secretary,
Tomaz Augusto Salomão, has
been touring the region to familiarise
himself with developments
in member states and appraise
governments of the priority
areas that he wants tackled
during his tenure.

body:
SADC EXECUTIVE secretary,
Tomaz Augusto Salomão, has
been touring the region to familiarise
himself with developments
in member states and appraise
governments of the priority
areas that he wants tackled
during his tenure.
Salomão, who assumed office
in September 2005, has so
far visited Angola, the Democratic
Republic of Congo (DRC),
Lesotho, Namibia, Madagascar,
Swaziland, United Republic of
Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
He is expected to visit all
SADC countries.
He has raised a number of
pertinent issues during the visits
to the various countries, including
the need to develop a robust
infrastructure base for the region .
He is advocating for the introduction
of a regional master-plan
on development of roads ,
bridges, ports, air transport, irrigation
and telecommunications
infrastructure.
Spatial development initiatives
would play a significant
role in this area. The region has
a number of development corridors
at various stages of implementation.
During his visit to Angola,
the executive secretary emphasised
the strategic importance of
outlets to the sea such as the
Benguela Corridor (also known
as the Lobito Corridor) and
called for concerted efforts to resuscitate development of the
corridor.
Efforts to reopen the
Benguela Corridor depend on
progress by the Angolan government
and other partners on a
demining programme aimed at
ridding the area of mines planted
during the country's civil
war. It would also involve the
rehabilitation of the railway line
and rebuilding of bridges destroyed
as well as the main ro ad
links to the DRC, Namibia, Zambia
and the rest of the region .
Emphasis will also be placed
on harnessing the region's skills
base through a coordinated regional
strategy on skills development.
During his visit to
Swaziland and Zimbabwe, Salomão
cited human re s o u rc e s
development as pivotal to tackling
the region's socio-economic
problems. He lauded Zimbabwe
for its excellent skills base.
HIV and AIDS and sustainable
food security also featured
prominently during Salomão's
tour of the region. The region
has finalised a strategic 5-year
business plan (2005-2009) for
the implementation of the
SADC Strategic Framework and
Programme of Action for combating
HIV and AIDS. The region's
responses to the pandemic
are guided by the Maseru Declaration
on HIV and A IDS
signed in 2003 in Lesotho. Salomão
commended Lesotho for
championing the declaration.
Sustainable food security is
one of SADC's pressing challenges,
with the region prone to
droughts. One of the key are as
being addressed by the region is
irrigation developmentwhere the
plan is to reduce the dependence
on ain-fed agriculture and inc
rease budgetary allocations to
water management and irrigation.
He also wants to speed up
the implementation of the Protocol
on the Facilitation of
Movement of Persons, which
seeks to remove barriers on the
movement of citizens of the region
across borders.


Abstract:
SEYCHELLES WILL apply to rejoin
SADC this year because the
country is increasingly active in
international relations, President
James Michel has said.

body:
SEYCHELLES WILL apply to rejoin
SADC this year because the
country is increasingly active in
international relations, President
James Michel has said.
The country's Ministry of
Foreign Affairs was recently allocated
a budget of US$1.9 million
as part of preparations for
the Indian Ocean island's re-entry into SADC.
"The Ministry of Foreign A ffairs
has a key role to play in defending
and promoting Seychelles'
interests in an incre a s i n gly
globalised world. In this context
I am pleased to announce
that Seychelles will be re joining
SADC in 2006," said Michel.
The country quit SADC in
July 2003, but the pull-out became
effective in July 2004. Seychelles
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
officials said at the time
that there was little justification
for the money Seychelles was
expected to contribute to the regional
organisation annually, especially
at a time it was undergoing
difficulties with the shortage
of foreign exchange.
Michel said that with the inc
reased participation in the
country's economy by foreign
investors, "the economy has improved."
By the time it pulled out of
SADC, Seychelles had incorporated
most of the organisation's
regulations into its national legislation
due to its previous
membership.
If Seychelles is readmitted, it
would bring to three the number
of Indian Ocean islands that
are members of SADC. Others
are Mauritius and Madagascar,
both active members which
have dedicated their fore ign
policy efforts towards southern
Africa.


Abstract:
SADC IS promoting Transfrontier
Conservation A reas and
Spatial Development Initiatives
(SDIs) as alternative tourism
products aimed atmarketing the
region as a tourist destination.

body:
SADC IS promoting Transfrontier
Conservation A reas and
Spatial Development Initiatives
(SDIs) as alternative tourism
products aimed atmarketing the
region as a tourist destination.
In this regard, SADC is promoting
community-public-private
partnerships in tourism
development, including participation
by small-to-medium
enterprises, women and youth.
Tourism-based SDIs are best
witnessed in the Lubombo Spatial
Development Initiative
where a multi-million dollar
hotel facility is taking shape.
The Jozini Holiday Resort, recently
launched by King Mswati
III of the Kingdom of Swaziland,
is being developed on Jozini Dam,
jointly shared by SouthAfrica and
Swaziland. The Lubombo Corridor
also connectsMozambique to
these two countries.
Construction is expected to
be complete in the next five
years, in time for the World Cup
soccer tournament that South
Africa will host in 2010.


Abstract:
MADAGASCAR HAS offered
another round of licences to private
companies to explore possible
oil or gas reserves while
Namibia has given permission to
a Croatian firm to explore for oil
on the shores of the Nama basin.

body:
MADAGASCAR HAS offered
another round of licences to private
companies to explore possible
oil or gas reserves while
Namibia has given permission to
a Croatian firm to explore for oil
on the shores of the Nama basin.
Madagascar is known to have
oil and gas reserves, but these are
inadequately mapped and there
is no major production.
The Office des Mines Nationales
et des Industries Strategiques
in Madagascar (OMNIS)
– in co-operation with the Norwegian
geophysical company
TGS-Nopec – announced recently
the opening of a new licence
round over the Morondava
Basin, located offshore in western
Madagascar.
At present, no oil is produced
in Madagascar. The island
has only minor gas operations.
This is despite rather significant
oil discoveries onshore.
Namibia recently entere d
into a petroleum agreement
with a Croatian company, INA
Industrija Nafte, which is to
start exploration on the shore of
the Nama basin in the southern
part of the country. Namibia's
offshore basins are believed to
be oil rich, but few explorations
have been done.
The licence will allow INA to
undertake exploration activities
for two years.


Abstract:
ANGOLA HAS announced
plans to introduce electronic
governance this year. The project
will entail electronic mapping
and registration of the
identity of all Angolans using
new technologies.

body:
ANGOLA HAS announced
plans to introduce electronic
governance this year. The project
will entail electronic mapping
and registration of the
identity of all Angolans using
new technologies.
Swiss company WISeKey SA
will be responsible for the design,
implementation and management
of the "Secure Angola Project",
a component of the "Action
Plan for Electronic Governance",
aimed at taking conclusive steps
towards a digital society in
Angola.
Prime Minister Fernando
da Piedade Dias
dos Santos said "the
e m e rgence of the
knowledge society will
demand from all of us new
ways of seeing and analysing
the world around us and new
governance paradigms. This
will involve new models and
new schemes for interaction between
government and citizens,
giving another vision and
greater effectiveness to citizens'
contact with and participation
in the social, cultural, educational,
academic, economic and political
life of the country."
According to the action plan,
the project includes mapping
the identity of all citizens to enroll
all Angolans into a database
of digital identities. For this to
happen, the government has put
special emphasis on the security
of electronic communications.


Abstract:
MALAWI'S LAKESHORE sand
will soon bemined into a by-pro duct
for manufacturing cellphones
in Taiwan in a venture estimated
to earn the country K9 billion in
foreign exchange per year.

body:
MALAWI'S LAKESHORE sand
will soon bemined into a by-pro duct
for manufacturing cellphones
in Taiwan in a venture estimated
to earn the country K9 billion in
foreign exchange per year.
Allied Procurement Agency
(APA) of Zimbabwe have installed
a plant at Chipoka in Salima
to extract precious minerals
called zircon and rutile that are
used to make cellphone and decorate
household items.
Samples of the minerals have
already been tested and sent to
potential Taiwanese buyers
who have certified them as suitable
material.
About 70 new jobs will be
created at commissioning of the
p roject, with the number rising to
3,000 when a bigger plant is installed
in future to meet annual
p roduction of 12,096metric tonnes.
Feasibility studies have
shown a high concentration of
the minerals along the shores of
Lake Malawi, particularly in Salima.
Indications are that the deposits
would last 300 years, according
to APA. 
(The Nation)


title:
Zimbabwe in drought resistant
maize trials

Abstract:
ZIMBABWE HAS developed
d rought- and pest-resistant
maize varieties and is undertaking
field tests to determine the
effectiveness of the new range
of seeds.

body:
ZIMBABWE HAS developed
d rought- and pest-resistant
maize varieties and is undertaking
field tests to determine the
effectiveness of the new range
of seeds.
The maize varieties are the
output of the Maize Improvement
Project undertaken by the
Scientific and Industrial Research
and Development
Centre (SIRDC).
The project aims to develop
and produce maize varieties,
which are drought tolerant and
resistant to pests through the
use of molecular marker-assisted
selection.
SIRDC is also researching on
mushroom production and has
embarked on an indigenous
crops project. The mushro o m
project aims at the development,
production and selling of high
quality oyster, button and
chanterelle spawn mushrooms.
The indigenous project aims
to carry out research and develop
products from under-utilised
indigenous crops.
This project seeks to identify
indigenous crop and plant resources
that will be converted
into high value nutritious food
products for local and regional
marketing.


Abstract:
SADC EXPECTS a relatively
higher output of cereals and
other crops for the region during
the 2005/06 season compared
to previous seasons.

body:
SADC EXPECTS a relatively
higher output of cereals and
other crops for the region during
the 2005/06 season compared
to previous seasons.
Speaking in Angola, SADC
executive secretary Tomaz Augusto
Salomão announced that
the region was looking forward
to an improved harvest of maize
and other crops such as cassava
during the current season compared
to previous seasons.
The region produced around
30.94 million tonnes of cereals in
the 2004/05 season and output
is expected to be higher during
the current rainfall season. Crop
forecasts for the season are
being compiled.
Southern Africa is also witnessing
a cassava and sweet-potato
boom as farmers are turning
to these drought-resistant tubers.
The past four rainfall seasons
since 2001 have all but one been
drought years. Only the 2003/04
season had sufficient and welldistributed
rains that ensured a
good farming season in most
parts of the region.
During the 2004/05 season,
only South Africa had surplus
maize harvests while other
SADC member states had to
import to meet national requirements.
About 10 million people in
the region are food insecure and
in need of food assistance until
the next harvest in April after
the below normal 2004/05 rainfall
season.
Indications so far point to a
largely normal season in
2005/06, with reports that most
countries in the region have received
above-normal rains.
In the face of fre quent
d roughts, the region is investing
heavily in irrigation and
this has seen the area under irrigation
grow from 1.63 million
hectares in 1985 to 1.96 million
hectares.
SADC governments have
undertaken to accelerate the
use of irrigation technologies
such as treadle and motorised
pumps, canalisation and watersaving
technologies.
Investment is also being directed
into research and production
of drought- tolerant
seed varieties.


Abstract:
SADC HAS made some
strides in harmonising seed
regulation systems to facilitate
easier movement of seed
across borders in the re gion
without compromising quality
and plant health.

body:
SADC HAS made some
strides in harmonising seed
regulation systems to facilitate
easier movement of seed
across borders in the re gion
without compromising quality
and plant health.
A meeting of senior government
officials onHarmonisation
of Seed Regulations held in Maputo
from 8-9 December 2005
agreed to adopt a harmonised
seed regulation system.
When implemented, the system
should improve seed trade
among member states, and inc
rease the availability of quality
seeds to farmers. This is in line
with the Dar-es-Salaam Declaration,
which emphasises the
need for seed security in order
to attain food security.
The meeting noted the need
for capacity-building at national
and regional levels. The proposed
system will require qualified
personnel in seed testing
and inspections, variety release
procedures and aspects of quarantine
and plant health.
Adequate seed testing and
plant health equipment will be
required to meet the relevant
regional and international
standards.
The meeting stressed the
need to have a cost-effective
institutional framework which
can be implemented within the
existing structures at national
and regional levels, for the system
to be sustainable without
unduly burdening the member
states and farmers.
To facilitate seed movement
across borders, the officials
noted the need to involve the
ministries of trade and commerce to participate in followup
discussions, which will prep
are final proposals for submission
to the SADC Integrated
Committee of Ministers.
The SADC Seed Security
Network, operating under the
Food, Agriculture and Natural
Resources (FANR) Directorate,
has been mandated to spearhead
the process.
The meeting was attended by
permanent secretaries from the
ministries of agriculture of 12
SADC member states, as well as
representatives of seed organisations
and international agricultural
research centres.


title:
Stakeholder dialogue on IWRM in Zambezi basin

Abstract:
ABOUT 90 stakeholders from
the Zambezi river basin states
and beyond met in Gaborone in
December to discuss strategies
for Integrated Water Resources
Management (IWRM).

body:
ABOUT 90 stakeholders from
the Zambezi river basin states
and beyond met in Gaborone in
December to discuss strategies
for Integrated Water Resources
Management (IWRM).
The conference sought to facilitate
consultations between
stakeholders, share information
on various basin initiatives,
and identify IWRM issues
and challenges, as a way
of informing strategy formulation
for management of the
basin's resources .
Speaking at the conference,
Felix Monggae of the Kalahari
Conservation Society gave a
good description of IWRM.
“This entails involvement of
all stakeholders, especially communities,
in the planning and
management processes that focuses
on the natural resources of
the river's basin with emphasis
on the water re sourc es.”
Papers presented for discussion
included an overview of the
Zambezi Action Plan Project 6,
Phase II (ZACPRO 6.2) and
IWRM strategy formulation, as
well as issues and challenges.
Issues included equitable allocation
of transboundary water
resources, integrated flood
management, and mainstreaming
gender in IWRM in the
Zambezi basin.
ZACPRO 6.2 national steering
committees (NSCs) fro m
seven of the eight riparian states
gave participants an insight into
the IWRM issues and challenges
in their countries. Angola, the
eighth basin state, was not re presented
at the conference .
ZACPRO 6.2 is developing an
IWRM strategy for the basin and
the consultation formed part of
the strategy formulation process.
The conference was hosted
by ZACPRO 6.2 in collaboration
with partners, the World Conservation
Union (IUCN) re g i o nal
office and the Musokotwane
Environment Resource Centre of
the Southern African Research
and Documentation Centre
(SARDC).
The formulation of the
IWRMstrategy is running parallel
to the establishment of the
Zambezi Wa t e rcourse Commission
(ZamCom), an institution
that aims to promote efficient
management and sustainable
development of water resources
in the Zambezi River basin.
Four of the eight basin states
have ratified the ZamCom agre ement
signed in July 2004. It will
come into force when two-third s
of the basin states ratify the
a g reement, and thiswill pave the
way for the establishment of a
ZAMCOM secretariat.


title:
SADC makes progress on phase-out of leaded fuel

Abstract:
AT LEAST four SADC countries
beat the 1 January deadline
to phase out leaded fuel but a
lot of work still needs to be
done before the dream of having
“cleaner” fuels becomes a
reality across the region.

body:
AT LEAST four SADC countries
beat the 1 January deadline
to phase out leaded fuel but a
lot of work still needs to be
done before the dream of having
“cleaner” fuels becomes a
reality across the region.
Botswana, Mauritius,
Namibia and South Africa have
stopped using leaded fuel in
line with a commitment made
by African countries in 2002 to
use only unleaded petro l ,
which is considered less harmful
to the environment and
human health.
Mauritius was the first member
of SADC to phase out leaded
fuel in August 2002. The
phase-out was preceded by a
public awareness campaign
launched in April of the same
year to explain the benefits
of introducing unleaded
petrol.
The move to remove
lead from petrol in
SADC gained momentum
after the 2002
World Summit on Sustainable
Development in
South Africa.
Experts say lead is
toxic and exposure to it
can result in mental retardation
in children, causes high blood
pressure and increases the risk
of heart attacks as well as
strokes. Enviro nmentalists
blame the fuel for damage to the
environment.
Mozambique and Zimbabwe
said they would phase out leaded
petrol from March although
the former has since stopped
importing the commodity.
According to IMOPETRO,
the body representing Mozambican
fuel importers, Mozambique
could not abruptly clean
out all tanks containing leaded
petrol, since this would have
cost a lot of money. Instead the
leaded petrol is being diluted
with the unleaded variety.
Unleaded petrol will have to
be passed through all the tubes
and tanks in the distribution
system, until the leaded fuel has
been thoroughly flushed out.
The process would be completed
by March.
Zambia also said it
needed more time to
phase out the leaded
fuel, saying the country's
only refinery was unable
to produce suff i c i e n t
quantities of unleaded
fuel for national consumption
and was still
looking at ways that
could be improved.
It costs a lot of money
to reconfigure equipment at oil
refineries to allow them to produce
unleaded petrol instead of
leaded fuel. Refineries in South
Africa are estimated to have
spent about R10 billion or
US$1.6 billion to re configure
their equipment.
There is also the issue of
Lead Replacement Petrol which
countries must introduce to
cater for older vehicles that used
to run on leaded fuel.


Abstract:
TANZANIA HAS joined the
growing number of SADC countries
now producing generic anti-retroviral drugs to combat AIDS .

body:
TANZANIA HAS joined the
growing number of SADC countries
now producing generic anti-retroviral drugs to combat AIDS .
With technical assistance
from Thailand, Tanzania Pharmaceutical
Industries (TPI) recently
launched its ARV drug
following a period of clinical trials
that started in January 2005.
The competitively priced
generic drug will be available
only in selected facilities to
avoid abuse by people and organisations
who might want to
take advantage of its low price.
According to TPI, imported
A RVs cost about US$800 per
month in Tanzania while the
entry of the new drug will bring
the cost down to less than $25
per month per patient. The first
phase in the project will
be for adults, while children
will be covered
in the second phase.
The plant has the capacity
to manufacture
drugs for 100,000 people per
month.
SADC countries reaffirmed
their commitment to fight the
pandemic when they signed
the Maseru declaration on HIV
and AIDS which proposes a
multi-sectoral approach that
involves partnership with all
stakeholders.
Appropriate nutrition and a
healthy diet have proved effective
in boosting the immune system
to hold the HIV virus in
check, and clinically tested traditional
medicine is also used as
an effective immune-booster.
Anti-retroviral medicine can
be effective if taken carefully on
a long term basis in consultation
with a doctor and combined
with proper nutrition.
Thus, cost considerations
have resulted in the local
manufacture. Other SADC
countries producing generic
ARVs are South Africa, Zambia
and Zimbabwe.


Abstract:
A NEW MALARIA drug based
on an Asian medicinal herb will
be introduced to the A frican
market in 2006. The medicine,
costing just 1 Euro per adult and
50 cents per child, is described
by its producers as a "new single-
day cure for malaria".

body:
A NEW MALARIA drug based
on an Asian medicinal herb will
be introduced to the A frican
market in 2006. The medicine,
costing just 1 Euro per adult and
50 cents per child, is described
by its producers as a "new single-
day cure for malaria".
Developed by a Belgian company
that has specialised in
malaria medicines since
1997, the drug has been tested
at several locations in Africa including
DRC. 
(Afrol News)


title:
Namibia mulls
aggressive export
strategy

Abstract:
A NEW Namibian national export
promotion strategy will be
in place this year to more aggressively
position the country's
products in the global market.

body:
A NEW Namibian national export
promotion strategy will be
in place this year to more aggressively
position the country's
products in the global market.
Trade and industry minister
Immanuel Ngatjizeko says “we
want to come up with a blueprint
that presents a streamlined
approach that will guide our activities
and respond to the challenges
of the new and globalised
environment.”
Ngatjizeko says he hopes the
strategy will build entrepreneurial
opportunities, stimulate trade
and improve foreign exchange
earnings. 
(African Business)


title:
Communicating SADC

Roll-out of new communications and promotional strategy

Abstract:
SADC IS streamlining the flowof
information about the region and
building internal capacity in the
member states to effectively communicate
regional developments.

body:
SADC IS streamlining the flowof
information about the region and
building internal capacity in the
member states to effectively communicate
regional developments.
Buoyed by the recent appro val
of its Communications and Promotional
Strategy by the heads of
state and government, SADC has
the daunting challenge of
strengthening communication
channels within and among
member states, and encouraging
greater interaction between the
public and private sector in communicating
their achievements.
According to a plan agreed at
a meeting of media experts from
the region held in Swaziland in
November, public relations and
media campaigns will be
mounted and close collaboration
maintained among the
SADC national committees, media
coordinators and media
practitioners in member states.
One of the challenges is to
build capacity of national media
coordinators in the 14 member
states. The current set-up revolves
around a network of
SADC national media coordinators
whose role is to act as links
between the SADC secretariat
and the media in the respective
countries.
The media coordinators work
closely with SADC national committees
made up of re pre sentatives
sentatives
from the public and private
sectors and civic organisations.
The meeting developed an
implementation plan in which
the media coordinators, media
houses, regional partners and
the private sector will be expected
to play significant roles in the
communication of SADC programmes
and initiatives.
Represented at the Manzini
workshop were the Southern
African Research and Documentation
Centre, the Southern
African Broadcasting Association,
the Media Institute of
Southern Africa, and the Southern
African Editors' Forum.


Abstract:
DELEGATES TO the SADC
Gender Consultative Conference
called for transformation of the
SADC Declaration on Gender
and Development into a pro tocol
and have agreed to take the first
steps in raising awareness.

body:
DELEGATES TO the SADC
Gender Consultative Conference
called for transformation of the
SADC Declaration on Gender
and Development into a pro tocol
and have agreed to take the first
steps in raising awareness.
National gender machineries
plan to work with civil society,
the private sector and other
stakeholders to raise awareness
through national workshops
and lobbying of their governments.
The national meetings
would raise awareness about
the proposed motion to transform
the declaration into a draft
protocol to present to the SADC
Council of Ministers in 2007.
The SADC Gender Unit was
tasked to convene another meeting
of national gender machineries,
stakeholders and cooperating
partners towards the
end of 2006 to take stock of the
national level activities to popularise
the issue.
A protocol is a legally binding
instrument while a declaration is
not binding on the parties.


title:
Restrategising for gender-based regional integration

Abstract:
NATIONAL GENDER machineries
and other stakeholders
at a gender consultative conference
have agreed to work closely
together and have set clear targets
to bemet by all in the quest to create
a gender-sensitive community.

body:
NATIONAL GENDER machineries
and other stakeholders
at a gender consultative conference
have agreed to work closely
together and have set clear targets
to bemet by all in the quest to create
a gender-sensitive community.
Meeting in Gaborone in December,
the participants identified
the need to establish dynamic
and sustainable partnerships
between governments and
other stakeholders as a key challenge
to gender equality.
They also identified the need
for greater political will to
strengthen the institutional capacity
of national machineries,
as well as resource mobilisation.
SADC Executive Secre t a r y,
Tomaz Augusto Salomão, reiterated
the region's commitment to
strengthening participation by
stakeholders such as governments,
civil society and development
partners at all stages of developing
and implementing gender
policies.
The SADC Gender Consultative
Conference, which took
place from 6-9 December 2005
under the theme “Reflecting and
Re-strategising for Gender-based
Regional Integration”, sought
ways of mainstreaming gender
into all national and regional
policies, programmes and activities
and the adoption of positive
measures to accelerate pro gress.
More than 100 delegates attended
the conference, re p resenting
national gender machineries
in SADC member
states, the SADC Gender Unit,
women's groups, civil society
groups working on gender issues
in the region, and cooperating
partners and donors.
The conference agreed on a
draft regional implementation
framework on gender and development,
which includes
strategies to address some of the
challenges facing the re g i o n
such as HIV and AIDS, drought
and food insecurity.


title:
Community
interventions for a
global crisis

Abstract:
POVERTY ALLEVIATION is
one of the key interventions in
the fight against HIV and AIDS
and SADC countries are taking
the fight to the grassroots by enlisting
the help of local communities
to seek local solutions to a
global challenge.

body:
POVERTY ALLEVIATION is
one of the key interventions in
the fight against HIV and AIDS
and SADC countries are taking
the fight to the grassroots by enlisting
the help of local communities
to seek local solutions to a
global challenge.
In Swaziland, community
groups are now lending support
to the fight against the disease
by contributing to the nutritional
needs of those infected or affected.
In one such initiative, a
g roup of community leaders
and care-givers is supplying
vegetables to people living with
the disease and generating extra
cash from proceeds of a gardening
project established with help
from the local traditional leader.
Similar projects exist in other
SADC countries where communities
fund-raise to assist people
living positively with HIV.


Abstract:
Draft regional implementation
framework on gender and
development:

body:
Draft regional implementation
framework on gender and
development:
Member states to put in
place by 2010 constitutional
provisions for gender equality
including the right to dignity, right to life, integrity
and security;

Illiteracy to be eradicated by
2020;

Start a zero tolerance campaign
on gender violence
which results in no gender
violence in schools by 2009;

Gender balance in all decisionmaking
structures by 2015;
Remove all gender stereotyping
from the media by 2020;
Establish a Women's Rights
Commission under the
SADC Secretariat and Gender
Unit by 2007.


Abstract:
NEW AFRICAN covers a range of issues relevant
to all regions of Africa, and packages its
monthly publication with a topical cover and
user-friendly design. There is a quick access, illustrated
contents page that shows how to find
the latest issues “Around Africa” or “The Arts”
or in-depth background features. Columns are
well written, direct and relevant, and there are
unique sections not to be found in other magazines
that cover history “Tales from the
Archives” and the “Diaspora”. Cover stories
are dynamic and topical and range from the G8
and Africa, to development issues, to justice
and leadership, and African history. New
African describes itself as “the best-selling pan-
African magazine” and aims to present a pan-
African perspective.

body:
NEW AFRICAN covers a range of issues relevant
to all regions of Africa, and packages its
monthly publication with a topical cover and
user-friendly design. There is a quick access, illustrated
contents page that shows how to find
the latest issues “Around Africa” or “The Arts”
or in-depth background features. Columns are
well written, direct and relevant, and there are
unique sections not to be found in other magazines
that cover history “Tales from the
Archives” and the “Diaspora”. Cover stories
are dynamic and topical and range from the G8
and Africa, to development issues, to justice
and leadership, and African history. New
African describes itself as “the best-selling pan-
African magazine” and aims to present a pan-
African perspective.
African Business says it is “Africa's number one
business magazine” and is a must-read for anyone
doing business on the continent. Recent
cover stories focused on the WTO meeting
under the headline “Africa battles for trade justice”,
a recent edition that also carried a Special
country report on Botswana. Other recent indepth
cover articles focused on the “investment
revolution”, the “top 200 African companies”
and the US-Africa business summit.
New African and African Business were founded
in 1966, but have been given a lively
makeover and facelift by their current editors,
respectively, Baffour Ankomah and
Anver Versi. Both magazines are published
by IC Publications, icpub@africasia.
com website www.africasia.com


title:
2005 Regional Directory
SADC Land and Water Management
Applied Research Programme

Abstract:
VAST AREAS of southern Africa are
arid or semi-arid, difficult circumstances
for rain-fed agriculture on which most of
the region's population depends. In
order to cope with these environmental
constraints, a wide range of technologies
have been developed over time in the
SADC region with enormous human
and financial resources These technologies
address challenges such as soil
degradation, water-harvesting, tillage
and cropping systems, and stress-tolerant
crop varieties.

body:
VAST AREAS of southern Africa are
arid or semi-arid, difficult circumstances
for rain-fed agriculture on which most of
the region's population depends. In
order to cope with these environmental
constraints, a wide range of technologies
have been developed over time in the
SADC region with enormous human
and financial resources These technologies
address challenges such as soil
degradation, water-harvesting, tillage
and cropping systems, and stress-tolerant
crop varieties.
This directory is an attempt to put together
available information activities
pertaining to land and water management
in the SADC region so that stakeholders
may have access to this information.
It provides contacts for key organizations
and practitioners in 10 member
states which fall within the arid and
semi-arid zones, to facilitate access as
well as exchange of ideas and technologies.
The directory does not cover Angola,
DRC, Madagascar and Mauritius.
In the Preface to the directory published
by the SADC secretariat, the Director
of the Food, Agriculture and Natural
Resources Directorate (FANR),
Margaret Nyirenda, says it is “an excellent
resource for use by regional stakeholders
interested in constraints and
opportunities associated with food security
in the SADC region and concomitant
challenges in land and water
management.” www.sadc.int


Abstract:
PATRICE LUMUMBA was one of Africa's most promising young
leaders. …he was the moving force behind his country's independence.
But his ideas of national self-determination and social equality
earned him many powerful enemies and he paid for his bravery with
his life.

body:
PATRICE LUMUMBA was one of Africa's most promising young
leaders. …he was the moving force behind his country's independence.
But his ideas of national self-determination and social equality
earned him many powerful enemies and he paid for his bravery with
his life.
Lumumba was born on 2 July 1925 in Katako Kombe, in the Congolese
province of Kasai. Educated at a mission school, he was an intelligent
child who seemed destined to leave his humble background
behind him. After leaving school, he had several jobs working as a
nurse's assistant, a postal clerk and a volunteer librarian. All these
experiences brought him into direct contact with poor people in the
countryside and he gradually learned a great deal about their problems
and hopes. …


“I write you these words not knowing
whether you will receive them, when you
will receive them, and whether I will still be
alive when you read them,” Lumumba
wrote in a fare well letter to his wife.
“I want my children, whom I leave
behind and perhaps will never see again, to
be told that the future of the Congo is
beautiful and that their country expects
them, as it expects every Congolese, to
fulfil the sacred task of rebuilding our
independence, our sovereignty; for without
justice there is no dignity…
“ History will one day have its say.
…Africa will write its own history, and
going north and south of the Sahara it will
be a history full of glory and dignity. ...
“Do not weep for me, my companion, I
know that my country, now suffering so
much, will be able to defend its
independence and its freedom.” Patrice

The copper wealth may have made a handful of mining companies
very wealthy, but it did almost nothing for the real majority of
Congolese, who lived in extreme poverty in small villages or in the
capital Kinshasa. … Against this background, the young Lumumba…
won a reputation as a confident organizer and an inspiring orator,
talking to large crowds about his vision for the future.
This future involved what were essentially modest demands, but
they seemed almost revolutionary in colonial Congo. He called for
improved salaries for public workers, better conditions for farmers,
government investment in housing and education and a new relationship
between Belgium and the Congo. …
Most importantly, he rejected the old tribal and regional divisions
and spoke of a united country.…
In October 1958,
he formed his own
political party, the
National Congolese
Movement (MNC). …
In the following
December, Lumumba
addressed the Pan-
African Confere nce
in Accra, Ghana.
In 1960, Belgium
a g reed to Congolese
independence after
elections had brought
the MNC to power as
the largest party in a
coalition government.
Lumumbawas named
prime minister.
“His speech on
independence day, 30
June 1960, sealed his
fate. …He was assassinated
on 17 January
1961, age 35.
A shared future within a regional community


title:
John Chilembwe opposed a
cross-border war

Abstract:
EVERY YEAR on 15 January, Malawi honours Rev.
John Chilembwe, the country's first nationalist who
fought against colonialism in the then British
Nyasaland Protectorate.
The day was proclaimed a holiday 80 years after
Chilembwe's death, believed to have been masterminded
by British settlers.

body:
EVERY YEAR on 15 January, Malawi honours Rev.
John Chilembwe, the country's first nationalist who
fought against colonialism in the then British
Nyasaland Protectorate.
The day was proclaimed a holiday 80 years after
Chilembwe's death, believed to have been masterminded
by British settlers.
He was killed in retaliation for a revolt he led from
23 January to 3 February 1915, in protest against
forced conscription of Malawians by the British, then
at war with Germany during the First World War.
People from Nyasaland were being forced to fight against the Germans in neighbouring Tanganyika, then called German East
Africa.
According to local historians, Chilembwe was opposed to the conscription because
he did not see any immediate benefit for local people in the war.
Chilembwe is considered a national hero in Malawi. Apart from a public holiday
in his honour, local bank notes carry his face, and a number of streets and
buildings in Blantyre and Lilongwe are named after him.
Born in the 1860s, Chilembwe rose from a house servant of liberal Christian
missionary Joseph Booth to a pastor with college education. He is credited with
founding the Providence Industry Mission which developed seven vocational
schools.
The church, with its headquarters at Mbombwe in Chilembwe's home district
of Chiradzulu in the southern region, still stands and has branches in
other parts of Malawi.
Chilembwe preached self-reliance, equal rights and nationalism, all considered
radical ideas in the early 20th century Africa.
After Malawi gained independence in 1964, a Martyrs Day was declared on
3 March to honour Chilembwe and many others who died in the First World
War and the pre-independence struggle. The day is still observed, but Chilembwe
also has his own day to be remembered.
Perhaps his death on or around 4 February1915 while trying to flee into Portuguese
East Africa, now Mozambique, could explain in part why he has never
been given a decent burial.
“We must hunt for his grave and rebury his remains at a heroes' acre.
Chilembwe made nationalism and patriotism real and he deserves all the honour,”
said Akwete Sande, a publisher and ex-diplomat.


body:
CURRENCY CHECKLIST
Country Currency (US $1)
Angola Kwanza (100 lwei) 80.60
Lesotho Maloti (100 lisente) 6.90
Mauritius Rupee (100 cents) 30.58
South Africa Rand (100 cents) 6.09
Zambia Kwacha (100 ngwe) 4,100.00
Botswana Pula (100 thebe) 5.35
Madagascar Ariary 9,150.00
Mozambique Metical (100 centravos) 24,374.00
Swaziland Lilangeni (100 cents) 6.09
Zimbabwe Dollar (100 Cents) 88,701.00
DRC Congo Franc 435.00
Malawi Kwacha (100 tambala) 124.00
Namibia Dollar (100 cents) 6.08
Tanzania Shilling (100 cents) 1,149.50
February 2006


body:
February
20-24 Botswana
SADC Council of Ministers

Ministers from each member state sit in Council, usually from the
ministries of foreign affairs, 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.

TBA Botswana
Water Strategy Reference Group Meeting

Donors and cooperating partners will meet to review progress on
implementation of the Regional Strategic Plan for Integrated
Water Resources Management and Development. The meeting
will be chaired jointly by SADC and UNDP as the partner
responsible for coordination of the programme's other donors.

March
1-3 South Africa
ICTs for Civil Society

Organised by the Southern Africa NGO Network, the conference
will focus on new information and communications technology
(ICT) services and applications relevant to the work of civil
society organisations in southern Africa.
8 Global
International Women's Day

This is an occasion to reflect on progress made so far in
advancing women's rights, to call for change and celebrate acts
of courage and determination by ordinary women who have
contributed to the development of women's rights.
14-18 Ghana
Global Summit on HIV and AIDS, Traditional Medicine and
Indigenous Knowledge

Attended by medical practitioners and traditional healers, the
summit is based on the premise that traditional knowledge
should be given prominence in the contemporary education
system so that socio-cultural values are preserved and sharing of
information is encouraged among knowledge providers.
16-22 Mexico
4th World Water Forum

An initiative of the World Water Council, the forum is aimed at
raising awareness on water issues around the world. The
international event will enable stakeholder participation and
dialogue to influence water policy development at a global level.
The theme is “Local Actions for a Global Challenge”.

April
2-5 South Africa
World Conference on Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion

The focus of the 8th conference is how injury and safety
information can be translated into the creation of concrete injury
prevention policies and practices. Injury and safety researchers,
practitioners and decision-makers will attend the conference,
with the theme: “Data to Action”.
26-27 Namíbia
SADC Consultative Conference

The 2006 Consultative Conference is aimed at marketing the plans
that provides direction for SADC programmes, the 15-year Regional
Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) and the Strategic
Indicative Plan of the Organ (SIPO) on Politics, Defence and
Security Cooperation. Focus of the conference is on mobilisation
of resources for implementation of the plans, and the formulation
of a new agreement between SADC and International Cooperating
Partners (ICPs). The ICPs will have the opportunity to exchange
ideas on strategies and common approaches in enhancing
development assistance to SADC in the implementation of the
RISDP and SIPO. SADC governments and ICPs have been invited
to attend at ministerial level, as well as leaders in the nongovernment
sector and the private sector. The theme is “Partnership
for the Implementation of the SADC Regional Indicative Strategic
Development Plan and the Strategic Indicative Plan of the
Organ on Politics, Defence and Security”.


body:
Public Holidays in SADC
 February - April 2006
1 February Abolition of Slavery Mauritius
3 February Heroes' Day Mozambique
4 February National Armed Struggle Day Angola
11 February Thaipoosam Cavadee Mauritius
26 February Maha Shivratree Mauritius
3 March Martyrs' Day Malawi
8 March International Women's Day Madagascar, Angola
11 March Moshoeshoe's Day Lesotho
12 March National Day Mauritius
12 March Youth Day Zambia
13 March Public Holiday Zambia
21 March Independence Day Namibia
21 March Human Rights Day South Africa
30 March Ougadi Mauritius
29 March Commemoration of the1947 Rebellion Madagascar
4 April Peace and National Reconciliation Day Angola
7 April Women's Day Mozambique
7 April Sheik Abed Amani Karume Day Tanzania
14 April Good FridayAll except Mauritius, DRC,Mozambique, Madagascar
15 April Public Holiday Botswana
15 April Holy Saturday Zambia
15 April Easter Saturday Zimbabwe
16 April Easter Day Namibia
17 April Easter Monday All except Mauritius, DRC, Mozambique
17 April Family Day South Africa
18 April Independence Day Zimbabwe
19 April King's Birthday Swaziland
21 April* Maulid Day Tanzania
25 April National Flag Day Swaziland
26 April Union Celebrations Tanzania
27 April Freedom DaySouth Africa


body:
PUBLICATIONS
Development Effectiveness in Africa:

Promise and Performance, Applying
Mutual Accountability.

73pp

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, UN Economic
Commission for Africa, 2005
A report prepared at the request of the NEPAD
Heads of State and Government
Implementation Committee. The report
collects the key commitments made by African
nations collectively and by OECD countries in
the context of relevant international fora and
key G8 processes regarding Africa.
Available from UNECA, P.O Box 3001 Addis
Ababa. Ethiopia. 

E-mail ecainfo@uneca.org.

Website www.uneca.org.

Brothers from the West:

Solidarity in the Netherlands with
Mozambique 1962 - 2005

71pp

Maputo, Mozambique, Historical Archive of
Mozambique, 2005
A look at Netherlands' support to the Front for
the Liberation of Mozambique (FRELIMO)
during the liberation struggle from Portuguese
colonialism, and after Mozambique's
independence in 1975.
Available from Arquive Histórico de
Mozambique, Universidade Eduardo
Mondlane, Avenida Filipe Samuel Magaia no.
715, R/C, C. P.2033, Maputo, Mozambique.

Email jneves@zebra.uem.mz

Website www.ahm.uem.mz


State Recognition of Traditional
Authority in Mozambique:

The Nexus of Community
Representation and State Assistance

By Buur, L and Kyed, H.M

Uppsala, Sweden, The Nordic Africa Institute,
2005

31pp.

This discussion paper addresses some
fundamental questions pertaining to the 2002
official recognition of traditional leaders as
community authorities. After a brief history of
the changing role of, and faith in, traditional
authorities as a basis for understanding the
importance of their recent official recognition,
the paper outlines the key objectives of the
Decree 15/2000 that officially recognises
community authorities. Some of the key
concepts underpinning the Decree are then
critically assessed.
Available in print and electronic format from
Uppsala, The Nordic Africa Institute.

E-mail nai@nai.uu.se

Website www.nai.uu.se

Gender Mainstreaming in SADC:

How far Are We? How Far To Go?

by Rusimbi, J. M

21pp.

Gaborone, Botswana, SADC Secretariat, 2005
The paper was prepared for a Regional
Consultative Conference on Gender and
Development held in Gaborone 6-9 December
2005. The paper aims at providing a regional
overview on the implementation status of
gender mainstreaming strategy adopted to
achieve gender equality in the SADC countries
in the 1990s. In this respect, an attempt is
made to highlight the progress achieved so far
as well as to expose the existing disparities
and impending challenges. Emphasis is placed
on identifying key emerging gender issues, as
well as opportunities in the light of the current
socio-economic and political developments in
the region.
Available from SADC Secretariat, P. Bag 0095,
Gaborone, Botswana.

E-mail registry@sadc.int

Website www.sadc.int



title:
Infrastructure development top priority for regional integration

Abstract:
SADC MEMBER STATES are cooperating on
infrastructure development and have identified
four key intervention areas to drive initiatives in
this area.

body:
SADC MEMBER STATES are cooperating on
infrastructure development and have identified
four key intervention areas to drive initiatives in
this area.
Infrastructure support intervention has been
placed at the core of the region's community-building
agenda and concerted efforts are being
made to ensure the availability of an integrated,
efficient and cost-effective system to sustain regional
economic development and trade.
The intervention areas are highlighted in
SADC's Regional Indicative Strategic Development
Plan (RISDP)– the region's 15-year blueprint.
These include ensuring the availability of reliable
and cost-effective energy supplies; and use
of tourism to achieve sustainable socio-economic
development and as an incentive for conservation
of the region's natural resources.
Other intervention areas are the provision of
efficient, cost-effective and safe transport, communications
and meteorology systems; and promotion
of integrated water resources development
and management and their equitable sharing
for mutual benefit.
Significant strides have been made to improve
the level and quality of infrastructure in the region
in order to attract investment, increase competitiveness
and promote trade.
In the area of energy, power pooling has been
at the core of regional initiatives. The plan is to
achieve 100 percent connectivity to the regional
power grid for all Member States by 2012 and to
have at least 70 percent of all rural households
with access to electricity by 2018.
A lot of effort has gone into boosting southern
Africa's electricity generation capacity, with almost
50 short and long term projects currently
underway or earmarked for future development.
The new projects will increase
SADC's total electricity
generation capacity by more
than 42,000 megawatts (MW)
between 2007 and 2027. Present
combined capacity is only
52,743 MW, of which 45,000 MW
is available for distribution to
consumers.
The ultimate goal is to transform
the Southern African
Power Pool (SAPP) from a cooperative
to a competitive pool
and to create a regional electricity
market.
To strengthen self-sufficiency
in petroleum and gas resources,
southern Africa is also
undertaking joint exploration
and development of these commodities.
Cooperation in this area includes
harmonisation of policies,
regulations and legislation
to facilitate cross-border trade,
improve capacity utilisation and
liaison in joint procurement of
petroleum products in the
world market.
Robust tourism infrastructure
is also seen as key to deepening
regional integration and
development. Among the targets
for SADC Member States is
the introduction of a universal
visa by 2008.
The SADC UniVisa system
will facilitate intra-regional
travel through the removal of
visa restrictions and harmonisation
of immigration procedures,
as well as easing the cross-border
movement of international
tourists.
Harmonisation of tourism
and immigration policies, legislation
and standards must be
completed by 2008.
Encouraged by the Protocol
on the Facilitation of Movement of Persons in
SADC signed in August
2005, at least seven
countries in the region
have signed bilateral
agreements to waive visa requirements for each
other's citizens.
The region's transport systems,
particularly the railways,
were initially constructed to radiate
from the coastal ports to
provide former colonial powers
with access to and control over
the inland areas. As urban and
industrial centres began to develop,
the focus switched to inland
transport.
However, from a regional
perspective, port-based routes
or corridors continue to be important
for the landlocked countries,
particularly in international
trade. The regional transport
system offers most of the landlocked
countries a choice of routes to the sea via road, rail
and port systems of adequate
capacity. Recent and ongoing investments
are expected to increase
the range of choice.
There has also been considerable
interest in transport corridors,
which link ports and their
connecting road and rail systems
to investment in industry,
mining, agriculture and
tourism. The concept is being
rolled out all over the region.
(see p 12-14)
A lot of work has also been
put into facilitating development
of water infrastructure, particularly
comprehensive, integrated
basin-wide plans and improvement
of the legal and regulatory framework at national and regional
levels to ensure harmonised
policies and legislation.
A strategic Water Infrastructure
Development Programme is
being developed, aimed at addressing
the three pillars of water
for food security, water supply
and sanitation, and water for hydropower
generation.
The SADC Protocol on
Shared Watercourses, which
took effect in September 2003
after ratification by two-thirds of
SADC Member States, has been
instrumental in strengthening
cooperation in joint management
of the region's 15 shared
river basins and avoiding conflict
over water resources.


title:
Railway network spans 36,000
route-kilometres

Abstract:
The network covers 36,000
route-kilometres, operates
150,000 freight wagons using
4,000 locomotives and conveys
over 200 million tonnes of traffic
per year.

body:
SOUTHERN AFRICA'S railway
network spans the SADC
mainland.
The network covers 36,000
route-kilometres, operates
150,000 freight wagons using
4,000 locomotives and conveys
over 200 million tonnes of traffic
per year.
The network constitutes the
biggest proportion of the 51,000
route-km in the whole of Africa,
and has an estimated capacity of
350 million tonnes per year.
The steady decline of rail traffic
share in the region in the early
1990s and the inability by governments
to continue financing
subsidies necessitated the adoption
of market-based approaches
to the railway business.
Cost efficiency and the provision
of one-stop seamless services
became the goals.
The heads of all railways in
southern Africa met in 1993 and
agreed on a Regional Action
Plan (RAP), with implementation
to be spearheaded by the
Southern African Railway Association
(SARA) after its formation
in 1996.
The RAP entailed a redesign
of rail services in line with customer
requirements and provision
of the service at competitive
cost, improvement of predictability
and safety of the rail
transport services and the offering
of a seamless one-stop service
throughout the region irrespective
of national borders.
Harmonised standards and
practices were seen as a contribution
to the promotion of trade
within the region as well as on the
international global market by reducing
the contribution of transport
to the cost of production.
Regional cooperation in this
area has revolved around common
and reciprocal replacement
of spare parts on rolling stock,
exchange of equipment including
pooling of resources to increase
utilisation, uniform maintenance
cycles for equipment
and joint staff training.
While general harmonisation
of practices was recognised
as key to improved services,
the variances in the nature
of traffic flows in the different
sections of the region meant that some railways had to work
more closely with one another
than with others.
As a result, the various national
railway companies were categorised
into corridor groups,
each consisting of railways that
formed a route carrying consistently
similar flows of traffic.
Eleven corridors were initially
identified but these were later
aligned to some of the regional
economic corridors created to
spearhead development by attracting
investment.


title:
Towards a new partnership
SADC Consultative Conference 2006

Abstract:
A NEW partnership framework
is expected to emerge from a
high-level consultative conference
between SADC and its International
Cooperating Partners
(ICPs) in the Namibian capital,
Windhoek, on 26-27 April 2006.

body:
A NEW partnership framework
is expected to emerge from a
high-level consultative conference
between SADC and its International
Cooperating Partners
(ICPs) in the Namibian capital,
Windhoek, on 26-27 April 2006.
The 2006 SADC Consultative
Conference seeks to mobilise
resources for the implementation
of the regional community's
two development blueprints.
These are the Regional
Indicative Strategic Development
Plan (RISDP) and the
Strategic Indicative Plan of the
Organ on Politics, Defence and
Security Cooperation (SIPO).
The two strategy documents
identify the main intervention
areas that will drive the region's
integration and development
agenda over a 15-year period.
They range from socio-economic
development to politics, defence
and security issues.
With milestones that are divided
into periods of one year,
five years and 15 years, the blueprints
are structured and
aligned to the wider goals, objectives
and implementation
framework of the New Partnership
for Africa's Development
(NEPAD) and the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs).
In addition to helping Member
States achieve national, continental
and internationally
agreed goals, the strategic plans
play a critical role in positioning
SADC as one of the building
blocks of the African Union, and
a key global player.
The regional plans were
adopted by Summit of Heads of
State and Government in 2003
and launched the following
year. The missing link has been
the partnership that can drive,
sustain and monitor their implementation.
Under the theme, “Partnership
for the Implementation of
the SADC Regional Indicative
Strategic Development Plan and the Strategic Indicative Plan of
the Organ on Politics, Defence
and Security”, the Windhoek
Conference will do precisely
that – rally a new partnership
involving member states, SADC
Secretariat, ICPs, civil society
and the private sector.
“The expected significant
outcome of the Conference will
be an agreement on a SADC/ICP
New Partnership,” said Balezi
Goalathe, Botswana's minister of
finance, when he announced the
adoption of the conference theme
document during the Council of
Ministers in February. Goalathe
is the current Chairperson of the
SADC Council of Ministers.
The “Windhoek Declaration
on a New SADC/ICP Partnership”,
will be tabled for adoption.
Goalathe said the Conference will
review development cooperation
between SADC and its ICPs, and
determine the way forward in
various areas of common interest.
The 2006 Conference has
been structured in a way that ensures optimum interaction
and exchange of views among
delegates. Discussions will dwell
on SADC's common intervention
areas which have been consolidated
into sub-themes on:
Trade, Economic Liberalisation
and Development;
Infrastructure Support for
Regional Integration;
Sustainable Food Security;
Social and Human Development;
Implementation of SIPO;
HIV and AIDS; and
Crosscutting Issues such as
Gender, Statistics, Environment
and Sustainable Development,
Private Sector Development,
and Science and
Technology.

Attendance is expected to be
high level, attracting ministers
from Member States and ICPs, as
well as civil society and business
leaders from the region.
The coming on board of
SADC's two development plans,
which clearly define the regional community's development aspirations,
has prompted the need
to review development cooperation.
The Windhoek Declaration
will specify the roles of all key
stakeholders in future development
cooperation.
The historic Windhoek Declaration
favours a holistic programme
approach as opposed to
implementation of isolated projects.
The agreement is expected
to mandate a SADC/ICPs Joint
Task Force, consisting of Member
States and ICPs, to undertake
follow-up activities in order
to realise the objectives of the
new partnership.
While there is no doubt
about Member States' commitment
to funding the RISDP and
SIPO, resource constraints mean
that cooperating partners are
called upon to play a critical
role. The magnitude of the regional
plans is such that more
substantive participation by cooperating
partners is needed
than before.


Abstract:
THE CONSULTATIVE conference,
which has been structured
in a way that ensures optimum
interaction and exchange
of views among delegates,
will be a combination of
plenary and interactive working
group sessions.

body:
THE CONSULTATIVE conference,
which has been structured
in a way that ensures optimum
interaction and exchange
of views among delegates,
will be a combination of
plenary and interactive working
group sessions.
The plenary sessions will be
convened for the official opening
and closing sessions. The
opening plenary will include
some speeches, followed by presentations
on:
The relations between the
African Union (focusing on the
NEPAD Framework) and regional
economic communities
such as SADC. The thrust of this
presentation will be to demonstrate
the AU as a continental institution
while the Regional Economic
Communities (RECs) are
the implementing bodies or
building blocks. Clear synergies
and linkages will be drawn between
NEPAD and the RISDP
and SIPO.
Overview of the RISDP and
the SIPO. This presentation
will be a brief overview of the
SADC Vision, Mission and
Common Agenda; the scope
and purpose of the RISDP and
SIPO; social, economic and
political situation in the
SADC region; priority intervention
areas; sustainable financing;
implementation and
coordination mechanisms; and
monitoring and evaluation
mechanisms.
The New SADC-ICP Partnership.
This presentation will make a case for the need for a
New Partnership for the effective
implementation of the
RISDP and SIPO. It will outline
the overall goal of the New Partnership,
its objectives and guiding
principles. It will also make
proposals on the effective structure
for dialogue and respective
roles of the key stakeholders in
the New Partnership.

The presentations will then
be followed by open discussions.
The interactive working
group sessions will deliberate
on the implementation of the
RISDP and SIPO, in the context
of the sub-themes. The presentations
will cover the priority intervention
areas focusing on the
overall goals, focal areas, strategies
and targets.


Abstract:
SADC HAS taken a decisive
step to avert a looming energy
deficit by signing a revised
agreement that brings in
new players and takes into
account present realities in
the sector.

body:
SADC HAS taken a decisive
step to avert a looming energy
deficit by signing a revised
agreement that brings in
new players and takes into
account present realities in
the sector.
The agreement, signed on 23
February by the Council of
Ministers in Gaborone, is a revision
of the 1995 Inter-Governmental
Memorandum of
Understanding establishing
the Southern African Power
Pool (SAPP).
The revised MOU is an “integral
part of SADC's efforts to
create an appropriate enabling
environment for the development
of the private sector and
foreign direct investment into
the region,” said Baledzi
Gaolathe, Botswana's finance
minister, who chaired the
Council.
The reconstituted power
pool takes on board private
investors to widen supply
and meet demand that is
rising with industrial growth
amid lack of corresponding
investment.
The revised agreement also
recognises other new developments
such as the restructuring
of SADC and its institutions,
particularly the dissolution of
the electricity sub-committee,
and puts in motion a joint effort
by electricity utilities and their
governments to combine resources
in the supply of power.

SAPP membership has increased
from 10 to 12 countries,
thus covering all mainland
SADC countries. The Indian
Ocean islands of Madagascar
and Mauritius are not parties to
the agreement.
It is estimated that the region
has a combined total installed
generation capacity of 52,743 megawatts (MW) while net generation
output is about
45,000MW.
A generation reserve capacity
of 10.2 percent must be maintained
but it is feared this may
be exhausted as early as 2007 at
current demand growth levels.
SAPP is now undertaking
efforts to implement the priority
generation and transmission
projects as spelt out in its 2005-
2010 strategic plan. The targeted
projects are those that are
intended to address the impending
deficit in generation
capacity.
Priority is also on connecting
the SADC Member States that are
not yet linked to SAPP: Angola,
Malawi and the United Republic
of Tanzania. Efforts are underway
to connect the remaining
countries to the regional grid.
Another ambitious new project,
the Western Corridor Project,
aims to initially interconnect
power utilities of Angola,
Botswana, Democratic Republic
of Congo, Namibia and South
Africa, before extending the initiative
to the rest of the region.


Abstract:
THE COUNCIL of Ministers
has approved the 2006/07
budget of US$40.5 million for
SADC institutions and programmes.
The budget, approved by
Council in February, represents
an eight percent increase from
last year's US$37.5 million.

body:
THE COUNCIL of Ministers
has approved the 2006/07
budget of US$40.5 million for
SADC institutions and programmes.
The budget, approved by
Council in February, represents
an eight percent increase from
last year's US$37.5 million.
The increase is meant to
cater for the newly constituted
SADC Tribunal and financing
of the ongoing restructuring
of the Secretariat. The restructuring process has
centralised management
at the Secretariat
in Gaborone, clustering
the previous 21
country-based sector coordinating units and commissions
into five directorates.
The directorates are Trade,
Industry, Finance and Investment;
Food, Agriculture and
Natural Resources; Infrastructure
and Services; and Social
and Human Development and
Special Programmes. A fifth directorate
on Politics, Defence
and Security Affairs was recently
created.
Council allocated resources
to programmes that are critical
to the deepening of regional integration,
poverty alleviation
and sustainable development.
The budget will fund activities
and programmes articulated
in the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan
(RISDP) and the Strategic Indicative
Plan for the Organ on
Politics, Defence and Security
Cooperation (SIPO).
The two are the development
blueprints of SADC and set out
priority areas for the region over
a 15-year period.
After the SADC RISDP was
approved in 2003, the SADC Secretariat
spent the first two years
unbundling it into smaller packages
that are easier to implement
and monitor. An implementation
plan was put in place in 2004
with three five-year plans.
The first five-year plan covering
the period 2005-9 was broken
down into yearly business plans, defining short-term milestones
and resource needs.
SADC principal economist,
Angelo Mondlane, said regional
integration cannot be
achieved without the intervention
areas.
He stressed that regional integration
is a long and winding
process that must absorb various
critical issues to be dealt
with by Member States as they
move towards the agreed longterm
objectives.
He explained that before
SADC could create a common
market in 2015, it had to transit
through a free trade area in
2008, and a customs union in
2010.


title:
Challenge of overlapping membership in EPA negotiations

Abstract:
STICKY MARKET access concerns
and technical barriers to
trade have generally dominated
economic partnership negotiations
with the European Union
but the real challenge for SADC
has proved to be the issue of
overlapping membership.

body:
STICKY MARKET access concerns
and technical barriers to
trade have generally dominated
economic partnership negotiations
with the European Union
but the real challenge for SADC
has proved to be the issue of
overlapping membership.
Economic Partnership Agreements
(EPAs) are trade and development
contracts that the EU
is presently negotiating with the
six African, Caribbean and Pacific
(ACP) regions: the
Caribbean; Central Africa; Eastern
and Southern Africa; Pacific;
Southern Africa (the SADC
group) and West Africa.
The EPAs will replace the
trade chapters of the Cotonou
Agreement reached in 2000 between
the EU and the ACP countries.
This will replace the one-way
trade preferences under the
Cotonou Agreement with reciprocal
trade arrangements between
the ACP states and the EU,
more in line with the World Trade
Organisation (WTO) regulations.
Substantive negotiations
started in January 2005 and will
run until June 2007. These negotiations
are on market access for
agriculture and non-agriculture
products and fisheries, trade in
services, development cooperation,
other trade-related issues
and legal provisions.
They will seek to strengthen
SADC integration in all these
areas and, over time, define a reciprocal
trading relationship between
SADC and the EU.
Finalisation of the agreement
should take place by December
2007 and the EPA will enter into
force on 1 January 2008.
The issue of overlapping
membership has forced SADC
Member States to negotiate
under different banners.
Member states with dual
membership of both SADC and
the Common Market for Eastern
and Southern Africa (COMESA)
are negotiating as the Eastern and
Southern Africa (ESA) regional
grouping. These are the Democratic
Republic of Congo, Madagascar,
Malawi, Mauritius, Seychelles,
Zambia and Zimbabwe.
SADC-EU talks were
launched in Windhoek, Namibia
in July 2004, with seven countries
negotiating under the SADC configuration.
These are Angola,
Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique,
Namibia, Swaziland and
the United Republic of Tanzania.
South Africa participates only as
an observer, after concluding its
own trade agreement with the
EU in the late 1990s.
The ESA group met the EU in
Mauritius in February and closed the first phase of the negotiations
while the SADC group was expected
to hold its Regional
Preparatory Task Force (RPTF)
meeting in late March 2006.
On both groupings much is
yet to be agreed upon with the
EU. Sticking points remain on
Technical Barriers to Trade, Sanitary
and Phytosanitary Standards,
Rules of Origin, access to
EU legislation, the effect of the
EU's farm trade reform, and
fisheries.
Some ACP countries have
complained that they are into the
negotiations without vital information
on the implication of the
EPAs regime. Important impact
assessment studies are yet to be
done for some, and the constraint
has been lack of funding.
The divided SADC is expected
to have a negative effect on
the quality and progress of the
negotiations with the EU.
The issue of regional configurations
is a sore point in the negotiations,
particularly with respect
to the ESA group.
The SADC members in the
ESA group have made it clear
that negotiations should not
proceed as if these countries belong
only to COMESA, reflecting
the existence of other regional
obligations.
The depleted SADC and
loose ESA configurations are
not the best tools for negotiating
deals that can be good for
regional integration. The problem
has the potential of holding
up the talks until appropriate
institutional mechanisms
are in place.
SADC-COMESA relations
will converge with respect to
those states with dual membership
of both blocs.
Elijah Munyuki is a Programme
Associate with the Southern and
Eastern African Trade Information
and Negotiations Institute
(SEATINI) working mainly on the
EPA negotiations.


Abstract:
MALAWI AND Mozambique
have signed a preferential trade
agreement, which will strengthen
trade relations between the
two countries.

body:
MALAWI AND Mozambique
have signed a preferential trade
agreement, which will strengthen
trade relations between the
two countries.
The agreement replaces
a 1959 trade pact signed
between Portugal and the then
Federation of Rhodesia and
Nyasaland.

It will facilitate trade in sugar,
manufactured and unprocessed
tobacco, edible oil, poultry and
petroleum products.
Implementation of the agreement
is expected to start in July.
The Malawi-Mozambique trade
agreement comes at a time when
SADC is working towards a Free
Trade Area target for 2008.
Several countries in the region
have signed or are in the process
of negotiating bilateral agreements.
For example, as part of a
trade pact, Mozambique and
South Africa agreed in 2005 on a
waiver of visa requirements.
The free movement of people,
coupled with the removal of
barriers to trade between countries
in the region, is essential
in achieving economic integration
and closer ties among
member states.
The Mozambique-South
Africa preferential access agreement
is a wide ranging preferential
arrangement regulating mine
labour, railway and port matters,
and trade.


title:
Route cooperation drives regional air transport

Abstract:
REGIONAL COOPERATION
in air transport has been
the cornerstone of southern
Africa's aviation industry,
with activity revolving around
the Johannesburg International
Airport.

body:
REGIONAL COOPERATION
in air transport has been
the cornerstone of southern
Africa's aviation industry,
with activity revolving around
the Johannesburg International
Airport.
Johannesburg airport functions
like the regional air traffic
“switchboard” through
which flights to and from
other destinations in the region
are directed.
About four out of every
five trans-boundary commercial
flights pass through
Johannesburg International
Airport, from where passengers
are re-routed to their destinations
within the region or
elsewhere.
This arrangement has, however,
not been without its own
disadvantages, particularly in
terms of airfares and other costs
to business.
There are no direct flights
between most countries,
meaning that travellers have
to use the circuitous route of
going via Johannesburg. This makes it expensive to travel by
air across borders, especially
where countries are neighbours
and are a bit further from
South Africa.
There are also costs associated
with time wasted in waiting for
connections from Johannesburg.
Safety is paramount in civil
aviation and a project to develop
capacity at regional level for
safety oversight is currently
being developed.
SADC Executive Secretary,
Tomaz Augusto Salomão, told a
meeting of African aviation experts
in January that there is a
need to ensure there are more
direct flights between countries
in the same region.
“Europe has overcome this
undesirable phenomenon with
regular inter-state city to city
flights and it is now possible to
travel from any significant city
in Europe directly to another.
Africa needs to realise such a
dispensation and even adopt a
radical review of its freedoms
of the air,” he said.


title:
Rising demand, low investment behind South Africa's power shortages

Abstract:
SOUTH AFRICA'S Western
Cape is facing a power crisis
that has also affected Namibia
and Eskom has embarked on a
programme to return the damaged
Koeberg nuclear station to
full production.

body:
SOUTH AFRICA'S Western
Cape is facing a power crisis
that has also affected Namibia
and Eskom has embarked on a
programme to return the damaged
Koeberg nuclear station to
full production.
Rising demand for electricity
caused by high economic
growth, lack of investment in
new generation capacity and
damage at the Koeberg nuclear
station near Cape Town have
triggered power blackouts in
the Western Cape and Namibia.
Koeberg is a major source of
electricity for Namibia, which
imports about half its power
from South Africa.
South-western parts of South
Africa have been plagued by
power outages since December
2005 when one of the generators
at Koeberg was damaged by a
loose bolt.
Eskom, South Africa's power
utility company, has announced
plans to repair the nuclear power
plant, which is capable of producing
about 1,800 megawatts
(MW) of electricity. The Western
Cape requires about 5,000MW of
electricity to power its industries
and households.
Eskom chief executive, Thulani
Gcabashe, said the utility
had acquired a 200-tonne rotor
needed to repair the plant.
A delay is anticipated in
bringing the nuclear station to
full production due to refuelling
and maintenance that will need
to be carried out at the plant. It
is expected to take until the end
of July to finish the maintenance.
Short-term plans to improve
supply to the Western Cape include
securing non-Eskom cogenerators
for an additional 80
MW at a cost of US$18.8 million,
and procuring a number of mobile
generation plants for an additional
100MW in the winter
period.
Most of South Africa's power
stations are coal-fired, which makes the Western Cape vulnerable
because it has no coal resources
and is furthest from
Mpumalanga where the bulk of
the stations are located.
The province is vulnerable
because the transmission line
connecting it to the national grid
can only take 3,500MW, leaving
a shortfall of 1,500MW.
The cost to the national economy
is estimated at more than
US$81 million, according to the
South African Chamber of Business.
The South African economy
has expanded at an average of
five percent per annum and, according
to Eskom, demand for
electricity has been growing by
1,200MW a year.
This translates to a need to build one nuclear power station
similar to Koeberg every 18
months.
There has been no investment
in new generation capacity
in South Africa since a 1998
proposal by the department of
minerals and energy to increase
competition in the electricity
sector by reserving 30 percent of
generation capacity for independent
power suppliers.


title:
Namibia considers water, power rationing

Abstract:
NAMIBIA IS taking precautionary
measures to save water
and electricity in the face of
power blackouts experienced
by South Africa.

body:
NAMIBIA IS taking precautionary
measures to save water
and electricity in the face of
power blackouts experienced
by South Africa.
The country's water utility,
NamWater, has warned that
the power shortage could also
affect the supply of water
around the country.
NamWater chief executive,
Vaino Shivute, said the shortage
of electricity was affecting his
company's ability to pump
water to its customers.

NamWater and NamPower,
the country's power utility,
have been meeting business
leaders to inform them of
the electricity shortage and prepare
them for the effects it
could have on them.
One of the options being
considered is the introduction
of load-shedding measures although
NamPower managing
director, Leake Hangala, says
such action will only be taken
as a last resort.
The power utility has also
asked mining companies to use
less power to prevent outages.
Hangala said NamPower
planned to invest N$8 billion
over the next four years to
strengthen Namibia's capacity
to import power from countries
other than South Africa.
Namibia is also working on
long-term projects such as
Kudu gas and Baynes hydropower
stations to increase
its power generation capacity.
Current generation capacity
is only 384 megawatts when
all its stations are operating
at full capacity, compared
to a peak demand of 500
megawatts.


title:
Regional body aims to ease Tanzania's electricity problems

Abstract:
THE SOUTHERN African
Power Pool (SAPP) is looking
for funds to help the United
Republic of Tanzania reduce
the impact of a power crisis
that has seen the country undergo
a lengthy load-shedding
programme.

body:
THE SOUTHERN African
Power Pool (SAPP) is looking
for funds to help the United
Republic of Tanzania reduce
the impact of a power crisis
that has seen the country undergo
a lengthy load-shedding
programme.
In the spirit of regional cooperation,
SAPP wants the United
Republic of Tanzania to tap into
the Zambian power grid.
Invocavit Swai, director for
planning at the Tanzanian
Ministry of Energy and
Minerals, said SADC has
approached the New Partnership
for Africa's Development
(NEPAD) for funding of
the project.
The Tanzania-Zambia interconnector
project will bring the
United Republic of Tanzania
into the regional grid.
A feasibility study on the project
has already been completed
and construction work will start
once funding is available.
Swai said the new Inter-Governmental
Memorandum of Understanding,
signed at the SADC
Council of Ministers in February,
will enable new private power
utilities such as Independent
Power Tanzania Limited to boost
regional supply of electricity.
The revised SAPP Inter-Governmental MOU aims to
bring on board member states
that are not yet connected to
the regional power grid and
encourage participation by
private players in electricity
generation.
Due to poor rains, the United
Republic of Tanzania's energy
production is at its lowest. (East
African)


title:
Gender considerations in rural electrification

Abstract:
GENDER MAINSTREAMING
is one of the key strategies of
ensuring equal benefits for
women and men from infrastructure
projects taking place
in southern Africa.

body:
GENDER MAINSTREAMING
is one of the key strategies of
ensuring equal benefits for
women and men from infrastructure
projects taking place
in southern Africa.
There is recognition within
the region that, in order to be
meaningful, infrastructure development
has to address gender
disparities in the availability,
management and usage of
facilities.
This is aptly captured in
SADC's Regional Indicative
Strategic Development Plan, a
15-year blueprint for the region,
which advocates for an efficient
and least-cost infrastructure system
that will unleash the potential
of communities.
Rural electrification has been
one of the strategies employed
to ensure women benefit from
development of infrastructure
in the region.
The target is to have at least
70 percent of rural communities
within southern Africa having
access to electricity. Member
states undertook to implement
rural electrification programmes
between 2004 and 2018, during
which they should meet or
surpass the agreed regional
target.
Zambia passed a
Rural Electrification
Authority Act in 2003.
About 17 percent of Zambia's population has access
to electricity at present and its
Rural Electrification Programme
aims to raise this figure above 50
percent.
Namibia plans to increase
the electrification level to
250,000 households by 2010
while Zimbabwe has extensive
plans to provide electricity to
rural homes and small and
medium rural industries using
funds raised from a levy on
power tariffs.
To empower the rural communities,
the Zimbabwe Electricity
Supply Authority procures procures
equipment for income generating
projects, which it
loans out to women and other
groups.
The United Republic of Tanzania
is finalising preparations
for the establishment of a Rural
Energy Fund (REF) to be used to
finance rural electricity projects.
The REF will be used to bring
down the cost of investing in
modern rural energy projects
and investors will get subsidies
or grants to enable them to co-finance
rural electrification.
The rationale is to reduce investor
risks and improve returns
on modern rural energy
investments in the United Republic
of Tanzania.
Other SADC Member States
have similar programmes to
electrify their rural areas, either
through solar energy or by connecting
households to national
power grids.
Most rural communities use
traditional sources of fuel such
as firewood for household energy
needs. This is, however, unsustainable
as it contributes to
deforestation, soil erosion and
land degradation.
Increased deforestation and
lack of accessible fuel sources
force most women to walk long
distances to get firewood.
The consequences are that
women spend a lot of time on
survival activities, which have a
low productive value within
cash economies.
Access to electricity has long term
benefits to do with health,
poverty reduction, easing of
task loads for rural women.
In addition to efforts to mainstream
gender in the energy sector,
SADC wants to increase participation
of small-to-medium
enterprises, marginalised communities,
the youth and women
in the tourism sector.
This involves programmes to
encourage increased private investment
in tourism projects in
marginalised communities.


title:
DRC polls 18 June the first in four decades

Abstract:
THE DEMOCRATIC Republic
of Congo (DRC) has set 18 June
as the date for its first democratic
elections in over four decades.

body:
THE DEMOCRATIC Republic
of Congo (DRC) has set 18 June
as the date for its first democratic
elections in over four decades.
This follows the promulgation
of a new Constitution and
electoral law in February and
March, respectively.
Apollinaire Malu Malu, president
of the country's Independent
Electoral Commission, announced
on 9 March that presidential
and parliamentary polls
would take place on 18 June and
not 29 April as previously
planned. The postponement
was due to delays in enacting
the electoral law.
Registration of candidates
was initially set to end on 23
March but was extended by a further
10 days to 2 April, with the
country's Interior Ministry saying
some 270 parties had registered
to contest the polls by the
close of the initial deadline.
Aspiring presidential candidates
were required to pay a non-refundable
nomination fee of
US$50,000 while parliamentary
candidates were to pay US$250 to
file nomination papers.
These are part of new measures
contained in the electoral
law and aimed at discouraging
opportunists from contesting
the polls.
“This is to prevent some adventurers
from applying,” said
Olivier Kamitatu, president of
the Congolese National Assembly,
after the promulgation of
the country's new Constitution
on 19 February.
At least 27 candidates, including
three women, have declared
interest in contesting for the presidency
of the former Zaire .
They include Pre President
Joseph Kabila who will represent
the People's Party for Reconstruction
and Democracy
(PPRD); Azarias Ruberwa contesting
on a Rally for Congolese
Democracy (RCD) ticket; and
Pierre Pay-Pay wa Syakassighe of the Convention of Democratic
Congolese (CODECO).
Others include Jean-Pierre
Bemba of the Movement for the
Liberation of Congo (MLC) and
Etienne Tshisekedi of the Union
for Democracy and Social Progress.
The three women candidates
are Justine Kasavubu of the Movement for Democracy,
Wivine Nlandu of Bandundu-Bas
Congo-Kinshasa Holding (BBKHolding)
and Cathérine Nzuzi
wa Mbombo, leader of Movement
for Popular Revolution.
Kasavubu is daughter of the
first post-independence president,
Joseph Kasavubu and has served as a minister for civil administration
and also ambassador
to Belgium during the administration
of the late Laurent
Kabila, father to the incumbent
president.
These will be the first democratic
elections in the DRC since
its independence from Belgium
in 1960.
Previous attempts to hold
elections have faltered due to
armed conflict often triggered
by disagreements on the Constitution
and how the vast central
African country should be run.
Conditions for the holding
of democratic elections brightened
after the 2003 signing of
an all-embracing peace deal
that ushered in a transitional
government led by President
Joseph Kabila.
The transitional government
had until 30 June 2005 to organise
polls, a deadline later moved
to 30 June this year.


title:
Focus on roads and telecoms as peace beckons in DRC

Abstract:
THE FIRST stage of the peace
process in the Democratic Republic
of Congo (DRC) ends in
June 2006 with the installation
of an elected leadership.

body:
THE FIRST stage of the peace
process in the Democratic Republic
of Congo (DRC) ends in
June 2006 with the installation
of an elected leadership.
Since the signing of the peace
agreement in South Africa on 17
December 2002, the former belligerents have been trying to
work as a functional government
should do.
While they are implementing
the electoral process – their
main mandate under the peace
deal – they are also trying to repair
what was destroyed during
the civil war. The transitional
government has identified two
priority areas of construction of
roads and the telecommunications
infrastructure.
The main objective is to reunify
the country, according
to the Minister of Planning,
Alexis Thambwe Mwamba.
The DRC is a huge country, measuring more than 2.3 million
sq kms.
Years of war have destroyed
most of the infrastructure in DRC,
particularly the road network. It is
presently not possible to join two
major cities by road. The consequence
of this is that, while people
are going hungry in urban centres,
there is an abundance of crops in
rural areas that cannot be transported
because of poor roads.
In the North Kivu province in
eastern DRC, people have to leave
their homes with perishable crops
and travel long distances to sell
their produce.As a result, most of
these products waste away.
In cooperation with the World
Bank and other international financial
institutions, the DRC
government has embarked on a
programme to rehabilitate roads.
So far, the road linking Kinshasa
to Matadi, the gateway to
the Congo river, has been rehabilitated.
Work is underway on other
major roads such as that connecting
the agricultural belt of North
Kivu province to Kisangani in the
eastern province. Kisangani is an
important river port from where
goods are easily moved to Kinshasa
via the Congo river.
The reunification of the
country also depends on an efficient
telecommunications infrastructure.
The DRC had one of
the first mobile phone networks
in Africa, Telecel, which started
operating in the country in the
early 1990s.
Two new private companies
– Celtel and Vodacom – were
installed during the time of
Laurent Kabila who was the
DRC president between 1998
and 2001.
According to Vodacom and
Celtel, more than 50 percent of
people in Kinshasa use mobile
phones. Internet facilities are also
available in the major cities.


title:
Mozambique strengthening management of natural disasters

Abstract:
THE VIOLENCE of the waters
six years ago washed away a 10-
metre tract of the road, isolating
the Mozambican capital of Maputo
from its satellite industrial
city of Matola, about 10 km to
the northwest.

body:
THE VIOLENCE of the waters
six years ago washed away a 10-
metre tract of the road, isolating
the Mozambican capital of Maputo
from its satellite industrial
city of Matola, about 10 km to
the northwest.
Ironically, nature dealt a further
blow to both cities by cutting
an alternative road somewhere
else, causing delays for thousands
of commuters travelling
daily between the cities. For almost
two weeks, road travel was
interrupted, resulting in major
losses to business in both cities.
Maputo was also cut off from
neighbouring South Africa and
Swaziland.
In addition, low-lying areas
of Xai-Xai, 200 km north of
Maputo, remained swamped
by floodwaters of the Limpopo
river for more than two months
after the defensive dykes
were breached.
The year was 2000, and this is
just a microcosm of what happened
throughout the country
during the 2000 floods. When
the waters finally receded and
the counting began, more than
700 people had died, a quarter
of a million people had lost their
homes, and as much as 12 percent
of the population had been
seriously affected.
Some 140,000 hectares of cultivated
and grazing land was
lost in the floods, about 200,000
head of cattle drowned. Agriculture
took severe losses because
of an estimated 90 percent loss
of irrigation infrastructure, and
tellingly, an economy that was
previously growing at a two digit
rate sputtered to four
percent growth.
At a United Nations
donor conference in
Rome, the Mozambican
government requested
US$450 million for post-flood reconstruction activities
– not all the money was disbursed.
Six years on, significant infrastructure development has
taken place. In the Limpopo valley
the dykes have been shored
up. However, there is still a long
way to go before Mozambique
can deal effectively with
natural disasters.
Climatology history shows
disasters are tied to a cycle, with
floods and droughts.
Scientists are well aware that
one way to forestall the insidious
cycle is putting infrastructure
such as dams in place. The
rationale is that during the rainy
season the dams would hold the
bulk of the water flowing into
the sea, which would prevent
flooding; and then the same
water could be used for irrigation
purposes during the dry
season.
The Mozambican government
has proposed a hydropower
scheme, the Mphanda
Nkuwa dam, 70 km downstream of the Cahora Bassa
Dam. The Mphanda Nkuwa dam is expected to be one of the
most competitive regional
power projects in southern
Africa, and a priority project for
the New Partnership for Africa's
Development (NEPAD).
With the region preparing to
face a power deficit by next
year, the Mphanda Nkuwa dam
would help to avert the impending
power crisis. The hydropower
project is expected to
generate 1300 megawatts (MW)
at a total cost of approximately
US$2 billion.
The Mozambican government
is in the promotion
phase of the project to attract
potential investors from around
the world.
The project was also selected
on the basis of its low unit
generation cost and its additional
function to provide re-regulation for Hydro Cahora
Bassa. Development of Mphanda
Nkuwa is supposed to enable
Hydro Cahora Bassa to increase the value of the energy it
produces by producing more
during peak hours and less
during low-tariff periods. This
is currently not possible due
to the requirement to maintain
a river level variation at a certain
level.
But the Mphanda Nkuwa is
just one such project. Owing
to its geographical location,
Mozambique lies downstream
of most regional rivers and is
more prone to floods because
of its low capacity to hold
water.
Therefore, investment in
dams can forestall the cycle of
disaster and spur development
not only in hydropower, but
also in agriculture. It is critical
that the violence of the waters
be harnessed in order to boost
and sustain regional economic
development.


title:
Region forecasts a million tonne cereal deficit

Abstract:
SOUTHERN AFRICA is projecting
a cereal deficit of about 1.07
million tonnes during the
2005/06 agricultural season and
countries with shortfalls will
have to rely on intra-regional
trade to meet their consumption
requirements for this year.

body:
SOUTHERN AFRICA is projecting
a cereal deficit of about 1.07
million tonnes during the
2005/06 agricultural season and
countries with shortfalls will
have to rely on intra-regional
trade to meet their consumption
requirements for this year.
Preliminary figures released
during the SADC Council of
Ministers in February show an
overall cereal supply for the
2005/06 marketing year of 30.94
million tonnes, made up of
about 26 million tonnes of gross
harvest and 4.68 million tonnes
of carry-over stocks.
This is insufficient to meet a
regional requirement of 32.01
million tonnes of cereals and the
shortfall is almost equivalent to
the 2004/2005 deficit of 1.11 million
tonnes.
According to the SADC Food
Security Early Warning System,
all SADC countries, except South Africa, are assessed with overall
cereal deficits, ranging from
100,000 tonnes in Zambia to 1.62
million tonnes in Zimbabwe.
The region is, however, projecting
a maize surplus of about
2.28million tonnes in 2005/06, resulting
from significant increase
in maize production and huge
carry-over stocks in South Africa.
Shortfalls are expected in all
the other cereal crops, including
wheat (2.18 million tonnes), rice
(1.05 million tonnes) and
sorghum/millet (121,000 tonnes).
South Africa has surplus
maize assessed at 5.46 million
tonnes. Price and other factors
permitting, the maize surplus in
South Africa is more than enough to cover import needs of the
other Member States.
SADC member states had
made plans to import 5.56 million
tonnes of cereals by mid-January 2006, including intra-regional
imports of maize mainly
from South Africa.
SADC Executive Secretary,
Tomaz Augusto Salomão, told
journalists ahead of the Council
of Ministers in February that
about 10 million people will
need humanitarian assistance
in the region.
“ Current reports indicate
that the number of people in
need of humanitarian assistance
has gone up from 9.71
million people to 10 million
people since the April/May
2005 vulnerability assessments
in the six countries of Lesotho,
Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland,
Zambia and Zimbabwe,”
said Salomão.


title:
Drought insurance cover for Malawi farmers

Abstract:
SMALLHOLDER FARMERS
in Malawi are set to benefit from
a new pilot programme that
gives them access to agricultural
loans and risk cover in the event
of drought.

body:
SMALLHOLDER FARMERS
in Malawi are set to benefit from
a new pilot programme that
gives them access to agricultural
loans and risk cover in the event
of drought.
The programme was launched
at the end of last year and seeks to
boost the farmers' ability to recover
from the effects of droughts.
Malawi's National Smallholder
Farmers' Association and
the Insurance Association of
Malawi designed the scheme,
with the support of the World
Bank and the Opportunity International
Network.
The insurance will help
farmers to obtain the financing
necessary to get certified seeds,
which can produce increased
yields and revenues, with
greater resistance to disease.
The Drought Insurance Pilot
Project will give small-scale
farmers an opportunity to get
loans from banks and have
their money secured when
there is drought.
If there is a drought that necessitates
a payout from the insurance
contract, funds will be
paid directly to the World Bank
to pay off the farmers' loans.
Nearly 900 farmers in four
areas will participate in the pilot
phase of the programme, which
covers groundnuts. If successful,
the project could be scaled
up to include other crops, such
as maize, and may be introduced
in other parts of Malawi
and Africa.
"This project is being implemented
for the first time in
Malawi and there are likely to
be a lot of challenges. One major challenge is that the rainfall pattern
in Malawi is not equal. So it
will still happen that some farmers
will not harvest enough to
ensure that they repay the loans
as required," said Duncan Warren,
crop production director for
the National Smallholder Farmers'
Association.


Abstract:
SADC MEMBER states are cooperating
on ways of curtailing the
impact of the avian flu virus in
the region and health authorities
have taken measures to pre vent
the spread of the disease.

body:
SADC MEMBER states are cooperating
on ways of curtailing the
impact of the avian flu virus in
the region and health authorities
have taken measures to pre vent
the spread of the disease.
These measures include bans
on imports of poultry products
in some countries and mobilisation
of resources to facilitate disease
diagnosis and surveillance.
Stephen Sianga, Director of
Social and Human Development
and Special Programmes at the
SADC Secretariat, said the region
is ready to deal with a possible
threat posed by the avian influenza.
“Our health and agricultural
authorities at all levels are
coordinating efforts to evaluate
the risks, prevent and prepare for the outbreaks including
surveillance, public awareness
creation on the flu to
avoid anxieties, as well as sharing
information, expertise and
facilities,” said Sianga.
Ministers responsible for
agriculture, health, wildlife and
livestock in Member States were
scheduled to meet in April in
South Africa to consider the
SADC Avian Influenza Epidemic
Preparedness Plan.
Avian flu, also known as
bird flu, is a disease that normally
attacks birds and is believed
to be caused by the
H5N1 virus. The virus is an Influenza
A subtype that occurs
mainly in birds and is highly
contagious among the species.
Bird flu does not spread easily
among humans, but there are
some fears that the virus could
mutate to a more deadly strain
communicable among humans.
Migratory wild bird species
are thought to facilitate the
long-distance spread of the disease
from Asia and Europe.


Abstract:
CORRIDORS ARE the focal point for regional development
initiatives. Initially based on transport routes, the corridors
are critical to the achievement of the region's economic and
political objectives. This is particularly so given that almost
half of the SADC Member States are landlocked and require
efficient regional transport links for access to the sea.

body:
CORRIDORS ARE the focal point for regional development
initiatives. Initially based on transport routes, the corridors
are critical to the achievement of the region's economic and
political objectives. This is particularly so given that almost
half of the SADC Member States are landlocked and require
efficient regional transport links for access to the sea.
Over the past decade, the corridors have become microcosms
of regional integration as manifestations of initiatives
targeted as regional development within the framework of
Spatial Development Initiatives (SDIs).
We profile some of the corridors in this issue.
Beira and Zambezi
Development Corridors
The Beira and Zambezi development
corridor initiatives aim to develop an
economic region linking Malawi,
Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe,
anchored to the port of Beira.
Key objectives are to re-establish
and upgrade the infrastructural linkages
inland. Infrastructure development projects
include upgrading of Beira port,
electricity supply, gas and liquid fuel
pipelines; the proposed Harare-Beira toll
road, the Harare-Beira railway
line upgrade and upgrade of airports.
Projects already being implemented
include the Sena
railway line commissioned in
2004. Development of the Shire
and Zambezi rivers into navigable
waterways is a strategic
project aimed at increasing
transport options for access to
the sea for landlocked Malawi.
The implementation of a
number of natural resources-based
projects include reopening
of Moatize coking
coalmine and development of a thermal power station, agricultural development
in Dondo and Chimoio, as well as
tourism in the Eastern Highlands of
Zimbabwe and the Zambezi Valley.
Limpopo Development
Corridor
This initiative by Mozambique, South
Africa and Zimbabwe (and ultimately
Botswana and Zambia) is spatially focused
on the Limpopo river basin. The
primary development and investment
focus areas are in the agriculture, mining
and mineral processing, tourism, and related
infrastructure sectors.
The mining and mineral processing
projects are focused on mineral sand deposits
at the Limpopo river mouth. Rehabilitation
and expansion of irrigated
agricultural development in the Combomune-
Chokwe area is in progress.
A programme has been implemented
to rehabilitate the irrigation infrastructure
and work is underway to reestablish
sugar growing and processing
activities at Maragra Sugar and at Xinavane
Sugar.
The initiative also aims to establish a
nature-based tourism development zone
of some 260,000 sq km. This will include
the key anchor projects of the Great
Limpopo Trans-Frontier Park.
Lubombo Spatial Development Initiative
The Lubombo SDI covers eastern Swaziland,
the southern part of Maputo
province in Mozambique and the northeastern
areas of KwaZulu Natal in South
Africa. At its epicentre is the development
of new roads and upgrading of
others to open up the area to agriculture
and tourism uses.
The Lubombo region has six major interlocking
ecosystems. The area has
great diversity of plant and birdlife,
game reserves and an extensive unspoiled
coastline.
The natural resources include coastal
lakes such as the St Lucia Wetland Park,
which is a World Heritage site, and a
range of archaeological sites.
The climate and soils in the Lubombo
area combine to provide an excellent environment
for agriculture and there is a
thriving sugar and forestry industry.
Tourism projects planned in the area
are the Machangulo Peninsula and Maputo
Elephant Reserve, and Trans-Frontier
Conservation Areas.
Mtwara Development Corridor
The Mtwara Development Corridor falls
within the territories of Malawi, Mozambique,
the United Republic of Tanzania
and Zambia.
The corridor runs from the port of Mtwara
in the east to Mbamba Bay in the
west on Lake Malawi. Transport projects
include expansion and upgrading of the
Indian Ocean port of Mtwara, and the
ports of Mbamba Bay and Manda located
on Lake Malawi/Nyasa/Niassa. Other
projects include upgrading of Mtwara Airport,
and road and railway infrastructure.
The Unity Bridge, proposed across
the Rovuma River, will contribute significantly
to improved road network connectivity
within the region. Other important
projects are the Mchuchuma Thermal
Power Station, the Mtwara-Mbamba
Bay petroleum pipeline and Songo
Songo gas.
Maputo Development Corridor
The Maputo Development Corridor
was the first of the SDIs to be implemented
in 1995. It links Gauteng
province of South Africa to the port of
Maputo in Mozambique.
Developments along the corridor
have focussed on rehabilitation and upgrading
of the traditional trade and
transport links as a basis for broad economic
development. The road, railway
and port infrastructure and operations
have been concessioned in Mozambique.
Private sector participation plays an
important role in the corridor, particularly
investment in the construction of a toll
road linking Witbank in South Africa to
Maputo (the N4 toll road), and the improvement
of rail and port operations in
Mozambique.
Other major private sector investments
include the Mozambique Aluminium
Smelter (MOZAL), the Maputo Iron and
Steel Plant, Beluluane Industrial Park and
various natural gas industry projects. It is
estimated that the corridor developments
have created over 15,000 jobs.
The Maputo Corridor Logistics Initiative
(MCLI) was launched in 2004 as a
public-private sector partnership to create
greater awareness and utilisation of
the corridor. The MCLI has emerged as
one of the most vibrant and inclusive
private-sector-driven corridor institutions
in southern Africa.

Walvis Bay Corridor
The Walvis Bay Corridor
serves the central and southern
parts of SADC, via the
Trans-Kalahari Corridor linking
Botswana, Namibia and
South Africa, and via the
Trans-Caprivi Corridor connecting
Namibia and Zambia
to Zimbabwe and the DRC. It
also links Angola and Namibia via the
Trans-Cunene Corridor.
Due to its location and efficiency, the
port of Walvis Bay offers substantial reliability
gains for time-sensitive cargo. Initiatives
within the corridor have focussed
on strategies to strengthen efficiency
of the corridor transport systems
along its three arms.
Initial development efforts focussed
on the Trans-Kalahari Corridor.
Botswana, Namibia and South Africa
have already concluded an agreement to
strengthen use of the corridor.
The northeastern arm, the Trans-
Caprivi Corridor, was completed in 2004
with the opening of a new bridge at Katima Mulilo and
provides an alternative importexport
route for the Coppperbelt
and for agricultural and
agro-processing industries in
the DRC and Zambia.
The Trans-Cunene Corridor
has great potential as a supply
route for the infrastructure and
economic rehabilitation of
southern Angola.
Walvis Bay has been
ranked among the best three
harbours in Africa since 2000.
In 2003 the UN Conference for
Trade and Development (UNCTAD) chose it as a model corridor on the
African continent.
Tazara Development Corridor
The Tazara Corridor (also called the Dar es
Salaam Corridor) is a strategic artery linking
southern Africa with east and central
Africa. There is increasing traffic on this
route from two directions: from South
Africa, Zimbabwe and Zambia in the
south, and from the Nacala Corridor in
Malawi and Mozambique. The traffic is
largely sugar, cement, fuel and machinery.
The Tazara Corridor, which provides
the shortest distance by rail from the Copperbelt to a port, is owned by the United
Republic of Tanzania and Zambia. The
corridor traverses some of the most fertile
land in southern Tanzania and northern
Zambia, and has potential for agriculture,
tourism, mining, forestry and fishing.
Nacala Development Corridor
The Nacala Development Corridor aims
to develop an economic corridor linking
landlocked Malawi to the port of Nacala
in Mozambique. About 70 percent of
Malawi's population lives in the corridor.
There is need to expand and
rehabilitate the transport infrastructure
to unlock the investment
potential in the corridor.
Railway systems in Malawi
and Mozambique have already
been concessioned and rehabilitation
work has started on sections
that are in poor condition.
Swaziland/South Africa
Tourism and Biodiversity
Corridor (STBC)
The south-eastern part of
Mpumalanga province in South
Africa and western Swaziland
are endowed with rich plant
and animal species, ancient geology
and archaeology.
The Barberton Greenstone Belt rocks in the area evolved
between 3.5 and 3.2 billion
years ago, making them the
second oldest in the world. The
STBC aims to combine these
areas into a contiguous band for
the protection of ecosystems,
species and geology. The strategic
objective is promotion of
sustainable and collaborative socio-economic
development.
Specific objectives aim to utilise
tourism and conservation potential, and to
increase the benefit to rural communities.
Okavango Upper Zambezi International
Tourism (Ouzit) SDI
The Ouzit was initially conceived and
presented as a wildlife sanctuary to be
located within the context of the Okavango
and Zambezi wetland systems.
The project centred on a core development
area comprising 260,000 sq km incorporating
game parks in Angola,
Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe.
Infrastructure development projects
within the SDI comprise of the networking
of the inland park regions, the fasttracking
of improvements to the air traffic
and transport infrastructure in participating
countries, and establishment and
management of a logistics platform
linked to the improved regional air
transport system. The Ouzit SDI connects
to the Namibe Development Corridor
in southern Angola.
Lobito Development Corridor
The Lobito Development Corridor provides
a strategic outlet to the sea through
Angola for much of the DRC and Zambia,
and is the shortest route linking the major
mining regions to their export markets.
The corridor serves several regions of Angola,
about 40 percent of the population.
The main transport infrastructure is
the port, the Benguela Railway line and
the roads to the DRC and Zambia. Critical
initiatives are the ongoing rehabilitation
and upgrading of the Benguela Railway
and the port of Lobito. The other
key element is the rehabilitation of the
existing road network that extends for
about 1,800 kilometres.
North-South Corridor
This is a transport corridor linking South
Africa to countries to its north and is the
busiest regional transit link in eastern and
southern Africa. The North-South Corridor
(also known as the Durban Corridor)
is also the most extensive corridor in the
region, linking the largest number of
countries in eastern and southern Africa.
It connects eight countries and interlinks
to other corridors including the
Trans-Kalahari, Beira, Lobito, Dar es
Salaam and Nacala corridors.
This corridor is critical because South
Africa is the largest African trading partner
for most of the countries in the region
and the port of Durban handles a significant
portion of transit traffic for the landlocked
states. Key infrastructure is the
port, the roads and the railway lines. The
port of Durban has the largest capacity
among regional ports.
While the corridor is a strategic road
route, rail transport handles a significant
amount of cross-border freight traffic. The
opening of the Beitbridge-Bulawayo railway
link in 1999 contributed significantly
to reducing railway distances.


title:
Expanding the frontiers of delivery for sustainable development
- The Development Bank of Southern Africa,
in partnership with NEPAD

Abstract:
SOUTHERN AFRICA'S reasonably welldeveloped
infrastructure and diverse natural
resource base have the potential to play
a leading role in driving Africa towards a
more prosperous 21st century.

body:
SOUTHERN AFRICA'S reasonably welldeveloped
infrastructure and diverse natural
resource base have the potential to play
a leading role in driving Africa towards a
more prosperous 21st century.
Awareness of past mistakes, together
with new opportunities, demands that a
fresh look be taken at the roles that governments
or public sector agencies and the
private sector should play in providing
more efficient and more responsive infrastructure for Africa's development. The
challenge is to determine those areas in
which competitive market conditions
can work and those that require public
intervention.
The Development Bank of Southern
Africa (DBSA), through partnership and
mobilization of its resources, contributes to
this leadership opportunity through the
funding of necessary supporting economic
infrastructure. It is through this growthdriven
strategy that the DBSA intends to act
as catalyst for the common vision of an empowered
and integrated region.
The effective and integrated delivery of
financial and non-financial (or knowledge)
products and services is at the heart
of the DBSA.
The Bank's ability to combine financial
support and development knowledge is
what sets the DBSA apart from commercial
funding institutions. Through its unique
product and service offering, the DBSA is
able to address the needs of clients and potential
clients in a comprehensive and sustainable
manner.
In this context, the DBSA plays a triple
role of Financier, Advisor and Partner to
mobilize finance and expertise for infrastructure
and development projects.
Smart Money targets sustainable
development

The DBSA aims to be a source of “smart
money” in southern Africa that will improve
the financial and operational efficiency
of both public and private companies
to enhance economies so the
region can become further integrated,
more competitive, better developed and
wealthier.
“Smart money” refers to funds that are
directly targeted at addressing the development
needs of the region in a sustainable
manner. This implies structuring finance in
a way that addresses needs and, in some
cases, this may involve an appropriate mix
of non-investment funds such as technical
assistance for capacity-building or knowledge
products.
To deliver on its mandate to promote
economic development in southern and
South Africa, the DBSA focuses on those
economic sectors that provide an enabling
environment for development and private
sector involvement, and that contribute
most to regional integration.
In this regard, the Bank has been
focusing primarily on power, telecommunications,
transport, tourism, mining,
agri-industrial, commercial and financial
services.
The DBSA has financed over 60 percent
of the public power utilities operating in
the region and the commitment beyond financing
is illustrated by the longstanding
relationship with Zambia Electricity Supply
Corporation (ZESCO). Since 1998, the
Bank has assisted ZESCO overcome many
challenges, through investment and
extensive technical assistance, with the
result that today ZESCO is a commercialised
utility looking to tap commercial
markets.
The DBSA's cumulative commitments in
SADC exceed US$ 1.2 billion, and comprise
medium and long-term finance in a range of
currencies for both public and private institutions
and projects.
The distinct ability to invest in both
public and private sector projects means
that the DBSA can offer comprehensive
solutions to the region's development
needs.
Smart Partnerships deepen
development impact

As a partner, the Bank leverages private,
public and community players in the development
process. By combining forces and
sharing resources we are able to enhance
the commercial viability of our projects
whilst at the same time deepening the project's
development impact.
The Bank's involvement in the Maputo
Port Rehabilitation Project, as the first Port
Public-Private Partnership on a Build Operate
Transfer (BOT) basis in southern Africa,
provided significant comfort to private and
institutional lenders. DBSA's role, in addition
to partly funding the project, included
facilitating participation of other lenders
and contributing to structuring of the deal
to ensure its bankability.
The Bank's insistence on inclusive, transparent,
participatory planning processes
often contributes significantly to the success
of the projects it supports, and has enabled
the DBSA to build a cohesive network of
key players in the region.
The DBSA's participation in large, complex
projects such as the Mozal Smelter, the
N4 Toll Road between Witbank and Maputo,
the Marromeu Sugar project and the
Lesotho Highlands Water project has resulted
in the strengthening of relationships
with commercial and development finance
institutions.
“Partnership is a
fundamental principle…
DBSA believes that
development is co-created
with others.”
Where commercial banks' participation
is limited because of the tenor of the loan or
the perceived riskiness of the project, the
DBSA will partner with its sister Development
Finance Institutions (DFIs), donor
agencies and the Multi-lateral Lending
Agencies (MLA).
It is this recognized relationship with the
international DFIs, amongst others, that
won the DBSA the mandate to lead, arrange
and underwrite the ZAR1.47 billion DFI
tranche of the Sasol Gas Pipeline Project.
Developing local financial
markets for economic growth

In addition to providing limited recourse
funding with long maturities, the DBSA is
able to credit enhance projects by underwriting
some of the financing (thus providing
comfort to the market) or by providing a partial
risk guarantee on a bond issue where
there may be a lack of investor appetite or the
pricing does not adequately reflect the risk.
The objective is the development of local
capital markets, seen as a prerequisite to unlock
local capital to achieve sustainable economic
growth. This will also reduce the enterprise's
exposure to foreign exchange risk,
a barrier to doing business in the region.
DBSA has been involved in bond issues
in SADC, such as the Lunsemfwa Hydro
Power Company's US$7 million corporate
bond issue in early 2004 in Zambia.
Also in 2004, together with the International
Finance Corporation (IFC), the DBSA
structured and provided the City of Johannesburg with a 40 percent partial guarantee
for a 12-year bond issue worth R1 billion.
The Bond had a higher credit rating than the
Municipality, allowing Johannesburg to
issue at a longer maturity with a substantially
lower spread.
Given the need for capital markets development,
the DBSA has reoriented itself to include
financial advisory and arranging service
for clients wishing to raise funds and
broaden their capital base. The importance
of local enterprise in creating employment
and broadening the tax base is often undermined
by the lack of appropriate capital to
support long-term investments.
The DBSA attempts to play a major role in
removing this constraint to enterprise development
in SADC by providing long-term
credit lines to strong financial intermediaries
with the capacity and specific mandate to support
this sector of the economy.
DBSA has extended several credit lines to
intermediaries in Angola, Mauritius, the United
Republic of Tanzania, and Zambia. In addition
to the impact that longer term financing
offers to local economies, the DBSA ensures
that its activities are complemented by skills
transfer and capacity-building of its partners.
With NEPAD in support of
regional integration
The DBSA is recognised for its ability to provide
financing using innovative instruments,
ensuring that its participation provides
comfort to private investors. This has
positioned the Bank as anchor financier and
as an ideal conduit for international funds
directed to NEPAD projects.
Through its African Partnership Unit, the
Bank can provide an early review of NEPAD
projects and advise on the criteria necessary
for projects to achieve bankability. If necessary,
the DBSA is able to grant technical and
preparatory assistance by way of the joint
Project Preparation Facility in partnership
with Agence Française de Développement.
Investor

To contribute to the delivery of basic
services and promote economic growth
through infrastructure funding.
Advisor

To build institutional, financial,
technical and knowledge capacity for development.
Partner

To leverage private, public and community
players in the development process.
Regional projects that have received support
through this initiative include the East
Africa Submarine Cable Project and the
Zambia-Tanzania-Kenya Inter-connector.
Having the NEPAD Secretariat housed in
the DBSA ensures that the Bank remains well
informed and very close to NEPAD.

A regional partner of choice
DBSA's unique ability to provide long-term finance
in a number of currencies to both the
private and public sector, combined with its
appetite and mandate to take risk and its
broad focus on financing viable projects to promote
socio-economic development, ensures its
position as the regional partner of choice.
An excellent network and relationships
with key players in the region, combined with
vast experience and in-depth understanding
of the challenges in financing infrastructure
development, ensures DBSA a central role in
realizing the common vision of a region free of
poverty, inequity and dependency.


Abstract:
SADC DEVELOPMENT plans set targets and timeframes for goals in various fields of cooperation
ranging from trade liberalisation to macroeconomic convergence, human development
to food security, infrastructure development to environmental management, and
gender equality to good governance.

body:
Partners in Knowledge for Development
SADC DEVELOPMENT plans set targets and timeframes for goals in various fields of cooperation
ranging from trade liberalisation to macroeconomic convergence, human development
to food security, infrastructure development to environmental management, and
gender equality to good governance.
One of the greatest challenges now lies in strengthening mechanisms for monitoring
and evaluation in order to track progress towards the set targets. For this purpose, a
smooth and efficient flow of information and knowledge becomes essential.
In order to take up the challenge of effectively implementing the two strategic plans,
SADC's partnerships with knowledge institutions must be strengthened.
Prof. J. A. van Ginkel, former rector of the United Nations University noted that, “An
Africa without a sustainable, strong knowledge sector of its own will always remain in a
dangerously dependent position.”
One characteristic of knowledge is that it can be obtained from individuals, groups of
people, and sometimes in organizational routines and processes. It is delivered through
structured media such as documents, Internet and person-to-person interactions. New
knowledge is created or acquired through experience, interacting and learning.
In organizations, knowledge often becomes embedded not only in documents or
repositories but also in organizational routines, processes, practices, and norms. The same
can be said about countries and regional communities, SADC included.
Whatever the form, the right knowledge needs to be harvested, managed and availed to
the right people at the right time if it is to be relevant to any aspect of social advancement.
SADC needs strong regional knowledge centres that fully understand the region's historical
context and share its development agenda and vision. Among these are the DBSA
and the Southern African Research and Documentation Centre (SARDC), a long-time
knowledge partner of SADC for more than a decade, whose founding patron was
Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, the first chairperson of the Front Line States.
In a paper to the Economic Commission for Africa, Jacques L. Hamel says, “As we
move into the 21st century, superior development knowledge bases, knowledge assets
and knowledge capital are conceivably the ultimate development resources for
the sustainable advancement of the African continent.”
This is pertinent for SADC as the regional community rolls out its RISDP and SIPO.
www.sadc.int www.dbsa.org www.sardc.net


Abstract:
THE SOUTHERN Africa Environment Outlook (SAEO) 2006 assesses
the current state of the environment
in the region, provides an
integrated analysis and offers a
reflection on trends over the past
decade and the next one beyond.

body:
THE SOUTHERN Africa Environment Outlook (SAEO) 2006 assesses
the current state of the environment
in the region, provides an
integrated analysis and offers a
reflection on trends over the past
decade and the next one beyond.
The book, to be published
during the first half of 2006,
highlights key emerging environmental
issues in southern
Africa and presents a set of future
scenarios for the region.
The SAEO comes a decade
after the first comprehensive State
of the Environment in Southern
Africa published by SADC and
partners at the end of 1994, and
five years after the first report on
a single ecosystem, State of the Environment Zambezi Basin 2000.
Preparation of the Outlook
was based on a wide consultative
and participatory process in
the region, during which consensus
was built around regional
perspectives and priorities.
The findings were constructed
around a firm data and indicator
development process. In particular,
regional projects on geographic
information systems and on indicator
development for environment
assessment and reporting
were supportive to the process.
Experts from specialised organisations
and from national
institutions mandated to carry
out state of environment reporting
were involved in providing
inputs, as well as in the review
of the manuscript. This ensured
regional balance, scientific credibility
and comprehensiveness
of the report.
Communicating the
Environment Programme

This process was coordinated by
Communicating the Environment
Programme (CEP), which
is a long-established partnership
of the Southern African Development
Community (SADC)
with IUCN-The World Conservation
Union and the Southern
African Research and Documentation Centre (SARDC) through
the Musokotwane Environment
Resource Centre for Southern
Africa (IMERCSA).
IMERCSA is the collaborating
centre in southern Africa for the
Africa Environment Outlook
(AEO) and the Global Environment Outlook (GEO), produced
by United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP).
The Southern Africa Environment Outlook benefited from a capacity
development process
driven by UNEP through the
Africa Environment Information
Network (AEIN). Areas covered
in the capacity-building initiative
included integrated environmental
assessment and reporting,
policy analysis, scenario
building, and data management
and analysis.
The process leading to this
Outlook started in 1998, initially to
build the foundation through issues
identification, consensus
building on the ideal framework
to use in the analysis, as well as
agreement on the core data sets
and indicators to support the
analysis.
The research and compilation
of data for the various topics
started in 2002, and contributors
were engaged in 2003 to develop
chapters containing data and
analysis. Priority was given to
research and writing of the manuscript
following a CEP partners
meeting hosted by SADC in
Gaborone in October 2003.
This meeting acknowledged
the targets for environmental reporting
given in the Regional Indicative
Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) and the fact that 10
years have elapsed since the first
regional report.
Ten contributors were engaged
to research and write the chapters.
The draft manuscript was then reviewed
at a regional workshop in
South Africa. This gave a cross-
section of stakeholders an opportunity
to discuss the draft chapters
and the structure of the report.
Comments from the workshop
and from regional reviewers
were used by the Technical Editor
to finalise the chapters, for review
by the partners.
Although this has been an
ambitious undertaking, it was
deemed to be a worthy initiative
that continues to showcase the
results of SADC activities and
partnerships, and it is a targeted
output of the RISDP.
Framework

The traditional approach of environmental
reporting in the region
focused on national boundaries,
sectors or natural resources.
In this report, the issues
are presented in an integrated
manner, using the Drivers Pressure State Impact Response
(DPSIR) framework.
Drivers and pressures are defined
as the root causes of environmental
change, and they can
be natural or human-induced.
The State is a reflection of the
current situation and trends over
the last decade, while Impacts
are the consequences of the environmental
change on human
and ecological systems, and on
social and economic development
potential.
Responses include national
policies, plans, laws and strategies,
and regional and global
agreements and strategies for cooperation.
The DPSIR framework describes
societal developments
and natural processes to explain
change in environmental state,
using appropriate indicators to
show trends over time. An
analysis of the impact of the various
pressures on ecosystems
and human welfare in the region
is made, and appropriate responses
that have been taken to
mitigate the impacts articulated.
The integrated assessment
and reporting approach, through
the DPSIR framework, answers
four questions that are key to effective
decision-making. The
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?

Format

The  Southern Africa Environment
Outlook 2005 contains nine chapters,
which are interlinked as
they address the southern
African region, its physical environment
and the way its people
interact with the resources.
The book includes a regional
overview and covers topics such
as land, atmosphere, freshwater
resources, marine and coastal resources,
forests and woodlands,
wildlife, and human settlements.

The final Outlook chapter is
a presentation of trends and
scenarios, giving a 10-year, forward-looking analysis of the
way three scenarios are likely
to play out: Market Forces, Policy
Reform and Fortress World.
Call for Action

The SAEO is also a call for action,
emphasising the need to
address environment and development
together, as one option
for reducing poverty and moving
towards a sustainable development
path.
A key aim is to provide policy
options for reversing
the current environmental
degradation trends in
southern Africa.
Of concern to the report
is progress towards
achieving goals and targets as set out in key
continental and global strategies
such as the RISDP,
NEPAD, Johannesburg Plan
of Implementation and the
UN Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs).
There fore the target audience
for the book includes decision
and policy makers in governments,
environmental practitioners
and organisations, educational
institutions, private
sector, cooperating partners
and development agencies,
parliaments, journalists and editors,
people of the South and
people of the North.
The Southern Africa Environment Outlook 2005 is the beginning
of a long-term process
contained in the strategic plan
for the region, the RISDP,
which calls for five-yearly state
of environment reports.


title:
Global impacts - Are current floods in the region an indicator of
climate change?

Abstract:
THE PLANET is heating up, almost
certainly due to the increase
in greenhouse gases caused by
human activity, and the signs are
to beginning show in various
parts of the SADC region.

body:
THE PLANET is heating up, almost
certainly due to the increase
in greenhouse gases caused by
human activity, and the signs are
to beginning show in various
parts of the SADC region.
Debate on climate change
and its link to natural disasters
has been revived in the wake of
recent floods that swept across
some areas of the region following
a prolonged drought.
Speaking at the UN Climate
Change Conference held in
Quebec, Canada, in December
2005, the principal secretary in
the Ministry of Lands, Housing
and Surveys in Malawi, George
Mkondiwa said although local
scientists are yet to publish their
findings, there is no doubt that
climate change has influenced
climate trends in southern
Africa over the last decades.
“Everyone is asking questions
such as, ‘…is this due to
climate change or not?' We don't
think that there is any doubt
that this is due to climate
change,” said Mkondiwa.
The flooding followed heavy
and continuous rains that
pounded many parts of southern
Africa from December 2005
through March 2006 and caused
considerable structural damage,
destroying schools, crop s ,
telecommunications and roads
while in some places whole villages
were flooded prompting
the relocation of people and
livestock to higher ground.
In Zambia, the floods disrupted
power supplies after the main
hydroelectric power station at
Kafue Gorge was damaged.
Ironically, the downpour
compounded the challenges of a
severe drought which caused
Botswana, Malawi and Zambia to declare a state of disaster as
starvation threatened.
With recent research showing
that due to global warming
the 12,000-year-old glaciers at
the summit of Mt Kilimanjaro
are melting so quickly that they
could be gone by 2020, there is
well-founded concern that excessive
emission of greenhouse
gases may have already set in
motion irreversible climatic
changes.
The sub-Antarctic Marion
Island, 1,700 km southeast of
Cape Town and the site of a
South African weather station,
is one of the most isolated
places on earth and is presented
by scientists as another clear
indicator of the impact of global
warming.
There is alarming new data
from the island on rainfall patterns,
temperature, plants and
animal behaviour. The data reveal
that monthly rainfall figures
are dropping, the island is hotter
than ever, and overrun with rats,
mice and alien vegetation.
The South African National
Weather Services regional office
has been monitoring annual
rainfall patterns on Marion Island
for the past 20 years,
showing a steady decline from
around 2,500mm to 1,750 mm,
and says, “…it just seems to be
getting drier and drier.”
Scientists and government
officials in South Africa have
warned that such changes
could soon be common
throughout the region as the
planet heats up.
South Africa has set up
monitoring and research mechanisms,
and the Department of
Environmental Affairs and
Tourism has called for climate
issues to be integrated into all
levels of government.
In the Zambezi Basin climate
variability has been most
felt through water shocks caused by droughts and floods,
and this has worsened food insecurity.
The variation in the beginning
of the wet season has
left farmers in the basin unsure
about when to plant their crop.
According to Mkondiwa, in
2004 Malawian farmers who had
planted during the first rains on
the advice of agricultural extension
scientists had to helplessly
watch their crops wilt.
Zambia has experienced a
shift in recent years in the onset
of the rainy season and when
the rains do come they are interspersed
with dry spells. This resulted
in a food deficit for 2005
as production fell from 1.2 million
tonnes in 2004 to 866,000
metric tonnes.
In the SADC Zambezi Action
Plan Project 6, Phase II (ZACPRO
6.2) initiative, development
of measures to mitigate
the effects of hydrological extreme events (floods and
droughts) is a key activity.
According to Jefter Sakupwanya,
the Water Resources Expert
in the ZACPRO 6.2 project,
hydrologists from the eight
basin states are spearheading a
process to establish synergies
with all meteorological departments
in the basin. Early warning
and communication mechanisms
in the region still need to
be improved.
All countries in SADC have
acceded to the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate
Change which compels
them to regulate levels of greenhouse
gas concentration in the
atmosphere so as to avoid the
occurrence of climate change on
a level that would impede sustainable
economic development,
or compromise initiatives in
food production.
The entire African continent
produces only five percent of
total output of greenhouse gases
worldwide.


Abstract:
ANGOLA PLANS to introduce
a new electoral management
system that will enable
voters to register electronically and identify voters through
fingerprints.

body:
ANGOLA PLANS to introduce
a new electoral management
system that will enable
voters to register electronically and identify voters through
fingerprints.
The new system was unveiled
in Luanda recently by the
country's National Electoral
Commission (CNE) and the
Inter-Sectoral Commission for
the Electoral Process (CIPE).
CNE president, Caetano de
Sousa, said the system meets
the requirements of the electoral
process and is fast.
He noted that the system will
also serve as a voters' roll, with
voters identified by their fingerprints.
(Angola Press Agency)


Abstract:
SOUTH AFRICA has embarked
on a project to turn
Nguni cowhides into car
seat covers.

body:
SOUTH AFRICA has embarked
on a project to turn
Nguni cowhides into car
seat covers.
The project is a partnership
between the University of
Limpopo, the Limpopo Department
of Agriculture, and
the Industrial Development
Corporation (IDC) of South
Africa.
The IDC has provided funding,
which will be used to buy
Nguni cattle, build facilities,
offer training to farmers, research
and other resources to
roll out the project.
Each farmer will be given
three to five cattle for breeding
purposes over the next
five years.
Nguni cattle are indigenous
to Africa and were chosen for
the project because they cope
well during droughts, have high resistance to ticks and a
strong immunity against tickborne
diseases.
The cattle also have beautiful
markings and the cows can
produce at least 10 calves
in their lifetime, about one
every year.
Carmaker BMW has shown
an interest in the Nguni cattle
project. (BuaNews)


title:
Maize-power fuel plant on the cards in South Africa

Abstract:
SOUTH AFRICA is about to
embark on a large-scale
maize-to-ethanol project following
the announcement of
a US$1.1 billion venture to
build the first of eight ethanol
plants in major maize-producing
areas.

body:
SOUTH AFRICA is about to
embark on a large-scale
maize-to-ethanol project following
the announcement of
a US$1.1 billion venture to
build the first of eight ethanol
plants in major maize-producing
areas.
The ethanol plant will be
built in the Bothaville area ,
which has large quantities of
maize. Of the 400,000 tonnes
of maize produced in Bothaville
annually, the plant is capable
of consuming as much as
375,000 tonnes, according
to Ethanol Africa, one of
the companies spearheading
the project.
Construction of the first
plant is expected to commence
this year and should be in full
production by the middle
of 2007.
The plant is expected to
produce more than 470,000
litres of ethanol daily and the
initiative is expected to
supply up to 12 percent of
South Africa's fuel needs
by 2015.
Ethanol Africa was established
by commercial farmers
to turn surplus maize into environmentally
friendly biofuel.
It is being partnered in the
project by Sterling Waterford.
(Business Day)


Abstract:
ZIMBABWE SAYS a new concoction
of herbal drugs under
clinical tests in the country has
proved effective in prolonging
the lifespan of people living
with HIV and AIDS.

body:
ZIMBABWE SAYS a new concoction
of herbal drugs under
clinical tests in the country has
proved effective in prolonging
the lifespan of people living
with HIV and AIDS.
According to the country's
Deputy Minister of Health and
Child Welfare, Edwin Muguti,
clinical tests done on the herbal
medicine, locally called gun -
damiti , have so far proved
that it possesses healing
properties for people living
with HIV.
Clinical trials started on 1
December 2005 with 45 patients.
Muguti said preliminary results
are encouraging as the condition
of patients on the herbal therapy
has improved tremendously
with some opportunistic infections
disappearing.
“I can safely say their CD4
count had increased, while viral
load decreased,” the deputy
minister said, adding, “This
herbal combination is very safe
with no deaths recorded and no
side effects detected so far.”
(Daily Mirror)


Abstract:
SOME COMMUNITIES in
Namibia now have rights to
manage forests in their vicinity
under a new empowerment
programme.

body:
SOME COMMUNITIES in
Namibia now have rights to
manage forests in their vicinity
under a new empowerment
programme.
The Namibian government
has designated eight forests in
the north of the country as community
forests and has, with
technical assistance from German
Development Service (DED),
been offering training in forestry
management and planning.
The eight community forests
in the Kavango and Caprivi regions
as well as Tsumkwe, are
part of 13 gazetted by the Namibian
government in February.
The Community Forestry in
North-Eastern Namibia (CFNEN)
is a joint venture between the
Ministry of Agriculture, Water
and Forestry, DED and the German
Development Bank.
The project also promotes the
establishment of private orchards
and vegetable gardens.
“Within the declared community
forests local people are
able to control the sustainable
use and protection of valuable
wood and non-wood forest resources
against over-utilisation,
illegal harvesting and wild
fires,” said DED.
The communities now have
the right to issue permits for use
of trees, firewood and other forest
products, and can link resources
utilisation to management
plans and relevant regulations
or by-laws. (Namibian
Economist)


title:
Southern Africa leads the way in IT trends

Abstract:
SOUTHERN AFRICA has
some of the most developed Internet
country markets on the
continent. As a result, a number
of trends developing in the region
are beginning to spread
across the continent. These are
the findings of a new report
published by Balancing Act.

body:
SOUTHERN AFRICA has
some of the most developed Internet
country markets on the
continent. As a result, a number
of trends developing in the region
are beginning to spread
across the continent. These are
the findings of a new report
published by Balancing Act.
The region has the largest
broadband market. South Africa
leads the way in this area, with
120,000 users at the end of 2005, and is the largest broadband
market in sub-Saharan Africa.
Outside of South Africa,
competition on fibre infrastructure
is growing with four companies
getting licenses in the
past year, two in Zambia and
two in Zimbabwe.
Most of these companies are
power utilities and the network
of regional energy providers offers
many opportunities for connecting
the region.
The region is also a pioneer in
terms of Voice over Internet Protocol-
based (VoIP) calling. VoIP is a
technology that allows one to
make phone calls using broadband
Internet connection instead of a
regular (analog) telephone line.
South Africa again leads the
way in this area but at least two
other countries in the region
(Zambia and Zimbabwe) have
embarked on policy processes
that will see VoIP legalised.
(AllAfrica.com)


title:
Mozambique, Portugal conclude negotiations on Cahora Bassa

Abstract:
MOZAMBIQUE HAS concluded
an agreement with Portugal
for the transfer of ownership of
the giant Cahora Bassa Dam.

body:
MOZAMBIQUE HAS concluded
an agreement with Portugal
for the transfer of ownership of
the giant Cahora Bassa Dam.
Teams from the two countries
finalised “technical negotiations”
in March, paving the way for
signing of the final agreement by
President Armando Guebuza of
Mozambique and Portuguese
Prime Minister, José Socrates.
The two countries will later
agree on the date for the formal
signature in Mozambique of the
document resulting from the negotiations,”
said Salvador Namburete,
Mozambique's Minister
of Energy.
A memorandum of understanding
(MOU) on Cahora Bassa Dam was signed in November
last year during President
Guebuza's visit to Portugal.
Under the MOU, control of
the company that operates the
dam, Hidroeléctrica de Cahora
Bassa (HCB), would pass from
Portuguese into Mozambican
hands. Portugal owns 82 percent
of shares in HCB, with Mozambique
holding the remainder.
On conclusion of the agreement,
Mozambique will control
85 percent of the company, with
Portugal owning the remaining
shareholding.
The deal requires Mozambique
to pay US$950 million before
transfer of the dam and
company. (Aim)


Abstract:
ANGOLA PLANS to hold an international
mining fair to showcase
its mining industry and
source funding for the sector.

body:
ANGOLA PLANS to hold an international
mining fair to showcase
its mining industry and
source funding for the sector.
The International Mines Fair,
which will take place from 27-30
April, is being organised by the
country's Ministry of Geology and
Mining, Angola Diamond
Company and Expo-Angola.
The event will be used to
establish new partnerships
for Angolan mining
industry.
According to Edgar de
Carvalho, director of studies at
the Ministry of Geology and
Mining's Planning and Statistic
Office, the fair has attracted
huge interest from local
and international companies.
(AllAfrica.com)


Abstract:
ZAMBIA REDUCED prices of
petroleum products by up to
seven percent in January, passing
on the benefits of its appreciating
currency.

body:
ZAMBIA REDUCED prices of
petroleum products by up to
seven percent in January, passing
on the benefits of its appreciating
currency.
In trying to encourage the use
of unleaded petrol, the country's
Energy Regulation Board (ERB)
has made prices of leaded and unleaded
fuel the same.
"The ERB has benchmarked
the new prices to those of unleaded
petrol," ERB chairperson
Mwangala Zaloumis said. Unleaded
petrol used to cost more
than leaded fuel.
Zambia has announced that it
will phase out leaded petrol from
March as part of an African Union
pledge to use cleaner fuels considered
less harmful to human health
and the environment. (The Post)


Abstract:
A MASSIVE dry dock arrived in
the Walvis Bay harbour in January
– the first of its kind along
the western coastline of Africa.

body:
A MASSIVE dry dock arrived in
the Walvis Bay harbour in January
– the first of its kind along
the western coastline of Africa.
The floating dock represents
an alternative to Cape Town and
Durban as the only ship-repair
facilities in the region.
“This is a deliberate effort by the
Namibian government through
NamPort to intensify ship-repair
activities with the aim of job creation
and economic development,”
said NamPort managing director,
Sebby Kankondi. (The Namibian)


Abstract:
SOUTH AFRICA'S Telkom
has set its sight on expansion
into five African countries – including
Angola, Botswana and
Democratic Republic of Congo
– it considers ripe for investment.

body:
SOUTH AFRICA'STelkom
has set its sight on expansion
into five African countries – including
Angola, Botswana and
Democratic Republic of Congo
– it considers ripe for investment.
Faced with tough competition
from cellphone operators at
home, the fixed-line operator
has turned its attention to the
three SADC member states as
well as Kenya and Nigeria in its
quest to boost revenues. (Business Day)


title:
De Beers to invest in new Tanzanian plant

Abstract:
THE DE Beers Group has announced
plans to invest US$150
million in a new processing plant
at Mwadui Williamson Diamond
Limited (MWDL) in the United
Republic of Tanzania.

body:
THE DE Beers Group has announced
plans to invest US$150
million in a new processing plant
at Mwadui Williamson Diamond
Limited (MWDL) in the United
Republic of Tanzania.
The world's leading diamond
mining company said the new
processing plant will enable the
firm to process 16 million tonnes
of ore annually and increase diamond
production to a million
carats.
Presently MWDL has a production
capacity of 3.5 million
ore tonnes a year and the new
plant will increase diamond production
to 1 million carats from
190,384 carats.
The expansion and construction
of the processing plant
would enable MWDL to extend
the life of the mine by a further 25
years. (East African)


title:
Oscar winning film raises regional profile on film industry

Abstract:
TSOTSI, A South African drama
film, put the southern African
filmmaking industry under the
international spotlight when it
won an Oscar for the best foreign
language movie.

body:
TSOTSI, A South African drama
film, put the southern African
filmmaking industry under the
international spotlight when it
won an Oscar for the best foreign
language movie.
The film is about a township
thief who learns to take care of
an infant whose mother he shot
during a car hijacking.
This was the second time a
South African was nominated for
the Oscars, the highest recognition
that a film can get in the United
States. Last year's nominee was
Yesterday, a feature film about a
woman who was HIV positive.
Directed and written by Gavin
Hood, Tsotsi stars Presley
Chweneyagae as a violent young
gangster who realises the value of
human life after discovering a
baby in a car he had stolen. His
outlook to life changes after being
forced to care for the baby.
It beat four other films that
were also vying for the Best Foreign
Language Film Award. These
were Paradise Now (Palestine),
Joyeux Noel (France), The Final Days
(Germany) and Don't Tell (Italy).
The Oscar for Tsotsi dramatises
southern Africa's filmmaking
renaissance and points to the vast
talent available in the region.
The region's filmmaking industry
has undergone major
changes since the late 1990s and has in the past few years produced
award-winning films
such as Everyone's Child by Zimbabwean
film-maker Tsitsi Dangarembga
and Fools, a collaborative
effort between South
African production house, Native At Large, and Mozambique's
Ebano Multimedia.
Other countries in the region
such as Angola, Mauritius and
Mozambique have produced
short films that have featured at
international festivals.
Regional cooperation has
been crucial to the development
of the industry, with events such
as the Zanzibar International
Film Festival, Zimbabwe International
Film Festival and Cape
Town World Cinema Festival
playing an important role.


Abstract:
ABOUT TEN groups from five
SADC countries are to compete
in a regional musical contest in
Mozambique.

body:
ABOUT TEN groups from five
SADC countries are to compete
in a regional musical contest in
Mozambique.
The Music Crossroads Southern
Africa contest takes place from
27-30 April and will feature musical
groups from Malawi, Mozambique,
United Republic of Tanzania,
Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The show is part of an international
programme that empowers
young people aged between
15 and 25 years through musical skills and HIV and
AIDS education.
It also seeks to increase the
level of professionalism among
musicians and acts as a platform
for launching their careers. It encourages
the participants to take
pride in their cultural heritage.
Each competition is preceded
by a workshop where the young
musicians learn marketing skills,
public relations, music management,
contract negotiation, copyright
laws and musician rights.
Winners of this year's competition
will land a trip to Europe
and a recording contract.
Music Crossroads was initiated
by Jeunesses Musicales International
(JMI) recognised as
the premier global network for
youth and music. JMI has members
in 70 countries worldwide.
The Norwegian Agency
for Development Cooperation,
Swedish International Development
Cooperation Agency and
UNESCO have funded the programme
since 1996.


title:
Theatre project to “ save this generation ”

Abstract:
ARTISTS AND the youth from
southern Africa are set to benefit
from a continental project
on fighting HIV and AIDS
through theatre.

body:
ARTISTS AND the youth from
southern Africa are set to benefit
from a continental project
on fighting HIV and AIDS
through theatre .
The puppet theatre project resulted
from one of the resolutions
taken by representatives of the
organisation, African Theatre for
Children and Youth Centres, at
its annual meeting in the United
Republic of Tanzania in March.
Puppet theatre is an innovative
way of getting across the
message on HIV and AIDS to
children and young people.
The project is designed to enable
young people to contribute to
the alleviation of HIV and AIDS
by supplementing efforts by their
governments. It is targeted at
artists and nationals of southern,
west and east Africa, and will be
implemented around the theme,
"Save This Generation".
SADC is represented by
Botswana, Malawi, Mauritius,
Mozambique, Namibia, South
Africa, Swaziland, United Republic
of Tanzania, Zambia and
Zimbabwe. Other participating
countries are Benin, Burundi,
Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria,
Rwanda and Uganda.
The 18 countries are members
of the International Association of
Theatre for Children and Young
People. The African network
and cooperation programme is
funded by the Swedish International
Development Cooperation
Agency (Sida). (New Era)


title:
SADC: Major Achievements and Challenges – 25th Anniversary 1980-2005

Abstract:
THIS BOOK was published to commemorate
25 years of regional cooperation and integration
since the founding of the Southern Africa
Development Coordination Conference
(SADCC), which fostered confidence and a
spirit of solidarity that laid the foundation for
the Southern African Development Community
(SADC) established through the Windhoek
Treaty in 1992.

body:
THIS BOOK was published to commemorate
25 years of regional cooperation and integration
since the founding of the Southern Africa
Development Coordination Conference
(SADCC), which fostered confidence and a
spirit of solidarity that laid the foundation for
the Southern African Development Community
(SADC) established through the Windhoek
Treaty in 1992.
The book profiles “a region with potential”,
gives some historical background and
explains the institutional restructuring and financing.
It reviews policies and strategies, including
the Regional Indicative Strategic Development
Plan (RISDP) and the SADC
Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation
(SIPO).
Many achievements are noted, especially
the signing and ratification of a number of
protocols in areas such as trade, finance and
management of shared watercourses, agreements
on sugar, textiles and clothing among
others, and establishment of the Southern
African Power Pool (SAPP).
The book also presents current challenges
facing the region, including HIV and AIDS,
socio-economic and human resources challenges,
political, defence and security challenges,
as well as regional integration, institutional
restructuring, and policy harmonization
and implementation.
In closing, the book reviews the way forward
as SADC moves into higher levels of
integration as a building bloc of the African
Union.
The book is available from the
SADC Secretariat

registry@sadc.int
or http://www.sadc.int.


Abstract:
THIS GEM of a book taps into a
wealth of research and experience to
depict the relationship between
Africans and our environment, including
conservation of the land by
those who have had the longest connection
with it over time.

body:
THIS GEM of a book taps into a
wealth of research and experience to
depict the relationship between
Africans and our environment, including
conservation of the land by
those who have had the longest connection
with it over time.
It captures
on paper startling and unusual film
images that can last only a second or
split second on screen. The images in
this book are exceptional not only
for their visual impact and beauty,
but for the vision they communicate
of oneness with the physical world and their exploration of the relationship
between people and animals,
the physical and the spiritual.
The book of 154 pages is written by
Damon and Craig Foster with
Michael Hutchinson, and has a Foreword
by the South African President,
Thabo Mbeki. Published in
2005 by New Africa Books in Cape
Town, this source of knowledge and
imagery is available through bookshops
or contact the publisher.
info@newafricabooks.co.za
http://www.newafricabooks.co.za


title:
Lest we forget… The long road to South African freedom

Abstract:
THE ROAD to freedom in South Africa was littered with institutionalised
racial discrimination, brutality and cross-border forays
targeted at liberation movements and their supporters.

body:
Lest we forget… The long road to South African freedom
THE ROAD to freedom in South Africa was littered with institutionalised
racial discrimination, brutality and cross-border forays
targeted at liberation movements and their supporters.
Through a series of repressive laws, successive South African
regimes entrenched the system of white supremacy and disenfranchised
millions of blacks, Indians and people of mixed race.
Enactment of apartheid laws in 1948 institutionalised racial discrimination.
Race laws touched every aspect of social life, including
prohibition of marriage between non-whites and whites, and
introduction of “whites only” jobs.
The Bantu Authorities Act of 1951 was used to create ethnic governments
in African reserves, known as “homelands”. The homelands
were “independent” states to which all non-whites were assigned
according to the record of origin, even though many of them
did not actually live in these areas.
All political rights, including voting, held by non-whites were restricted
to the designated homelands. The idea was that they would
be citizens of the homeland, losing their citizenship in South Africa.
The homelands denationalised millions of South Africans who
became aliens in their own country following the introduction of a
requirement that they must have passports to enter South Africa.
The 1950 Population Registration Act required that all South
Africans be racially classified into one of three categories: white,
black (African) or coloured, with the latter including major subgroups
of Indians and Asians.
All blacks were required to carry “pass books” containing fingerprints,
photo and information that determined where they
could live and work.
Resistance to the apartheid system eventually led to majority
rule in 1994. The resistance came from black, Indian and coloured
movements, political parties and other countries, organisations
and individuals.
Led by the African National Congress (ANC) of South Africa
and the South African Indian Congress, South Africans launched a
Defiance Campaign in 1952 in which they abandoned tactics of
moderation such as petitions in favour of militant protest. This included
mass actions, boycotts, strikes and civil disobedience.
About 300 black South Africans in Sharpeville refused to carry
their passes, resulting in a state of emergency. The emergency lasted
for 156 days, leaving 69 people dead and 187 wounded in
Sharpeville on 21 March 1960.
The Sharpeville Massacre, as the event became known, signalled
the start of armed resistance in South Africa, and prompted
worldwide condemnation of South Africa's apartheid policies.
All of South Africa's neighbours right up to the United Republic
of Tanzania – long independent but targets of the apartheid
regime's destabilisation campaign – provided logistical and moral
support to South African exiles and freedom fighters.


Abstract:
“OUR ACHIEVEMENT of independence imposes upon us a heavy responsibility,
not only to defend our hard won liberty, but also to set for ourselves higher
standards of equality, justice and opportunity for all, without regard to race,
creed or colour.” – Sam Nujoma, first post-independence president of Namibia,
in his inauguration address on independence day, 21 March 1990.

body:
“OUR ACHIEVEMENT of independence imposes upon us a heavy responsibility,
not only to defend our hard won liberty, but also to set for ourselves higher
standards of equality, justice and opportunity for all, without regard to race,
creed or colour.” – Sam Nujoma, first post-independence president of Namibia,
in his inauguration address on independence day, 21 March 1990.


body:
CURRENCY CHECKLIST
Country Currency (US $1)
Angola Kwanza (100 lwei) 80.36
Botswana Pula (100 thebe) 5.44
DRC Congo Franc 432.00
Lesotho Maloti (100 lisente) 6.15
Madagascar Ariary 9,400.00
Malawi Kwacha (100 tambala) 132.72
Mauritius Rupee (100 cents) 30.68
Mozambique Metical (100 centravos) 26,775.00
Namibia Dollar (100 cents) 6.16
South Africa Rand (100 cents) 6.16
Swaziland Lilangeni (100 cents) 6.15
Tanzania Shilling (100 cents) 1,193.25
Zambia Kwacha (100 ngwee) 3,295.00
Zimbabwe Dollar (100 Cents) 99,201.00

March 2006



body:
EVENTS DIARY 2006
April
2 - 5 South Africa
World Conference on Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion

Theme is “Data to Action”. The focus of the 8th
conference is on how injury and safety information
can be translated into concrete prevention policies
and practices. Injury and safety researchers,
practitioners and decision-makers will attend the
conference.

25-30 Zimbabwe
Harare International Festival of the Arts

A multi-cultural celebration of the arts, encompassing
theatre, visual arts, dance and music, and attracting
participants from all over southern Africa and other
parts of the world.

26-27 Namibia
SADC Consultative Conference

Since the last Consultative Conference in 2002, SADC
has developed a 15-year Regional Indicative Strategic
Development Plan (RISDP) that provides strategic
direction for SADC programmes. The 2006
Consultative Conference is aimed at marketing the
RISDP and the Strategic Indicative Plan of the Organ
on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation (SIPO).
Focus will be on mobilisation of resources for
implementation of the plans and adoption of a
Windhoek Declaration on a New SADC/ICP
Partnership. International Cooperating Partners,
representatives of civil society, the private sector and
governments will attend the Conference under the
theme: “Partnership for the Implementation of the
SADC Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan
and the Strategic Indicative Plan of the Organ on
Politics, Defence and Security.”

27-30 Angola
International Mines Fair

An international mining fair organised by the Ministry
of Geology and Mining, Angola Diamond Company
and Expo Angola, to showcase the country's mining
industry, establish new partnerships and source
funding for the sector.

May
24-26 Ethiopia
International Conference on ICTs for Development
The conference is a capacity-building event for
 stakeholders engaged in planning and implementation of
 technology-supported learning and training in Africa.
 Supported by the United Nations Commission for
 Africa, the conference will be accompanied by an
exhibition.


June
31-2 June South Africa
Economic Summit

Africa 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.

17-20 South Africa
Cape Town Book Fair

In partnership with Frankfurt Book Fair, the Publishers
Association of South Africa will host the country's first
international book fair. To be held at the Cape Town
International Convention Centre, the fair will showcase
leading international and local publishers and is
expected to attract thousands of visitors.

21- 23 South Africa
Regional Adjudication on the SADC Media Awards

A SADC sub-committee is to adjudicate on the entries
for the 2006 media awards. This year the media
awards will focus on HIV and AIDS to encourage
dissemination of information on the pandemic.


body:
Public Holidays in SADC
 April - June 2006
4 April Peace and National Reconciliation Day Angola
7 April Women's Day Mozambique
7 April Sheik Abeid Amani Karume Day Tanzania
14 April Good Friday All except Mauritius, DRC, Mozambique, Madagascar
15 April Public Holiday Botswana
15 April Holy Saturday Zambia
15 April Easter Saturday Zimbabwe
17 April Easter Monday All except Mauritius, DRC, Mozambique, South Africa
17 April Family Day South Africa
18 April Independence Day Zimbabwe
19 April King's Birthday Swaziland
21 April* Maulid Day Tanzania
25 April National Flag Day Swaziland
26 April Union Day Tanzania
27 April Freedom Day South Africa
1 May Labour/Workers Day All
4 May Cassinga Day Namibia
25 May Ascension Day Botswana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Namibia, Swaziland
25 May Africa Day Angola, Zambia, Lesotho, Namibia, Zimbabwe
1 June International Children's Day Angola
5 June Whit Monday Madagascar
14 June Freedom Day Malawi
16 June Youth Day South Africa
25 June Independence Day Mozambique
26 June Independence Day Madagascar
30 June Independence Day DRC
* Depends on visibility of the moon


body:
PUBLICATIONS
What UN for the 21st Century? A
New North-South Divide

The South Centre, 2005

170pp.

This is a collection of comments and
working papers prepared in the context
of the most recent drive to reform the
United Nations. It begins with the paper
entitled “Multilateralism Besieged”,
which was submitted in June 2004 as an
input into the proceedings of the High
Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and
Change. It ends with a comment on the
UN Secretary General's Report “In Larger
Freedom: Towards Development, Security
and Human Rights for All”, which was
circulated to the member states of the
Group of 77 in June 2005.

Available in electronic and print format
from 
South Centre,
 P O Box 228, Chemin

du Champ d'Anier 17, 1211 Geneva 19,

Switzerland.

south@southcentre.org

http://www.southcentre.org

Why Developing Countries Need
Tariffs? How WTO NAMA
Negotiations Could Deny Developing
Countries' Right To A Future

by Ha-Joon Chang

The South Centre, 2005

129pp.

If they are to fulfill the developmental
promises made in Doha and prevent the
creation of a world economy divided by
a growing gulf between haves and havenots,
the powerful players in the World
Trade Organization (WTO) must ensure
that any NAMA (Non-Agricultural
Market Access) agreement gives developing countries the largest possible
policy space so that that they can work
out what is good for them and find their
own ways to achieve it. An immediate
suspension of the NAMA negotiations
until a new and pro-developmenttext
can be agreed would be a good place to
start.

Available in electronic and print format
from South Centre, Geneva, Switzerland.

E-mail: south@southcentre.org

http://www.southcentre.org


Knowledge Management and the
Development Bank of Southern
Africa: A Knowledge Strategy

by Debbie Blackburn, Snowy Khoza and
Graham Tate

South Africa, Development Bank of
Southern Africa, 2003

61pp

Internationally, it is well recognised that
corporate society is on the verge of a
new horizon in which intellectual
capital is rapidly becoming the new
currency. In this context, the question of
implementing a knowledge
management way of doing things
becomes one of paramount importance
and will enable it to align more closely
with emerging global trends. In
adopting this path the Bank allows itself
the freedom to apply institutional
resources to all types of socio-economic
development.

Available in print and
electronic format from the DBSA
Development Information Business
Unit,

P O Box 1234, Halfway House,

1685 Midrand, South Africa.

debbieb@dbsa.org

http://www.dbsa.org




title:
New partnership for regional development

Abstract:
SOUTHERN AFRICA has advanced another step
towards regional integration with the signing of a
partnership agreement with International Cooperating
Partners (ICPs).

body:
SOUTHERN AFRICA has advanced another step
towards regional integration with the signing of a
partnership agreement with International Cooperating
Partners (ICPs).
The new partnership between SADC and
ICPs is set to expedite regional integration by
improving resource mobilisation and strengthening
the region's ability to implement programmes.
The Windhoek Declaration on a New SADC-ICP
Partnership, adopted in April at the SADC Consultative
Conference in Namibia, lays the foundation
for a fresh start in SADC-ICP relations and is set to
turn the dream of a unified market and Customs
Union in southern Africa into a reality.
The Declaration will have several implications
for SADC and the ICPs.
The Windhoek Declaration is closely modelled
on the 2005 Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, which seeks to provide guidelines and
mechanisms for increasing the impact of external
development assistance in accelerating the
attainment of the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs).
President Hifikepunye Pohamba noted in
his official opening address that the new partnership
has far-reaching implications, and that
future interaction between SADC and the ICPs
should emphasise partnership building “as opposed
to the traditional donor-recipient relationship”.
“It is important, therefore, that we urge everyone,
especially our international cooperating
partners, to join hands with the people of the
southern African sub-continent in our pursuit of
sustainable socio-economic development to end
poverty, hunger and underdevelopment,”
Pohamba said.
The SADC Executive Secretary,
Tomaz Augusto Salomão,
emphasised that a greater role is
envisaged for other stakeholders
such as the private sector
and civil society in advancing
the regional integration agenda.
“Another imperative in this is
a mainstreamed participation of
the region's stakeholders, namely, the business sector and the
civil society, and the region's
blueprints have made clear provision
for their direct participation,”
said Salomão.
According to the Regional Indicative
Strategic Development
Plan (RISDP), the private sector
has an important role to play in
funding of some projects, particularly
on infrastructure development,
as well as in social sectors
such as health and education.
Civil society is key to the successful
implementation of programmes
and projects on gender
equality, sustainable food security, environment and sustainable
development, and HIV and AIDS.
The Windhoek Declaration
will require the region to show
renewed leadership in the implementation
of programmes
and projects articulated in the
RISDP and the Strategic Indicative
Plan for the Organ on Politics,
Defence and Security Cooperation
(SIPO), the two SADC
blueprints.
Irene Freudenshuss-Reichl,
Director-General for Development
at the Austrian Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, said the main
challenge for SADC is to assume
greater ownership of projects
and programmes.
Speaking on behalf of the
ICPs after the adoption of the
Declaration, Freudenshuss-Reichl
noted that the renewed
leadership will require setting of
clear priorities and ensuring that programmes and projects
are implemented to attain regional
objectives.
Among the challenges is to
align national and regional
priorities through greater cohesion
between RISDP/SIPO
and national development
plans.
This is also a challenge for
the donor community which
will need to improve cohesion
between what they support at
the national level and their regional
programmes.
The Windhoek Declaration is
a commitment by the ICPs to
support SADC's integration
agenda and to interact regularly at ministerial level, with more
resources to be made available
to support the region's programmes
and projects.
Direct support to the SADC
Secretariat and other SADC
bodies has increased significantly
following its shift from managing
projects to emphasising
policy development.
Other channels of development
assistance from ICPs include
via individual governments,
through private institutions
such as non-governmental
organisations and through
multilateral institutions such
as United Nations bodies or
the World Bank.


title:
Building blocks of international cooperation

Abstract:
THE ROME Declaration on
Harmonising Donor Practices
for Effective Aid Delivery was
signed in February 2003 by government
ministers, heads of aid
agencies and other senior officials
representing 28 aid recipient
countries and more than 40
multilateral and bilateral development
institutions.

body:
THE ROME Declaration on
Harmonising Donor Practices
for Effective Aid Delivery was
signed in February 2003 by government
ministers, heads of aid
agencies and other senior officials
representing 28 aid recipient
countries and more than 40
multilateral and bilateral development
institutions.

They reaffirmed their commitment
to eradicating poverty,
achieving sustained economic
growth, and promoting sustainable
development. The development
institutions undertook
to harmonise their operational
policies, procedures and
practices with those of
partner countries to improve the effectiveness
of development assistance,
and there by
contribute to meeting
the Millennium Development
Goals.
Among others, the Declaration
sought to align the requirements
of ICPs with national development
priorities of recipient
countries, and called on developing
countries and regions to
assume greater leadership roles
in coordinating development assistance.
The Rome Declaration is
complemented by the Paris Declaration
on Aid Effectiveness
adopted in March 2005. The
Paris Declaration commits the
ICPs to addressing capacity constraints
in developing countries
and ensuring sufficient integration
of global programmes and
initiatives into recipient countries'
broader development
agendas, including in critical
areas such as HIV and AIDS.


Abstract:
THE FOLLOWING are the partnership commitments under the
Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness:

body:
Paris declaration commitments
THE FOLLOWING are the partnership commitments under the
Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness:
Ownership

Partner countries to exercise effective leadership over their
development policies, and strategies and co-ordinate development
actions.

Alignment

Donors to base their overall support on partner countries' national
development strategies, institutions and procedures.
Donors to align with partners' strategies;
Donors to use strengthened country systems; and
Partner countries to strengthen development capacity with support from donors.

Recipient countries to strengthen public financial management capacity.
Recipient countries to strengthen national procurement systems.

Harmonisation

To ensure donors' actions are more harmonised, transparent and collectively effective.
Donors to implement common arrangements and simplify
procedures.

Managing for Results

Both parties must manage resources and improve decision-making for results.

Mutual Accountability

Donors and partners to be accountable for development results.


title:
SADC, ICPs adopt Windhoek Declaration on a New Partnership

Abstract:
SADC AND its International Cooperating
Partners (ICPs) have
adopted the Windhoek Declaration
on a New SADC-ICP Partnership,
which will guide future
relations between the two parties.

body:
SADC AND its International Cooperating
Partners (ICPs) have
adopted the Windhoek Declaration
on a New SADC-ICP Partnership,
which will guide future
relations between the two parties.
The Declaration on a New
SADC-ICP Partnership was
adopted on 27 April at the
SADC Consultative Conference
in Namibia and lays the
groundwork for a fresh start in
the donor-recipient relationship
between the regional body and
its ICPs.
The overall objective of the
New Partnership is to contribute
towards the achievement
of the SADC Common Agenda,
and the attainment of the SADC
Mission of promoting sustainable
and equitable economic
growth, and to achieve deeper
regional cooperation and integration.
It also aims to ensure good
governance, strengthened regional
capacity, and durable
peace and security in the region.
The Declaration establishes
an institutional structure for dialogue
on political, policy and
technical issues, and improves
coordination of efforts between
SADC and the ICPs.
It provides for regular dialogue
at Ministerial level and at
a Joint SADC-ICP Task Force
comprising the SADC Secretariat,
SADC Double Troika at senior
official level and ambassadors
from both sides.
The Ministerial Group will
provide high level guidance to
the decision-making entities of
SADC and the ICPs. Its mandate
will include specifying issues
where political decisions
will be required and transmitting
these issues through the
relevant fora such as the Council
of Ministers and the individual
governments.
The group will also analyse
the implications of changing political
conditions, and advise the
political authorities and the policy/
technical level groups of
new policy approaches and
their possible implications.
The Joint SADC-ICP Task
Force will provide a mechanism
that links the top-level political decision makers and groups on
the ground.
The New Partnership will ensure alignment, harmonisation
and streamlining of operational
procedures, rules and other
practices in the delivery of development
assistance to SADC,
and guarantee synergies and
complementarity of support at
the national and regional levels.
Both parties made specific
commitments under the Declaration.
These included an undertaking
by SADC to exercise leadership
in developing, implementing
and monitoring the regional
development agenda and
to translate the Regional Indicative
Strategic Development Plan
(RISDP) and the Strategic Indicative
Plan for the Organ on Politics,
Defence and Security Cooperation
(SIPO) into prioritised,
result-oriented programmes.
The ICPs undertook to respect
SADC leadership and to
assist the region to build its capacity
to implement programmes
and projects.
With regard to the alignment
of procedures and rules, the
ICPs agreed to base their overall
support on the SADC Common
Agenda as specified in the
RISDP and SIPO.
The parties undertook to establish
mutually agreed frameworks
that ensure reliable assessments
of performance,
transparency and accountability.
Under the Declaration, SADC
commits to intensify efforts to
mobilise internal re sources and to
create an enabling environment
for public and private investments
while the ICPs commit to
providing reliable indicative
commitments of aid over a multiyear
framework and to disburse
the assistance in a timely and predictable
manner.


Abstract:
THE INAUGURAL session of
the SADC and Government of
India Forum was held in
Namibia on 28 April, opening a
new chapter in the relations between
the two parties.

body:
THE INAUGURAL session of
the SADC and Government of
India Forum was held in
Namibia on 28 April, opening a
new chapter in the relations between
the two parties.
The forum agreed to focus cooperation
in the sectors of trade,
industry, finance and investment;
food, agriculture and natural resources;
human resources development
and health, including
drugs and pharmaceuticals;
water resources management;
and information and communications
technology.
Teams of experts in the different
areas from both sides will
liaise on detailed action plans
for the implementation of projects
in the identified areas.
The forum was co-chaired by
the chairperson of the SADC
Council of Ministers, Baledzi
Gaolathe, and India's Minister
of State for External Affairs ,
Anand Sharma.
The inaugural session was
attended by SADC ministers
and senior officials from the region
and India. There was a
presentation by the SADC Secretariat
on various priority areas
proposed for cooperation between
SADC and India.
According to the final communiqué,
India concurred with
the principles and areas of cooperation
proposed at the meeting,
and agreed to work with SADC
in the spirit of South-South cooperation
and on the basis of the
two regions' comparative and
competitive advantages.
The government of India reiterated
the role of SADC as one
of the most important regional
organisations in Africa, noting
that it attaches utmost importance
to further strengthening
existing relations and ties with
the region in different sectors.
The forum noted that the
main objectives for which SADC was founded – improving the
standard of living and quality of
life of its citizens as well as the
promotion of peace and security
– are shared by India in its own
march towards development.
India also reiterated its interest
in sharing experiences with
SADC in meeting the challenges
of development in a globalised
world, as well as its commitment
as a development partner of
SADC particularly in jointly identified
areas where Indian expertise
and SADC's requirements are
complementary, and vice versa.
Both sides agreed that it was
important to continue cooperating
in multilateral forums, including
the bodies of the United
Nations where issues of crucial
importance to developing countries
are discussed.
The forum agreed to institutionalise
the partnership and
hold regular meetings at mutually
agreed times and venues.


Abstract:
SOUTHERN AFRICA has taken
the first major step towards the
establishment of a Customs
Union by embarking on a programme
to modernise its customs
procedures and remove bottlenecks
on intra-regional trade.

body:
SOUTHERN AFRICA has taken
the first major step towards the
establishment of a Customs
Union by embarking on a programme
to modernise its customs
procedures and remove bottlenecks
on intra-regional trade.
The SADC Customs Modernisation
and Trade Facilitation Programme
was one of more than 50
projects endorsed by Member
States and the region's International
Cooperating Partners (ICPs)
during the SADC Consultative
Conference held in Namibia.
The programme aims to develop
computerised customs
procedures, networking systems
at national and regional levels as
well as introduce transit management
systems in all SADC
Member States.
The project is meant to support
closer regional integration
and harmonisation of customs
legislation and procedures, including
improved transit flows,
and to prepare for a smooth transition
to the SADC Customs
Union by 2010.
An 18 million financing
agreement for the implementation
of the project was signed by
SADC and the European Commission
during the Consultative
Conference.
SADC's Regional Indicative
Strategic Development Plan
(RISDP) gives priority to
strengthening regional integration
with the eventual objective
of establishing a SADC Common
Market by 2015.
The SADC Common Market
will be preceded by a Free Trade Area by 2008 and the Customs
Union in 2010.
Some progress has been made
in the transition towards the Free
Trade Area, with most Member
States having effected significant
tariff reduction in line with the
SADC Protocol on Trade.
Paul Malin, head of the European
Union delegation in
Botswana, said the Customs
Modernisation Programme was
a demonstration of the joint
SADC-EU efforts to link trade
and development.


title:
Rehabilitation work starts on Nacala railway line

Abstract:
MALAWI, MOZAMBIQUE and Zambia are rehabilitating
the railway line in the Nacala
Development Corridor, which
will open a key transportation
route for the three countries.

body:
MALAWI, MOZAMBIQUE and Zambia are rehabilitating
the railway line in the Nacala
Development Corridor, which
will open a key transportation
route for the three countries.
Construction work started
in November 2005 but was halted
temporarily after persistent
heavy rains on the 77-km stretch
between Cuamba and Entra-Lagos within Mozambique.
Plans to repair the stretch
have been on the drawing board
since 2000 when the three governments
began sourcing for
funds from investors and development
agencies to bring the
railway line back to life.
The rehabilitation work is
being funded through a US$29.6
million loan secured by the three
countries from the Overseas Private
Investment Corporation, a
United States-based development
agency.
Wilfred Ali, the Nacala Development
Corridor coordinator
in Malawi's Ministry of
Transport and Public Works,
said rehabilitation work
was initially slow due to
problems in moving
equipment after heavy rains washed away culverts on
the Mozambican side.
He said Zambia recently
signed aMemorandumofUnderstanding
with Edlow Resources
for the development of the Mchinji-Chipata rail link in eastern
Zambia, which will be connected
to the Nacala railway line.
The primary transport link
along the corridor is that railway
line linking eastern Zambia,
central and southern
Malawi, and northern Mozambique
to the Port of Nacala on
the Indian Ocean.
Historically, the ports of
Nacala and Beira were the nearest
ports for Malawi and Zambia.
This railway line was developed
as a concession during the 1970s from Nacala Port to Nampula.
It was later extended into
Niassa province in Mozambique
to serve the rich agricultural
areas, as well as to Malawi.
Malawi was supplied primarily
along the Sena line from
Beira. In view of the shorter route
to the sea presented by theNacala
railway line, Malawian traffic
began to shift from the Sena railway
line to the Nacala line.
The Nacala route was closed
in 1984 after the railway line
was blown up during the internal
conflict in Mozambique. The
conflict changed the fundamentals
of the transport situation
significantly. Both Zambia and
Malawi made a shift away from
rail to road transport.
Distances were substantially
increased as Zambian goods
were moved through Dar es
Salaam and South Africa.
Malawi also shifted transport
mode to road, moving its supplies
along the Tete road to
Zimbabwe and the ports of
South Africa.
The road routes from Malawi
to Lusaka and via Mbeya to Dar
es Salaam then became strategically
important for Malawi, but
resulted in road transport costs
that were exceedingly high.
In terms of the Memorandum
of Understanding between
Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia,
the strategic objectives of the
Nacala Development Corridor
are to develop adequate, reliable,
cost effective, efficient and seamless
transport, telecommunications
and energy systems, and to
foster economic growth through
the promotion and coordination
of economically viable business
in transport, agriculture, fisheries,
commerce, industry, mining
and tourism.
The corridor aims to foster
increased economic activity
through the promotion of trade,
which in turn would facilitate
greater regional integration
among the three countries.


title:
Building investment bridges SADC-EU programme links private-public sector partners

Abstract:
A JOINT initiative by SADC
and the European Union is intensifying
efforts at boosting
economic growth and development
in southern Africa
through a programme that is
designed to attract investment
into the region.

body:
A JOINT initiative by SADC
and the European Union is intensifying
efforts at boosting
economic growth and development
in southern Africa
through a programme that is
designed to attract investment
into the region.
The EU-SADC Investment
Promotion Programme (ESIPP)
has been designed to facilitate
and simplify investment procedures
within the SADC region.
Targeted sectors include tourism,
mining, agro-industry, light engineering,
and construction and
building materials sector.
In the tourism sector, a major
forum called Tourism 2006 will
take place from 3-6 October in
Windhoek, Namibia. The meeting,
which will focus on the
tourism, hospitality and related
sectors in the 14 SADC Member
States, aims to encourage international
financial, technical and
commercial partnerships.
Forum organisers say this is
“where promoters and entrepreneurs
from the southern African
region will present a carefully
selected range of new and high quality
business development
projects in the tourism, hospitality
and related sectors to interested
European and other international
and southern African
businesses.”
With regard to the mining
sector, a meeting of investors
and promoters is planned for
November in Lusaka, Zambia.
As many as 100 mining projects
are expected to be presented at
Mines 2006 in Lusaka.
ESIPP  addresses the challenge
of mobilising both intra-SADC
and foreign direct investment
into southern Africa through a
two-pronged approach.
The programme helps in
building capacity of private sector tor intermediaries, such as investment
promotion agencies,
chambers of commerce, employers'
federations or financial institutions.
With its own team of
consultants, ESIPP provides this
kind of assistance on a demand-driven,
cost-sharing basis.
In addition, the joint programme
organises sectoral partnership
meetings to bring together
investors from SADC and EU
as well as other “third countries”.
These take the form of business-to-business events such as
Tourism 2006 and Mines 2006.
During the fora, one-on-one
meetings are facilitated. Once
the partnerships are formed,
ESIPP uses the same methodology
for follow up support, that is,
on a demand-driven, cost-sharing
basis.
The joint programme has already
organised similar sector
partnership meetings focusing on
the light engineering industry
and the construction and building
materials sector in Mauritius
and South Africa, respectively.
Light Engineering 2006 was
held in Grand Baie, Mauritius,
on 14-17 February. It was a four-day
opportunity for round table
discussions, workshops and networking
involving selected companies
from SADC, EU and
“third countries”.
Light engineering incorporates
a diverse array of business
and products sectors. It includes
cutlery, hand tools and general
hardware; various metal and
plastic fabricated products; industrial
machinery, electrical
and electronic components; refrigeration
and service industry
machinery; motor vehicles and
spares; medical instruments and
many others.
Mat Construct 2005, ESIPP's
building materials and construction sector partnership
meeting, was held in Johannesburg
from 30 November to 3 December
2005. With the principal
objective of promoting partnerships
between companies from
the two regions, the forum facilitated
more than 1,500 one-on-one
meetings. A total of 258 participants
attended the forum ,
representing 102 EU and 78
SADC companies, as well as intermediary
organisations from
the region.
ESIPP says about 400 potential
partnerships gained from
the one-on-one meetings at Mat
Construct 2005 are being followed
through between EU and
SADC companies.
One of the key themes discussed
was on the construction
opportunities presented by the
2010 World Cup that will be
hosted by South Africa.
An investment forum to
build partnerships in the agro-industry is due to be held in
Zimbabwe at a date yet to be
confirmed.
The current six-year financing
agreement of the EU-SADC
joint programme was signed in
2000 with an 18-million budget.
The previous agreement had
been signed in 1994, facilitating
a mining investment forum that
was held in Lusaka in the same
year.
In line with the Regional Indicative
Strategic Development
Plan (RISDP), SADC's efforts at
attracting investment are increasingly
placing emphasis on
an integrated promotional approach.
Thus Member States are
keen on economic reforms that
make their countries more investor
friendly, allowing the private
sector to be more competitive
on the global markets.
ESIPP is seen as the vehicle
for advancing this vision, especially
insofar as it increases
intra-regional and foreign direct
investment in SADC.


title:
Southern Africa vulnerable to rising world oil prices

Abstract:
RISING INTERNATIONAL
crude oil prices are exerting upward
pressure on fuel prices in
SADC, with a number of countries
in the region already passing
on the higher costs to consumers.

body:
RISING INTERNATIONAL
crude oil prices are exerting upward
pressure on fuel prices in
SADC, with a number of countries
in the region already passing
on the higher costs to consumers.
The region remains vulnerable
to sharp increases in the
price of crude oil on world
markets. The price of a barrel
of crude oil has risen from
a round US$50 in May 2005 to
US$60 in December and
a round US$72 in May.
Pressure on oil prices to rise
is being fuelled by concerns
ranging from the West's diplomatic
confrontation with Iran, a
thin supply cushion and disruptions
of production in Nigeria
by armed militants.
Militant violence targeted at
oil facilities in Nigeria has cut more than 20 percent of the
country's 2.5 million barrels-a-day
production. Some 500,000
barrels per day of crude oil production,
most of it operated by
Royal Dutch Shell, are lost because
of the violence.
More than 300,000 barrels
per day have also been lost due
to the shut down of refineries in
the Gulf of Mexico since Hurricane
Katrina battered the United
States' offshore platforms in
August 2005.
Despite assurances from
Iran that it will not cut its oil
production and exports in
retaliation to the stand-off
with the West over its nuclear
programme, some recipients
are worried that oil exports
could be used as a political
weapon.
Iran is the second largest
producer in the Organisation of
Petroleum Exporting Countries
(OPEC) at more than four million
barrels a day.
Shocks on the world oil market
are being felt in southern
Africa where at least three
countries have hiked fuel prices
since April.
Botswana, Namibia and
South Africa have raised the
price of petrol and diesel to cushion suppliers from rising
world prices.
Fuel price increases in South
Africa have a domino effect on
prices of goods and services in other SADC countries that import
the bulk of their requirements
from that country. The
price of fuel went up by 6.8 percent
in May.


Abstract:
ANGOLA'S OIL production is
set to rise to two million barrels
per day by the end of 2007, according
to the government.

body:
ANGOLA'S OIL production is
set to rise to two million barrels
per day by the end of 2007, according
to the government.
Amadeu Azevedo, Angola's
National Director of Petroleum,
said the country will produce
two million barrels per day by
the end of 2007, much earlier
than their previous forecasts.
The new projections are
based on promising prospects
for oil coming from explorations
in the lucrative offshore Girassol
field.
Angola is sub-Saharan Africa's
second largest oil producer after
Nigeria, and an important supplier
to the United States and China.
The country has dislodged Saudi
Arabia as China's main supplier
of crude oil.
Current output stands
at 1.4-million barrels
per day, 100 000 daily
barrels more than initially
anticipated.


title:
Power trade project for Tanzania, Zambia and Kenya

Abstract:
ZAMBIA AND the United Republic
of Tanzania are set to
benefit from an electricity trade
project that also involves
Kenya.

body:
ZAMBIA AND the United Republic
of Tanzania are set to
benefit from an electricity trade
project that also involves
Kenya.
The three countries are working
together on the interconnection
project expected to assist the
United Republic of Tanzania
and Kenya access electricity
from SADC, reduce electricity
costs and eradicate shortages.
The tripartite electricity
trade project, known as
the Zambia-Tanzania-Kenya
Power Interconnection Project, is to be developed in two phases
at a projected cost of US$660
million.
The first phase, to cost
US$358 million, is scheduled to
start in late 2007 and to be completed
in 2009, and will build a
transfer capacity of 200
megawatts (MW) of electricity.
Phase two is to cost US$302
million for another transfer capacity
of 400 MW upon completion
in 2014.
Apart from transmission of
power, the towers carrying the
high voltage transmission conductors
will also carry low voltage
conductors for rural electrification
along the transmission
corridor.
The three governments
have secured grants worth
US$800,000 for preparatory activities
on the project from the
NEPAD Infrastructure Project
Preparatory Fund.
A consortium of consultants
has been hired as transaction
advisers to provide financial,
technical and legal advisory
services for the initial stage of
the project.


title:
“We need to bring SADC closer to the people”
Tjitendero a visionary with deep commitment to his region and people

Abstract:
IT IS rare to find a visionary endowed
also with the practical
skills of management, integrity
and implementation.

body:
IT IS rare to find a visionary endowed
also with the practical
skills of management, integrity
and implementation.
One such rare person was the
Hon Dr Mose Penaani Tjitendero,
who died in Windhoek,
aged 63, after a life dedicated to
his country, his region and his
family.
Honoured as a hero in his
own country, Namibia, where
he was given a state funeral and
burial at Heroes Acre, he also
provided inspiration beyond his
borders.
Dr Tjitendero was widely respected
throughout the SADC
region, and played a key role in
community building.
He was the vision, inspiration
and driving force for the establishment
of the SADC Parliamentary
Forum, persisting until
he won the support of all SADC
parliaments, for an initiative so
new and yet so obvious that it is
now taken for granted as an established
player in the region.
Most writers about Dr Tjitendero
have concentrated on his
considerable post-independence
achievements. He contributed to
drafting the Constitution for the
Republic of Namibia as a member
of the Constituent Assembly,
and emerged as the first Speaker
of the National Assembly, a post
he held for 15 years.
As Speaker, he built and reformed
the parliamentary system,
committee by committee,
to make it a transparent and effective
forum for legislation
and debate on national and regional
issues. He was an elected
member of parliament since
the pre-independence elections
in 1989 leading to Namibia's independence
in 1990.
Little has been written, however,
about his formation during
the liberation struggle as a
member of the South We s t Africa Peoples Organisation
(SWAPO), his commitment to
the independence of Namibia,
and his contribution as an educator,
notably as Assistant Director
of the UN Institute for
Namibia (UNIN) in Lusaka,
while in exile.
Mose Penaani Tjitendero was
born in Okahandja in 1943, and
left the country in 1964 through
what is now Botswana and
Zambia around the time of its
impending independence, via
Kazungula, making his way to
the United Republic of Tanzania
and the SWAPO office there.
He was involved in the radio
broadcasts from Dar es Salaam
to Namibia that were presented
in several languages, and he
was active in youth politics, rising
to a leadership role on the
youth executive.
He enrolled at the Kurisini
International School in Dar es
Salaam to get his high school
certificate, and was awarded a
scholarship for undergraduate
studies at Lincoln University in
the United States, where he read
history and political science.
He followed this with a
Masters in History from the
University of Massachusetts at
Am-herst, and a doctorate in
education from the same university.
The young and well-educated
Tjitendero then returned to
Lusaka in 1976 to share his
knowledge, as a Senior Lecturer
at UNIN, and later as Head of
Teacher Training and Assistant
Director of the institute.
Just prior to Namibia's independence,
he moved to Luanda
as Director of the UN Vocational
and Technical Training Centre in
1988-89.
A former UNESCO colleague
who worked with him
in that period says he was “a visionary
with a deep commitment
to the cause of
independent Namibia.”
Other colleagues
mentioned again and
again, his “honesty
and his principles”…
He was dedicated
to his own family and
his wife, Sandy, his life
partner for more than
30 years, but they
were often called
upon to share his time
and attention for his
wider family of
Namibians and southern
Africans, to whom
he was also committed.
A key objective of
his vision and his contribution
to the region was in
the broader role of the proposed
development community for
southern Africa.
He said the signing of the
SADC Treaty in Windhoek in
August 1992 was “not simply a
matter of transforming SADC
from a loose regional grouping
into a legal entity, but ushered in
the spirit of the treaty establishing
the African Economic Community
adopted by the OAU
Heads of State... in June 1991.”
When SADC followed up
with adoption of a community-building
programme to widen
its community beyond government,
Mr Speaker was ready
with his vision for a regional
Parliamentary Forum to “familiarise
the peoples of SADC
countries with the aims and objectives
of SADC.”
“ We need to bring SADC
closer to the people. Our people,
all our people, need to know,
understand and popularise the
aims and objectives of SADC.
“For example, what is this
concept of development, and of
a development community? We need to start from the beginning
and systematically inculcate the
values of SADC in the hearts
and minds of our constituents.”
Among the other objectives
that Tjitendero enunciated for a
regional forum of parliamentarians
in support of the SADC
ideal were the promotion of the
principles of human rights and
democracy, provision of a forum
for matters of common concern,
to facilitate networking and
popularise the concepts of development
and cooperation, as
well as inclusive participation
by other members of the community.
But, as he repeated many
times in many fora over many
years, the primary objective of a
SADC PF should be to encourage
effective implementation of
SADC policies, and to provide
services to SADC as required.
The late Dr Tjitendero seldom
worked alone, always with
a team and in partnership, and
he would expect therefore that
others are ready to continue the
work that he initiated, and in
the same spirit.


title:
New Partnership sets tone for wider participation in community building

Abstract:
THE WINDHOEK Declaration
on a New SADC-ICP Partnership
adopted by the SADC Consultative
Conference in April
opens new avenues for the implementation
of SADC's programmes
and projects, and underlines
the region's intentions
to widen participation in regional
development efforts.

body:
THE WINDHOEK Declaration
on a New SADC-ICP Partnership
adopted by the SADC Consultative
Conference in April
opens new avenues for the implementation
of SADC's programmes
and projects, and underlines
the region's intentions
to widen participation in regional
development efforts.
The partnership is a landmark
framework that will ensure more effective development
cooperation, based on
principles of ownership, alignment,
harmonisation and
streamlining of operational procedures,
rules and other practices
pertaining to the delivery
of development assistance.
Most important, the conference
endorsed the Regional Indicative
Strategic Development
Plan (RISDP) and the Strategic
Indicative Plan for the Organ on
Politics, Defence and Security
Cooperation (SIPO) as the
roadmaps for deepening regional
integration.
The conference reaffirmed
SADC's commitment to working
with other non-state players
from the region such as the private
sector and civil society organisations.
In this edition we highlight
some of the issues identified
within the framework of
SADC's priority areas.

Infrastructure Support for
Regional Integration

Infrastructure plays a pivotal role
in the overall regional development
agenda as it unlocks opportunities
such as trade facilitation,
provision of agricultural infrastructure, and access to facilities
by both business and rural communities
at affordable cost.
Opportunities exist for the
private sector and other players
in the region to participate in new
infrastructural projects in the
tourism, energy, transport,
water and communications
sectors that could be
made possible by the
New Partnership.
Member States and
the ICPs agreed on the importance of prioritised investment
in infrastructural projects.
SADC is setting up a Project
P reparation and Development
Fund to develop Member State
capacity to appraise projects.
Support is, however, required
from the ICPs for the strategic
thrust of SADC in respect of spatial
development initiatives and
development corridors.
The various pillars under the
infrastructure cluster will also
benefit from the establishment of
separate thematic groups covering
the priority sectors of energy,
transport, tourism and water. So
far only one thematic group (the
Water Strategy Reference Group)
has been established. Other
g roups will be set up in cooperation
with interested ICPs.
Another re commendation
was that all infrastructural developments
should be sensitive to
issues of environmental compliance
and social acceptability. This
will ensure that future projects
will have to satisfy environmental
standards and cultural norms
prior to implementation.
Trade, Economic Liberalisation
and Development

This is one of the areas in which
SADC has set some crucial targets
whose achievement re quires the
participation of all stakeholders.
The overall objective of this
intervention area is to facilitate
trade and financial liberalisation,
competitive and diversified industrial
development, and increased investment for deeper regional
integration through the establishment
of a SADC Common
Market by 2015.
The regional development
blueprint targets to have a SADC
Free Trade Area by 2008 and a
Customs Union by 2010.
Potential areas of cooperation
include strengthening the
institutional capacity of the
SADC Secretariat and Member
States; speeding up the regional
integration process; addressing
complications on the regional
trade architecture emanating
from overlapping membership;
and harmonisation of data on trade, investment and business
development.
The sentiment was that economic
integration processes
within SADC needed to be expedited
and the Secretariat should
come up with a roadmap on
what needs to be done.
Overlapping membership to
regional organisations presents a
serious barrier to deeper regional
integration and the region's ministers
of trade must urgently meet
to discuss options and implications
for the region.
There is still more work to be
done in terms of attaining macroeconomic convergence.While the
stability targets have been agreed
upon, the extent of convergence
and timetables needs to be reconsidered.
Sustainable Food Security

A coherent policy and strategic
framework is required to enhance
SADC's ability to attain
sustainable food self-sustenance.
The policy should promote priority
areas such as irrigation and
input provision; address the role
of women in agriculture; recognise
the importance of disaster
preparedness; and guarantee
land tenure and security.
Support is required to improve
existing SADC capacity to
monitor and coordinate programmes
to boost food security.
Training was also identified
as having a special role in enhancing
regional food security.
The training will involve both
farmers and agricultural experts.
With regard to funding of
agriculture, an urgent need was
identified for increased financing
by Member States and the
ICPs, as well as the development
of absorption capacity
within SADC to ensure available
funds are fully utilised.
Marketing and agro-processing
are also priorities in the
quest to attain food security in
SADC while Member States undertook
to implement commitments
made in the Dar es
Salaam Declaration on Agriculture
and Food Security.
Social and Human Development

The cluster on Social and
Human Development aims to
contribute to poverty reduction
and improvement of the availability
of educated, well-informed,
skilled, healthy and culturally
responsive people.
The priority sectors of intervention
are health, education,
labour and employment, and
culture, information and sports.
Member States, business and
civil society organisations have
major roles to play in the implementation
of the SADC Health
Protocol, particularly sections
dealing with control of communicable
and non-communicable
diseases, strengthening of
health systems, promotion of
joint procurement and local production
of essential medicines,
and retention and training of
human resources.
Patients will benefit from
the strengthening of regional quality control capabilities to
avoid the dumping of substandard
medicines by suppliers
from outside the region. Implementation
of the SADC Protocol
on Education and Training
is another area that will open
opportunities for the region, in
particular the CSOs and the education
sector.
Areas of possible cooperation
in labour and employment issues
are the development of a regional
framework to facilitate
free movement of labour, implementation
of tripartism and social
dialogue, and strengthening
of regional capacity to improve
occupational safety and health
standards.
Priorities and possible areas
of collaboration under the culture,
information and sports
sector include strategies to promote
and facilitate intra-regional
cultural exchange; review
of existing mechanisms
for collection and dissemination
of information; protection
and development of indigenous
knowledge and cultural
industries; and establishment
of the SADC Culture Trust
Fund to mobilise resources and
facilitate regional cultural programmes.
HIV and AIDS

The major milestones for the region
in the fight against HIV and
AIDS include the adoption of
the Maseru Declaration on HIV
and AIDS, and the development
of a regional HIV and AIDS
business plan.
These offer opportunities for
a stronger partnership between
Member States, ICPs, civil society
and business, and reflect
growing political will to fight
the pandemic.
Through the Maseru Declaration
on HIV and AIDS, SADC
has identified the five areas for
urgent actions as prevention
and social mobilisation; care ,
treatment and support; development
and mitigation of the
impact; resource mobilisation;
and monitoring and evaluation.
The SADC Secretariat was
asked to adapt and develop its
role in facilitating Member
States in implementing agreed
policies, framework and action
plans, including coordination
with the African Union
HIV/AIDS Initiative and other
global initiatives.
Member States and ICPs undertook
to improve prevention
measures as one of the main
strategies in the fight against the
disease. The prevention strategy
must take into account issues of
poverty, human rights, gender
imbalance, sexuality and sexual
violence.
Strategic Indicative Plan of the
Organ on Politics, Defence and
Security Cooperation

Political stability, peace and security
are necessary conditions for
sustainable development and
economic growth. SADC has
committed itself to building a
community based on a Common
Future and recognises that peace,
security, democracy and good political
governance are key integration
and development enablers.
The New Partnership identified
the need for SADC and the
ICPs to engage in open and
frank discussions on issues of
peace and security. This will
help in establishing an environment
of mutual respect and contribute
to the existing peaceful
atmosphere in the region.
The SADC region is experiencing
an unprecedented period
of peace and the creation of a
framework for the engagement
with ICPs will enhance regional
stability.
Re-integration of ex-combatants
into society, funding of demining
and mine awareness programmes,
and assistance with
management and protection of
refugees are some of the areas
where SADC will benefit from
the New Partnership.
The partnership could also
open doors for the strengthening
of the capacity of the Directorate
on Politics, Defence and Security
Affairs and the SADC Standby
Force.


Abstract:
INVADER BUSH presents a
unique opportunity for farmers
and other rural people to become
electricity suppliers to the
Namibian market, according to
the Namibia Agricultural Union
(NAU).

body:
INVADER BUSH presents a
unique opportunity for farmers
and other rural people to become
electricity suppliers to the
Namibian market, according to
the Namibia Agricultural Union
(NAU).
The bush, which has infested
26,000 hectares of land in the
country, threatens the sustainability
of the beef industry by
reducing the carrying capacity
of the land.
However, the challenge of
Namibia's bush resources can
be turned into an opportunity
for generating biomass energy
such as cooking fuel, large-scale electricity generation,
charcoal production and
ethanol production.
This would strengthen
Namibia's generation capacity
and help to address its capacity
shortages.NAU, through its Bush
Utilisation and Debushing Committee,
has compiled a project proposal that will be submitted to
donors for possible funding.
Consulting Services Africa
(CSA), which is working with
NAU on the project, said the opportunities
could yield significant
economic benefits for the
entire nation.
Invader bush can be made
into charcoal briquettes which
could substitute firewood, increase
charcoal exports to South
Africa and Europe, or be used to
power a charcoal power station.
The bush can also be used to
produce wood gas, to be used in
modified diesel generators for
electricity production.
An in-depth study was carried
out in 1999 to determine the feasibility
of using invader bush to
power the Van Eck power station
and a proposed new power station
in Grootfontein, but at that
time this option was more expensive
than the price of electricity
from Eskom of South Africa.
Namibia imports about half
of its electricity requirements
from South Africa and has been
severely affected by the power
outage caused by damage to the
Western Cape's Koeberg nuclear
station, which triggered power
blackouts in the Western Cape
and Namibia.
Demand for electricity in
South Africa is outstripping supply due to high economic
growth, coupled with lack of investment
in new generation capacity
and damage at the Koeberg
station.
The contagion effects of the
South African power crisis have
affected Namibia's business sector
and the public through electricity
blackouts and water rationing.


title:
South Africa in pilot wind energy project

Abstract:
WIND ENERGY could provide
part of the answer to SADC's
electricity problems if a pilot
project being implemented by
South Africa is successful.

body:
WIND ENERGY could provide
part of the answer to SADC's
electricity problems if a pilot
project being implemented by
South Africa is successful.
Cape Town's mayoral committee
has approved a proposed
power purchase agreement
with Darling Wind Farm,
a R70m (approx. US$12m) national
pilot project funded
jointly by the Danish International
Development Agency,
the Department of Minerals
and Energy, and the Darling Independent
Power Producing
Company.
The project will open up opportunities
for further wind energy projects and other
"green energy projects" in
the Western Cape and
further afield.
It will also be an important
step in assisting
the city to boost its electricity
supply and to reach its target
of sourcing 10 percent of its
overall energy requirements
from sustainable sources by
2020.
Approval of the committee's
recommendation will pave the
way for Cape Town residents to
purchase energy from the Darling
Wind Farm. This will be
marketed to "willing buyers" at
an initial premium of R0.25 per
kwh.
It is expected that the demand
for green energy will outstrip
the 13,200 gigawatt hours
of energy that can be supplied
annually by the farm.
Darling Wind Farm is expected
to commence generation
in 2007 and the energ y
will be sold through the city's
electricity service provider.
(Sapa)


title:
Water kiosks for peri-urban dwellers in Zambia

Abstract:
ZAMBIA'S NATIONAL Water
Supply and Sanitation
Council (NWASCO) requires
20 million to set up water
kiosk systems in peri-urban
and low-cost residential areas
to ensure the availability of
clean water.

body:
ZAMBIA'S NATIONAL Water
Supply and Sanitation
Council (NWASCO) requires
20 million to set up water
kiosk systems in peri-urban
and low-cost residential areas
to ensure the availability of
clean water.
NWASCO estimates that
approximately 1.9 million of
the 4.5 million people in peri-urban
and low-cost areas do
not have access to clean water.
The council wants to introduce
a water kiosk system
to be run by water utility
companies in targeted areas.
Under the system, consumers
will be required to
pay K20 (less than US$0.01)
for a 20-litre container of water. The system will provide
services to peri-urban and
low-cost dwellers who walk
long distances to fetch water.
Water kiosk systems have
been set up as a pilot project
in Ndola under the management
of Kafubu Water and
Sewerage Company, and in
Western province under the
Western Water and Sewerage
Company. 
(Times of Zambia)


title:
Imperatives for deeper integration and development

Abstract:
THE FUTURE of SADC lies in
Member States' ability to rise to
the challenges of aligning national
objectives to the regional
common interest as well as setting
realistic priorities for programmes,
says former SADC
Executive Secretary, Simba
Makoni.

body:
THE FUTURE of SADC lies in
Member States' ability to rise to
the challenges of aligning national
objectives to the regional
common interest as well as setting
realistic priorities for programmes,
says former SADC
Executive Secretary, Simba
Makoni.
In a SADC lecture at the
University of Namibia ahead of
the SADC Consultative Conference
in Windhoek, Makoni said
one of the challenges faced by
SADC is the question of common
membership of regional
groupings.
Overlaps exist in the membership
of SADC, Common
Market for Eastern and Southern
Africa (COMESA), South
African Customs Union (SACU)
and East African Community
(EAC), with some countries belonging
to two or three organisations.
Three of these regional organisations
– SADC, COMESA
and EAC – have identical sectoral
programmes and are all
aiming to establish Free Trade
Areas and Monetary Unions.
“We have to rationalise these
overlaps in order to chart a
bright future for our region.
This will avoid duplication,
competition and conflict of interests,”
he said.
Another challenge for Member
States, he said, is a review of
their motives for joining these
organisations.
“Is it for political solidarity
or for the economic and other
benefits that derive out of membership
of such bodies? What is
it that we want out of being
members of SADC, COMESA,
SACU or EAC?,” Makoni challenged
the region.
The former executive secretary
noted that the success of
SADC initiatives lies in ensuring
that national programmes and projects are in line with regional
objectives. Regional programmes
and projects are
bound to fail unless national interests are subservient to the
common good, he warned.
He challenged SADC to
streamline the number of programmes
and projects it is implementing,
with a view to
having a leaner portfolio. He
said the region currently has
500 programmes or projects
valued at more than US$10 billion.
“It seems to me that not
much effort goes into project
identification and selection. I
believe Member States go for
all projects on offer in order to
enhance their chances of receiving
assistance, the so called
shopping basket and
fishing net approaches,” he
said.
Focus will be essential as
SADC moves towards establishing
a Customs Union and Common
Market by 2010 and 2015,
respectively. The region needs to
understand its partners well in
order to strike the right balance
or trade off.
The region needs to take control
of its destiny by becoming
financially independent.
He said the region must aim
for ownership of its programmes
and projects and this
should involve greater sacrifices
by Member States with
regard to funding of the organisation.
“Our challenge is to render
material support to regional initiatives
rather than wait for
someone in Brussels or some
other Western capital to come
with their money and its attendant
conditionalities,” he said.
Linked to that is the question
of how much of the resources for projects actually go
towards implementation of the
programmes. How much of
these are taken up by purely
administrative things like
salaries and office expenses,
and how much goes towards
actual implementation?
“More resources must be devoted
to the actual work on the
ground so that people see the
benefits of being members of
SADC. The perception out there
is that SADC only caters for the
leaders,” Makoni said.
In terms of the human resources
capacity of the SADC
Secretariat, he said competence
and professionalism must be accorded
top priority in the recruitment
process.
Under the present recruitment
system, Member States
a reallocated quotas on the
number of their nationals that
can be employed at the Secretariat
at any given time. Once a
country's quota is surpassed, its
nationals will no longer be eligible
for employment at the
Secretariat.
The momentum must be
maintained to ensure the region's
aspirations are entrusted
in the hands of individuals competent
and professional enough
to advance regional development
and integration.
“This is linked to the need to
take a critical look at the issue
of country quotas with regard
to recruitment. Do we need to
maintain the quota system or
the region will be served better
with an alternative recruitment
system?,” the former executive
secretary said.
Makoni sees a greater role
in the regional agenda for
non-state actors such as business,
academia, civil society
organisations and members of
the public. Non-state actors
have important roles to play in
ensuring that SADC projects
and programmes are implemented
and have the support
of people on the ground .
The importance of establishing
a partnership with business
and civil society was also highlighted
during the Consultative
Conference by various speakers,
most notably the SADC Executive
Secretary, Tomaz Augusto
Salomão.
The region's development
blueprints already make provisions
for the active participation
of non-state actors in the roll-out
of projects and programmes.
The challenge is to go beyond
nationalism and aim for
the common good.
“This can only be achieved
when we can all see beyond
our national flags and view all
the other countries in the region
as part of the same family,” Makoni said.
In the lecture, titled SADC:
Imperatives for Deeper Integration
and Development, Makoni also
spoke about the early days of
SADC and the motives behind
the current restructuring
process.
The lecture was jointly organised
by the Secretariat and
UNAM as part of efforts to
broaden understanding of
SADC and its objectives.


