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SADC, Africa’s most vibrant
economic bloc, celebrates its 20 th anniversary buoyed by the fact that the 14-member regional group has made
a distinct contribution toward expanding the frontiers of economic, social and
political development.
Formed in 1980 as a functional co-operation association of nine
majority-ruled countries – Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique,
Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe – the organization, then known as the
Southern Africa Development Coordination Conference (SADCC), successfully
with-stood apartheid South Africa’s policy of economic and political
destabilisation.
As an offshoot of the Frontline States, SADCC’s founding
declaration “Sou-thern Africa: Toward Economic Liberation” was signed by
leaders in Lusaka, Zambia, on 1
April 1980 with the objective of reducing economic dependence on other countries,
especially then apartheid South Africa.
The initial focus was on project development, with significant emphasis on
transport and communications as this was the sector in which dependence on
South Africa was felt most. Later SADCC expanded to food security, energy
and industry and trade.
At a time when many countries of southern Africa had attained political
independence, the late Botswana President, Sir Seretse Khama, one of the
founders of SADCC, predicted: “The struggle for economic liberation will be
as bitterly contested as has been the struggle for political independence.”
Twenty years later, although two countries of the region are
still plagued by civil war, the greatest challenge remains on the economic front. It
there-fore came as no surprise when the regional group took the economic, rather
than political, route to regional integration, first in 1980, and again in 1992 when
it adopted this model.
When SADC chose economic
cooperation and later integration, the region was cognisant of the experiences of
other parts of the world. The staggering success of the European Union
(EU) —
mainly an integrated economic community in western and, more recently,
eastern Europe — can be cited as an inspiration to the long-term objectives of many
regional economic blocs.
The alternative was to be seen in the political and
economic disintegration in the former Soviet Union and ex-Yugoslavia into marginally
independent and squabbling republics since the end of the Cold War. With bloody
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In 1994 the organisation invited a critical partner, the private sector. Later, other
stakeholders such as civil society were also invited to play an activerole. This
move was hailed by economists around the region, as government’s role was
seen to be more effective as a facilitator, rather than active participant in
development. During the same period, a decision was taken to formulate sectoral
protocols that would form the legal basis for regional cooperation and integration
upon which national policies would be modelled.
In 1995, the first sectoral protocol on shared water-course systems was signed
in Johannesburg. To date, 11 protocols have been signed with seven already
ratified by the requisite two-thirds majority needed before the legal instruments
can come into force.
The sectoral protocols that are now in force are on: immunities and
privileges, energy, combating illicit drug trafficking, mining, trade, transport,
communications and meteorology.
The Trade Protocol, seen by many as the barometer by which SADC’s
commitment to regional integration can be measured, deserves special mention. It
was signed in 1996 and underwent a meticulous negotiating process leading
to ratification by 10 of its 11 signatories as of January 2000. The ministers
responsible for trade in the region have already met and agreed that the Free
Trade Area (FTA) will be launched on 1 September this year.
Once the FTA is under way, member states will begin to lift all barriers to trade
over an eight-year period, paving the way for further market integration.
Intra-regional trade was a paltry five percent when the organisation was formed
in 1980, but burgeoned with the entry of South Africa into SADC and is now estimated at above
20 percent.
The pace at which the SADC protocols are being ratified has been
slow, but compare favourably with other parts of the world. With SADC-conscious
national administrations, protocol ratification should be faster and smoother, and the vision
of the organisation can more easily transcend the political boundaries as members of
parliament are more in touch with their constituencies.
Stronger political institutions are needed because economic
integration depends on a number of political pre-conditions. As part of this
realisation, SADC has made remarkable progress in building multi-party-based democracies.
“Whilst it is understood that multi-partyism is not necessarily synonymous
with democracy, the relative opening up of political systems by governments
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of a more flexible approach to the old
Frontline States. Particularly so, because the Organ operates at summit level and
through the Inter-State Defence and Security Committee, constituted at
ministerial level. The Organ is currently under review.
There is no doubt that conflict resolution and management is a top priority
for SADC. Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe acted swiftly to quell a Uganda-Rwanda-led rebellion in the
DRC. Similarly, Botswana and South Africa stopped a military-led coup attempt in Lesotho,
restoring peace.
But the Angolan civil war, which southern Africa has lived with for almost
25 years now, remains a major problem for peace-building in the region. The
plight of millions of refugees caught in these areas of conflict also remains
another pressing issue.
On the social dimension, SADC’s greatest challenge is to increase
economic growth, currently averaging a lacklustre annual two percent, in order
to eradicate poverty, and with it the scourge of AIDS.
Economists estimate that an annual growth rate of at least six percent is
needed to uplift the standard of living of the 40 percent SADC citizens who
are living in abject poverty on less than US$1-a-day.
For all they have achieved, economic structural adjustment
programmes, (SAPs) which some SADC countries are still implementing, have reversed
valuable gains attained in the social sector. Many countries, on the advice of inter-national
financial institutions, have systematically cut down on social spending,
severely impacting on human development.
And now as health budgets continue to decline, the HIV/AIDS pandemic
takes its toll on SADC citizens. Health experts put the average HIV infection
among adults in SADC at 15 percent, and rising rapidly. “AIDS is an
unspeakable human tragedy and its social and economic impact can jeopardise years
of progress in human development and economic progress,” writes one
commentator.
Whatever SADC’s economic, social and political accomplishments, women
have been the least beneficiaries. Many recent studies have shown that cutbacks
on social expenditure have impacted women more than men. The struggle for
gender equality is therefore still to be achieved.
Nonetheless, SADC can still draw
inspiration from the fact that it now enjoys the highest number of women in parliament averaging 17.9 percent, which is higher than the continental average of
11 percent and the global average of 13.4 percent.
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However, the correlation between political stability and economic
development is all too obvious to ignore. As a result, SADC has played a pivotal role in
conflict prevention and resolution at regional and continental levels.
Although landmark developments in SADC can be traced to the days of its
formation, the community made some far-reaching and often under-estimated
critical decisions in the 1990s such as the 1992 Windhoek Declaration which
replaced SADCC with the present day Southern African Development
Community (SADC), transforming the organization from a coordination conference to a
development community with a common vision on matters of regional integration.
The 1990s also saw prospects for economic integration multiply with five
new entries – Namibia in 1990, South Africa, 1994, Mauritius, 1995 and the
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Seychelles in 1997 bringing the number of member states to 14. This
development was crucial, but perhaps more important is that the regional |
in
response to people’s struggles and demands is a welcome step in the direction
of democratic practice,” notes one commentator.
In almost all member states, regular elections have become
a common practice. But, democracy is more than just elections. However, elections
are still to take place in countries that are experiencing internal conflicts, notably
Angola and the DRC.
Through Article 21 of the SADC
Treaty, member states agree to co-operate in areas of “politics, diplomacy,
international relations, peace and security”.
To ensure this, the Organ for Politics, Defence and Security was endorsed in
1996. The Organ presents, in its objectives, the intent by SADC to embrace a
common system of political values, systems and institutions.
With the creation of the Organ, political and security considerations were
given prominence in the operations of SADC, and its emergence was seen in
some quarters as the re-constitution
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But the region cannot afford to be complacent on the basis of that
achievement since this is far below the 30 per-cent average set by the SADC
leaders in a 1997 landmark declaration on Gender and Development.
And for SADC to claim its rightful place on the global
stage, a stable political environment is needed.
Conflicts, that still plague parts of the region, not only impact
on tourism and investor confidence, but also erode gains made over many years of development
and cause unnecessary loss of life and property.
With more members now, SADC also needs to find a strategic way of dealing
with the question of complicated convergence of political systems. Apart from
varying levels of economic development, SADC member states have many diver-gent
political systems.
But despite all its challenges, SADC remains one of the few regional
economic bodies globally regarded as having the potential to succeed, and its
20 years of history bears testimony to that achievement. |
