by Virginia Kapembeza Muwanigwa
Southern Africa faces major challenges in addressing social development and should put in place institutional frameworks for enhancement.
This was recommended at a regional conference on Social Development in Mbabane, Swaziland, organised by the Southern African Development Community (SADC), where participants called for the establishment of desks or sectors for population and development, health, social welfare, housing and gender issues.
Swaziland is coordinator of the SADC Human Resources Development Sector and its Minister of Economic Planning and Development, Themba Masuku officially opened the conference.
“In order for our region to sustain the anticipated economic boom, there will be a need to devote greater attention and investment in the region’s single greatest asset: its people,” said Masuku.
He added that this would ensure the development of a population that is healthier, better educated, better housed, well cared for and better integrated socially. The Minister said political indicators in social sectors would guarantee “social justice, political stability and community building in the region.”Masuku then suggested that the conference propose an institutional framework that will facilitate regional cooperation in social sectors.
The conference drew participants from the 12 SADC member states, government and non-governmental organizations, inter-governmental organizations, the private sector and other stakeholders.
In his statement to the conference, the SADC Executive Secretary, Dr. Kaire Mbuende, said development is unthinkable without the human factor.
“What distinguishes the level and pace of development between different countries is ultimately the ability, or lack thereof, of a particular country to manage its societal affairs, develop, acquire and apply the requisite skills for development,” said Mbuende, adding that the sector on Human Resources Development was formed as a step toward a holistic approach to human development in the region.
Mbuende, however, said that a holistic approach has been missing in the SADC development programme as there have been serious imbalances in social sectors.
Mbuende said that, before the conference, various proposals from different social sectors had been received, including a request for a SADC sector on women in development, and a SADC sector on health which culminated in this conference.
Five core areas of social development formed the basis for discussion at the conference: population and development, gender issues, health, housing, and social welfare. Five papers on the different areas were presented by resource persons from the region to focus the ensuing group discussions. A paper was also presented by a UNHCR representative on Refugees and Population Movements.
All papers pointed to the need for more input and commitment to social development in the region. SADC as a regional structure was seen as the best way of coordinating these activities in collaboration with other stakeholders.
The gender group discussion drew extensively from the work done already and adopted the recommendations of the post-Beijing Sub-regional Workshop held in Botswana in November last year,SADC was represented at the conference where it was agreed that there should be a more gendered approach at national and regional (SADC) levels.
It was reiterated at the Mbabane conference that lack of a framework within which to address gender issues has been a major limitation although these have been a major focus of SADC’s objectives.
The group agreed that the 12 critical areas of concern adopted at the Beijing conference were still critical and certain actions needed to be addressed at a regional level while others were national.
The areas include poverty; access to education, training and health care; violence against women; inequality in access to economic structures, policies and resources; stereotyping of women in communication systems especially in the media; gender inequalities in the management of natural resources such as the environment; and persistent discrimination against the Girl Child.
Three institutional framework options to gender issues in SADC emerged at the meeting. These were:
• a Gender Commission which would be more autonomous but would require a whole new office and funding from member states, an option which is very restrictive in view of a lack of financial resources in the region; • a sector to be coordinated by a chosen country which would ensure the mainstreaming of gender Issues, however, since a country uses its own resources in the running of a sector, there is a danger that lack of funds could negatively affect the outcome; • the final option is a Gender Desk in the SADC Secretariat tasked with ensuring that all other sectors become gender sensitive. This appears to be the most effective as it would be able to collaborate with the sectors in ensuring that the gender dimension is factored in SADC policies and initiatives.
Although the conference did not decide on the preferred option, it was made clear by participants that the highest possible rank in the SADC structure where gender issues would be best served was expected.
It was also agreed that consultations between SADC and the regional Task Force on Gender which was formed at the Botswana conference should continue and an appropriate institutional framework for gender issues should be decided on before the next SADC Council of Ministers meeting scheduled for August this year.
During plenary discussions one participant highlighted the need for a regional report on women’s issues to enable programmes to be put in place as gender issues pervade all other sectors and inequities are clearly visible. A Southern African Research and Documentation Centre (SARDC) representative said that such a report is currently being compiled by their Women in Development Southern Africa Awareness (WIDSAA) project based in Harare. WIDSAA is coordinating the project with national partners in each of the SADC countries.
Among policy measures and strategies to tackle prevailing challenges, cited was the need to develop explicit policies on power-sharing between men and women, and identification of key decision-making positions to lobby for women to be in such positions, and gender sensitisation targeted at policy makers. It was also suggested that a regional data bank on prominent women should be set up so that this information is easily accessible.
Most importantly, however, it was pointed out that one strategy is to mobilise men to get involved in gender issues. More information would reduce the mistrust that men currently have and educate them on the prospects of gender equality.
On health issues, the conference called for more coordination in surveillance, control systems and strategies in the region. Problems include high mobility of professionals, lack of mechanisms for sharing information and differing legislation on public health.
Participants proposed a Sector on Health which would better coordinate regional cooperation.
The conference observed that rapid population growth and lack of comprehensive policies are among the major challenges facing member states.
Challenges in this sphere include information exchange, training, formation of a regional data bank and the harmonisation of population concepts.
The conference recommended the establishment of a Population and Development Desk to facilitate regional cooperation.
Overall, recommendations were made on policy measures and strategies for addressing priority areas. Key stakeholders and the roles they can play in tackling regional challenges in the social sectors were identified and the institutional frameworks necessary for facilitating regional cooperation.
Among the key stakeholders identified were member states, International Cooperating Partners (lCPs), United Nations (UN) agencies, and NGOs.
The role of the ICPs would be to mobilise resources, provide technical assistance and promote technical cooperation within SADC.
Common challenges regarding refugee issues were cited as the establishment and maintenance of peace and stability to create a conducive environment for the safe return of refugees.
Strategies to address the refugee problem include: preventive diplomacy and conflict resolution; entrenching respect for human rights, economic development and social advancement and good governance in member states; undertaking a study on the regional situation to harmonise refugee policies and legislation. Good governance was seen as a pro-active step to ensure that nobody ever needs to become a refugee.
Common regional challenges in housing were identified as inadequate and poor quality housing structures, lack of clear housing policies with regard to affordability, land availability, and appropriate materials and technical know-how.
The formation of a regional housing fund to address some of the existing challenges was recommended and the private sector identified as one of the major stakeholders in the provision of financial resources and support for research and training to enable exchange of information.
At the SADC level, a Housing Desk to oversee regional cooperation was called for.
On social welfare, the conference noted that this area was mostly mistaken to mean charity and one of the challenges is to ensure that it becomes recognised that social welfare is about ensuring development through mobilising people to help themselves.
The challenges facing the region are: the underdevelopment of children, lack of adequately trained personnel, and inadequate social security systems. Various strategies were proposed which included harmonisation of legislation and the formulation of social welfare policies, and creating a link between social security, development and job creation.
Two options were identified on institutional framework where there could either be a social welfare sector or a broader social development sector.
In view of the many recommendations made at the conference and all the preparatory work put into it, implementation will hinge on heeding Mbuende’s views that: ”Development and human development in particular is a collective responsibility… – ”There is need for a multi-faceted approach that looks at devising a mechanism for effective cooperation within SADC, strengthening national institutions and facilitating exchange of information and experiences …” –
The Social Development conference is an example of SADC’s support for exchange of ideas. What remains is for the Community to show support for social development through speedy implementation of priority recommendations and the creation of an enabling environment to institute the remaining ones with time. (SARDC)
