$Unique_ID{COW02305} $Pretitle{372} $Title{Malawi Southern African Development Coordination Conference a Handbook} $Subtitle{} $Author{Southern African Development Coordination Conference} $Affiliation{Southern African Development Coordination Conference} $Subject{sadcc africa economic states southern cooperation south conference council development} $Date{1988} $Log{} Country: Malawi Book: Southern African Development Coordination Conference a Handbook Author: Southern African Development Coordination Conference Affiliation: Southern African Development Coordination Conference Date: 1988 Southern African Development Coordination Conference a Handbook Introduction Although to the Governments of the region and to our international cooperating partners SADCC is now a familiar name and concept, there are still many people who ask what it is, how it began and where it is going. In the founding Declaration issued at Lusaka on 1 April 1980 the Heads of State and Government expressed their desire to "offer this declaration to our own peoples, to the peoples and Governments of the many countries who are interested in promoting popular welfare, justice and peace in Southern Africa and to the international agencies who share this interest". His Majesty King Moshoeshoe II told delegates to the Maseru Conference in 1983 that "It is our hope that the spirit of SADCC will inspire the initiative of our farmers; that it will motivate the positive responses of our teachers and the youth; that it will give a sense of purpose and full participation to our workers; that it will encourage the responsible progressive creativity of investors in relation to equitable distribution of the fruits of such investments". Without knowledge and understanding of SADCC and its programmes, this cannot happen. Through this booklet it is hoped to explain how and why SADCC was established, what it is and what it is intended to achieve. It is vital that the people of this region should be informed about, understand and participate in SADCC programmes and projects. I hope that this booklet will encourage such participation by our peoples and lead to better understanding of our objectives among the members of the international community. Q.K.J. Masire President of the Republic of Botswana and Chairman of SADCC What is SADCC? The Southern African Development Coordination Conference (SADCC) is an association of the nine majority-ruled states of Southern Africa. Through regional cooperation SADCC works to accelerate economic growth in order to improve the living conditions of the peoples of Southern Africa. SADCC also aims to reduce the dependence of its member States on South Africa. Who is SADCC? The Member States of SADCC are Angola Botswana Lesotho Malawi Mozambique Swaziland Tanzania Zambia Zimbabwe The Southern African liberation movements recognised by the OAU are invited to SADCC Summit meetings as observers. These are the South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO), the African National Congress of South Africa (ANC) and the Pan-Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC). What are the objectives of SADCC? "Our unity of effort in the struggle for economic independence for our peoples becomes the necessary condition to guarantee our own sovereignty and security ... The successes which SADCC can achieve constitute a great contribution to the struggle of the peoples of Southern Africa against oppression, exploitation and discrimination". H.E. President Jose Eduardo Dos Santos Maputo 11 July 1983 1. The reduction of economic dependence, particularly, but not only, on the Republic of South Africa; 2. The forging of links to create a genuine and equitable regional integration; 3. The mobilisation of resources to promote the implementation of national, interstate and regional policies; 4. Concerted action to secure international cooperation within the framework of our strategy for economic liberation. "... our goal is to achieve economic liberation and to reduce our economic dependence on the Republic of South Africa. We seek to overcome the fragmentation of our economies and, by coordinating our national development efforts, to strengthen them. The basis of our cooperation, built on concrete projects and specific programmes rather than on grandiose schemes and massive bureaucratic institutions, must be the assured mutual advantage of all participating States". H.E. President Sir Seretse Khama Lusaka 1 April 1980 Roots of SADDC During the 1960s Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Swaziland, Tanzania and Zambia achieved their independence. 1974 With independence for Mozambique and Angola in sight after a protracted armed struggle, President Kaunda of Zambia already had a vision of a "transcontinental belt of independent and economically powerful nations, from Dar es Salaam and Maputo on the Indian Ocean to Luanda on the Atlantic". (Dar es Salaam 7 July 1974) 1975 Angola and Mozambique achieved independence. During the period of illegal independence in Rhodesia, bilateral economic cooperation agreements were made between the independent countries of Southern Africa such as Zambia and Tanzania, Mozambique, Angola and Botswana; Mozambique and Swaziland and Tanzania. The Front Line States - Angola, Botswana, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia - coordinated their efforts to support the struggle for political liberation in Zimbabwe and Namibia. "... we must be humble in our immediate objectives and ambitious in our long-term objectives. We must be conscious of the fact that we are not at present in a condition to create an economic community of the region, but we can from this moment take firm steps in some areas already identified; agriculture, industry, trade and energy. "In the initial phase it is necessary that we carry out concrete actions, that we gain experience in order to define the modalities and areas of cooperation. it is not through the creation of institutions that we will develop multilateral cooperation. "Some of us have experience of the inefficiency of the creation of heavy and expensive structures which contribute little or nothing to the main objectives that were achieved. The institutions should appear in order to respond to the objective needs and not conceived as an end in themselves". H.E. President Samora Machel Lusaka 1 April 1980 May 1979 Foreign Ministers of the Front Line States met in Gaborone to discuss economic cooperation. They agreed to convene a conference in Arusha with donor Governments and International Development Institutions to discuss a regional programme of economic development in Southern Africa. July 1979 Arusha Conference - The conference, which was opened by the late President of Botswana, Sir Seretse Khama and chaired by the Vice President of Botswana, Q.K.J. Masire, provided SADDC with an opportunity to explain to potential international cooperating partners the main parameters of such cooperation and the policy assumptions on which it was being constructed. At the same time it allowed external Governments and Agencies to give useful advice to SADCC on how such a programme might most rapidly be implemented with the backing of the international community. At Arusha it was agreed that the other majority-ruled countries of Southern Africa should be invited to participate in the drawing up of the Lusaka Declaration on Southern African Development Coordination. Consultations were accordingly held with Lesotho, Malawi and Swaziland. The Lancaster House negotiations later that year ended with agreement on constitutional arrangements for an independent Zimbabwe. April 1980 Lusaka Summit - The nine majority-ruled countries of Southern Africa met and declared their commitment "to pursue policies aimed at economic liberation and integrated development of our national economies". The Summit adopted the Lusaka Declaration entitled Southern Africa: Toward Economic Liberation as well as Programme of Action covering Food and Agriculture, Industry, Manpower Development and Energy. The Heads of State identified Transport and Communications as the main priority for SADCC cooperation. How does SADCC work? The basic policy framework for SADCC is the Lusaka Declaration: Southern Africa; Toward Economic Liberation; and the legal instrument establishing SADCC and its institutions, is the Memorandum of Understanding. SADCC is made up to the following institutions; The Summit of Heads of State and Government. The Council of Ministers The Standing Committee of officials Sectoral committees/Commissions The Secretariat The Annual Consultative Conference. The Summit Consisting of the Heads of State and Government of all Member States, the Summit is the supreme institution of SADCC and is responsible for the general direction and control of the functions of SADCC and the achievement of its objectives. The liberation movements of Southern Africa (ANC, PAC and SWAPO) attend meetings of the Summit as observers. The Summit meets at least once a year. The Council of Ministers Consisting of one Minister from each of the Member States, the council is responsible for the overall policy of SADCC, its general coordination, the supervision of its institutions and the supervision of the execution of its programmes. Members of Council are Ministers responsible for economic affairs in their own governments. The Council meets at least two times a year, once before the Annual Consultative Conference, and again before the Summit. The council is responsible for approving programmes and projects for SADCC and designating Member States to coordinate activities in the various sectors, and for appointing Ministerial Committees for programmes in sectoral areas. Such Committees report to the council. The council is responsible for convening the Annual Consultative Conference with external cooperating Governments and Agencies. The Standing Committee of Officials Made up of the senior officials of the Member States, the Standing Committee is responsible to, and advises the Council of Ministers. The Committee may appoint sub-committees of officials for programmes in functional areas; such sub-committees report to the Committee. The Committee usually meets to prepare for meetings of the Council of Ministers. "Let us now face the economic challenge. Let us form a powerful front against poverty and all of its off-shoots of hunger, ignorance, disease, crime and exploitation of man by man. Let us form an African Movement to wage a militant struggle against poverty. Let this summit be our workshop for sharpening our tools, forging new weapons, working out a new strategy and tactics for fighting poverty and improving the quality of life of our peoples". H.E. President Kenneth Kaunda Lusaka 1 April 1980 "Ours is not a begging bowl. We know that the region is rich in resources which the industrialised world needs. We also know that, as a result of recession, many enterprises in the industrialised world are not working to capacity and are in need of contracts. We are willing to come to an agreement by which our resources can be made available provided that this happens in a way consistent with our development objectives. The attitude of the SADCC States to international cooperation is based on the recognition of overlapping interests and agreements freely negotiated between equals". Hon. Prime Minister Robert Mugabe Harare 20 July 1981 The Sectoral Committees and Commissions Sectoral programme activities are directed by a Sectoral Committee of Ministers. The Minister representing the sector coordinating country is Chairman of the Sectoral Committee of Ministers. Sectoral Commissions may be established by the Council of Ministers as and when necessary, through a convention or other instrument approved by the Council and ratified by the member States. At present only two "Commissions" have been set up, viz:- the Southern Africa Transport and Communications Commission (SATCC) based in Maputo, Mozambique and the Southern African Centre for Cooperation in Agricultural Research based in Gaborone, Botswana. Commissions are regional institutions, supported by all Member States and recruitment of staff is regional; whereas Sector Coordinating Units are parts of national governments staffed mainly by citizens of the sector coordinating country. The Sectoral Committees and Commissions report to the Council. Sector Coordinators SADCC allocates responsibility to its member States to coordinate activities in the different sectors of the Programme of Action. The sector coordinating country designates a relevant ministry in its Government, and the ministry sets up a Sector Coordinating Unit, to coordinate the sectoral programme. In this way the administrative burden of coordination is shared without the creation of formal and large institutions. To implement their sectoral responsibilities, member States normally convene sectoral meetings to discuss sectoral policies and programmes, consider possible regional projects and programmes for presentation to the Council of Ministers, discuss future coordination, and to share information on their national programmes. The Secretariat A small Secretariat has been established in Gaborone, Botswana, which is responsible for overall coordination of the execution of the tasks of SADCC and liaison with other SADCC institutions. It is especially responsible for servicing the Council of Ministers and the Summit of Heads of State and Government, including overseeing the implementation of their decisions. The Secretariat is headed by an Executive Secretary appointed by the Summit. The Annual Consultative Conference Having established its priorities and agreed objectives, SADCC seeks cooperation from the international community in the implementation of its regional programme. To this end, SADDC holds an Annual Consultative Conference with cooperating Governments and International Agencies. The conference "provides a mechanism for surveying results, evaluating performance, identifying strengths and weakness and agreeing on future plans". (Lusaka Declaration). At the Conference, cooperating partners are updated on progress in regional cooperation, projects are presented for support; and problems and bottlenecks are ironed out. It is a chance for frank discussion and exchange of information and views. The format is flexible, providing for plenary sessions, and sectoral working groups; but the aim is to maintain a constant dialogue between the SADCC member States and their international cooperating partners. "But if we are to succeed in persuading other countries outside Africa to help us, we must help ourselves first. And we must be seen to be helping ourselves first. We must not ask others outside Africa to help us, with our arms folded. Those whom we ask for assistance, financial and technical, must be convinced that we are helping ourselves first, before we ask them to help us." H.E. President Ngwazi H. Kamuzu Banda Blantyre 24 May 1984 SADCC has benefited considerably from its decision to develop an open and friendly dialogue with those members of the international community willing to assist in its programme of regional economic reconstruction and development. International recognition of SADCC was granted by the United Nations General Assembly in its Resolution 37/248 adopted on 21 December 1982. "... there is neither help nor charity and we do not want them. What exist are interests ... It is economic interests which move different countries. They are going to Angola because they want oil, diamonds and coffee. In Zimbabwe they want chrome and gold. In Swaziland they want iron and coal. Our natural resources are targets and, therefore, they are also tools for cooperation and not for aid. Therefore, we should not wait for aid, but rather for cooperation." H.E. President Samora Moises Machel Lusaka 1 April 1980 SADCC - Political or Economic SADCC is primarily an economic grouping. It is made up of nine states with a variety of ideologies, and which have relations with countries from all parts of the globe. It seeks cooperation with the international community as a whole - from East and West, North and South, industrialised and industrialising. "We of SADCC have close friendships with States in every grouping and which span the ideological divide. All these friends are invited to participate in this movement toward a new economic order in Southern Africa. The basis of SADCC cooperation is respect for the sovereignty and integrity of each of the countries of the region and a commitment to build a community of interest that is not in contradiction with, but is in fact complementary to, the healthy diversity that constitutes our region. "We are, however, non-aligned. We reject the automatism and subservience of formal alliance relationships with any of the existing power blocs. We reject the cold war concept that those who may be our friends should choose our enemies for us or dictate the parameters of that friendship. As sovereign independent states we define our own policies and determine the nature of our relationships with others. We do not hesitate to speak forcefully on matters of concern to us even if others would have us maintain the silence of condonation and complicity." H.E. President Robert Mugabe (while Prime Minister). Harare, 20 July 1981 SADCC and South Africa Although SADCC's objectives include the reduction of dependence on South Africa, SADCC has not been formed as a specifically `anti-South Africa' organisation. The present extent of economic dependence on South Africa by many of the SADCC Member States would be undesirable whatever the political character of that country. Coordination of transport, animal health, industry, etc. is a logical step aimed at the strengthening of the individual economies of the SADCC Member States and the economy of the region as a whole. At present most of the countries of the region are vulnerable to economic sabotage because of their excessive dependence on South Africa for imports and transport facilities. Such vulnerability can only be minimised by the reduction of the dependence. "... our purposes are not simply greater independence from South Africa. If South Africa's apartheid rule ended tomorrow, there would still be need for the states of Southern Africa to cooperate, to coordinate their transport systems, to fight foot and mouth disease together, to rationalise their industrial development ..." H.E. President Julius Nyerere Harare 20 July 1981 "Some people have tended to think that we are forming this economic grouping purely to face South Africa. In our view, this regional grouping is being established despite and not merely because of South Africa and her concept of a regional constellation of states ... Our task is to link up our economies in order to strengthen ourselves. Of course, this is important in the strategy for self-defence against possible attempts by South Africa to undermine the independence of various countries in the region. "The economic success of the countries represented ... will have an epoch making impact within South Africa and will certainly deal a mortal blow to the policy of apartheid. Our success is important to the people of South Africa and, therefore, to the liberation of the entire content." H.E. President Kenneth Kaunda Lusaka 1 April 1980