ABSTRACT
The study focuses on and explores the Southern African Development Community’s activities to determine whether the intended objectives have been accomplished as stated in its purpose statement. The study argues that the achievement of the Southern Africa Development Community’s purpose statement is important with regard to the implementation of developmental initiatives. This is because the SADC objectives are measured in the operationalisation and implementation of policies and the operationalisation of key activities. The Southern African region is rich in natural resources but lacks the political will and capacity for the institutionalisation of key processes to, among others, alleviate poverty and HIV/AIDS and address human security matters.
This study revealed that SADC did not achieve all its intended objectives. Several challenges, such as the full convertibility of regional currencies among member states still need to be addressed. One of the major challenges impacting negatively on the implementation and completion of SADC’s projects are the capacity, skills and expertise to drive key business processes. This study has found that in spite of complexities and challenges to implement SADC’s policies and programmes as stated in its purpose statement, there is a need to align the member states’ priorities with SADC’s objectives to maximise impact and overall successful execution thereof. Coupled with this challenge is another crucial challenge relating to the SADC structure, mechanisms and methodologies that are used for achieving SADC’s objectives. The study revealed that the structures, mechanisms and methodologies are inadequate to successfully implement and evaluate SADC’s projects.
Consequently, this study proposes some reforms in SADC’s Regional Indicative Strategic Plan that should be considered and integrated into the national plans, budgets and priorities of all SADC member states. Critically, it is important to ensure the alignment and buy-in of member states with regard to the development and implementation of SADC’s projects and programmes in the Southern African region. Firstly, the study proposes that partnerships with research institutions should be explored to strengthen the limited capacity of SADC’s Secretariat. Benchmarking and best practices with other international government organisations such as the African Union and the United Nations will provide a platform to improve the current activities of SADC to be more focused towards the desired outcomes. Secondly,
SADC’s activities that are linked to its objectives should be intensified through the mobilisation of resources and expertise that are geared to all key result areas to improve regional integration and ultimately the achievement of SADC’s objectives as stated in its purpose statement.
KEY TERMS
Achievements Activities
Co-operation Community
International Government Organisation Purpose statement
Regionalism
Southern Africa Development Community Development
TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION AND RESEARCH DESIGN
OVERVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL GOVERNMENT ORGANISATIONS (IGOs)
THE HISTORICAL OVERVIEW AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY (SADC)
- Introduction 27
- Structural Changes to SADC 30
- The Current Structure of SADC 32
- The Summit of Heads of State and Government 33
- The Standing Committee of Officials 36
- National and Sectoral Contact Points 36
- The Secretariat and Executive Secretariat 37
- The Organ of Politics, Defence and Security(OPDS) 39
SADC’s PURPOSE STATEMENT IN RELATION TO ITS ACHIEVEMENTS
- Introduction 47
- The Scope of SADC’s activities 49
- SADC HIV/AIDS Programme as a Key Activity 55
- SADC Transport Sector as a Key Activity 57
- Findings of SADC’s Purpose statement 64
- The Scope of SADC’s activities 49
EVALUATION OF SADC’s CURRENT ACTVITIES VERSUS ITS PURPOSE STATEMENT
- General Introduction 67
- Establishment of a Regional Central Bank and Monetary
Union 67
- Challenges regarding the Establishment of a Regional Monetary Union and Financial Integration versus SADC’s Purpose Statement 68
- The Role of SADC’s Finance and Investment Co-ordinating Unit as a Current Activity 70
- The Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan as
a Main Activity 75
- Current Prospects of Regional Integration versus SADC’s Purpose Statement 77
- SADC’s Free Trade Area Activity versus SADC’s Purpose Statement 78
- SADC Wildlife Management versus its Purpose Statement 80
- Habitat and Environmental Threat in Wildlife Management 81
FINDINGS, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
- Introduction 85
- Final Conclusion 89
INDEX OF TABLES
Table 2.1: Aims and activities of five IGOs by functional area 23
INDEX OF FIGURES
Figure 3.1: SADC’s original Organisational Structure 31
Figure 3.2: Diagram of SADC’s Organisational Structure 42
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS
APU African Postal Union
ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations AU African Union
COMSEA Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa CONSAS Constellation of Southern Africa States
DRC Democratic Republic of the Congo ECOWAS Economic Committee if West African State EU European Union
FANR Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources FIP Finance and Investment Protocol
FISCU Finance and Investment Co-ordinating Unit (SADC) FLS Frontline States
FTA Free Trade Area
HIV/AIDS Human Immune Deficiency Virus/ Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome ICM Integrated Committee of Ministers
IGO International Government Organisation IOC Indian Ocean Commission
IUCN International Union of Conversation of Nature LON League of Nations
MDG Millennium Development Goals
NEPAD New Economic Partnership for African Development NGO Non- Governmental Organisation
NVAC National Vulnerability Assessment Committee OAS Organisation of American States
OPDS Organ of Politics, Defence and Security PPIAF Public Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility PPP Public Private Partnership
PMU Parliamentary Members Unit
UN United Nations
UNDP United Nations Development Programme RISDP Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan SADC Southern African Development Community
SADCC Southern African Development Coordination Conference SACU South African Customs Union
SADC-CNGO Southern African Development Community Council of Non-governmental Organisation
SADC-PF Southern African Development Community Parliamentary Forum SIPO Strategic Indicative Plan of the Organ
TFCA Trans-frontier Conservation Areas
TIFI Trade, Industry, Finance and Investment (SADC)
TWGTCB Technical Working Group on Training and Capacity Building
CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION AND RESEARCH DESIGN
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
The Southern African Development Community (SADC), formerly known as the Southern African Development Co-ordination Conference (SADCC), was born out of the positive experiences of closer co-operation among the governments and peoples of Southern Africa.
In May 1979, the Foreign Ministers of the Frontline States met in Gabarone, Botswana, to discuss economic co-operation. At this time they agreed to convene an international conference in Arusha, Tanzania. This meeting led to the Arusha Conference in July 1979, which brought together government and international agency representatives from all over the world, to discuss co-operation in the southern part of Africa (SADC 2001:2). As a result, the nine majority-ruled countries of Southern Africa, namely Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe declared during the Lusaka Summit on the 1st of April 1980, a commitment to pursue policies aimed at economic liberation and integrated development of their national economies. (SADC, 2008: 5) In 1990 and 1994 Namibia and South Africa joined the Lusaka Declaration. The old SADCC achieved a lot, but the greatest achievement was the establishment of a firm foundation for regional integration in Southern Africa. SADCC was formed to counter the strategy of South Africa to create a Constellation of Southern African States (CONSAS), (Oosthuizen, 2006:60). By the late 1980s, it had become apparent to the SADCC policy makers, that the existing de facto international organisation needed a treaty or some legally binding instrument (SADC, 2008:9). In 1989, the Summit of Heads of State or Government, meeting in Harare, Zimbabwe, decided that SADCC should be formalised to give it an appropriate legal status, taking into account the need to replace the Memorandum of Understanding with an Agreement, Charter or Treaty. After four years of preparatory work and consultation, the Heads of State or Government signed a Declaration and Treaty in Windhoek 1992, establishing the Southern African Development Community (SADC, 2001:2). In 1992 SADC was established as a regional organisation with the purpose of promoting economic
integration, poverty alleviation, peace and security and the evolution of common political values and institutions (Nathan 2004:35).
MOTIVATION FOR THE RESEARCH TOPIC
This research topic ‘’ The activities of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in relation to its purpose statement’’ was selected because of a personal interest that developed during the study of International Government Organisations within an African context. This research is relevant due to the important role that SADC plays on the African continent, as well as the requirements that governments in Southern Africa are expected to implement the objectives of SADC which aims to ensure that poverty alleviation, development, leadership, regional integration and HIV/AIDS are addressed in all SADC activities and programmes with the ultimate objective of eradicating poverty and HIV/AIDS. The activities of SADC are complex and therefore this research aims at contributing to the knowledge pool required to accomplish SADC’s purposes and objectives. This research will attempt to provide recommendations that can assist SADC in being successful in achieving its objectives.
PROBLEM STATEMENT
The roles and purposes of SADC as an International Governmental Organisation in regional co-operation have a multiplicity of goals and objectives and are, above all complicated. As an International Government Organisation, SADC has distinctive functions and responsibilities with a clear purpose. These responsibilities include amongst others, to achieve development and economic growth, alleviate poverty, enhance the standard of living and quality of life of the people of Southern Africa and support the socially disadvantaged through regional integration, evolve common political values, systems and institutions, and promote and defend peace and security (SADC, 2001:9). The question can be asked however, are these main responsibilities that form the focus and the purpose statement of SADC being fulfilled and achieved?
Secondary questions which arise from the above question include the following:
- What is the purpose of SADC?
- Why does SADC exist?
- What activities does SADC currently undertake?
- What are the roles and functions of a regional organisation?
OBJECTIVES AND AIMS OF THIS RESEARCH
The main objective of this research is to understand the purpose of SADC. The unit of analysis will be the SADC region and the countries that form SADC. The points of focus will be the purposes and functions of SADC, and the activities that SADC currently undertakes.
Therefore this research will firstly aim to explain what an international organisation is. Firstly, this will include the history and purpose, as well as analysis of theories regarding International Government Organisations, and their function and classification.
Secondly, this research will explain how SADC was established, why SADC exists and how it aims to address national priorities through regional actions, given that most member states had been allocated the responsibility of co-ordinating one or more functions. The strengths and weaknesses and role of SADC will also be examined.
Thirdly, the purpose of SADC will be explained in detail to get a better understanding of its activities in relation to the purpose statement and objectives.
Lastly, the current activities of SADC will be evaluated to determine if it is correctly positioned to deliver on its intended purpose.
The findings of this research could benefit all Southern African member states and leaders to ensure that their activities are aligned with the SADC purpose statement. This research is also important in so far as it will seek to establish, amongst other factors, the type of functions and activities required for Southern Africa to implement resolutions adopted by SADC, while placing sufficient emphasis on their activities and purpose. (Botha & Engelbrecht, 1992:39).
CONCEPTUALISATION
The conceptual analysis provides a clarification of the key concepts in the title, problem statement and the research objective, which are as follows:
SADC
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is a regional organisation consisting of 15 southern African countries. The concept of ‘’Southern African Community’’ consists of three words, namely ‘’Southern, ’’African’’ and Community’’. The Southern African Concise Oxford Dictionary (2007:1122) defines ‘’southern’’ as situated, directed towards or facing the south. ‘’Africa’’ is defined as one of the continents of the world with geographical scope and ‘’community’’ is described in the Southern African Concise Oxford Dictionary (2007:233) as ‘’ a group of people living together in one place, especially one practising common ownership’’. Very simply put, “Southern African Community” means a group, class or nations hosted in the southern areas of the continent ‘’Africa’’ that form a community.
SADC, as was stated in the general introduction, fulfils the above definitions. Southern Africa is a region within the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics (Palmowski, 2004:19). SADC is an international organisation that promotes economic development and integration for 15 countries. These countries are all members: Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Southern Africa, Seychelles, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. SADC’s headquarters are based in Gaborone, Botswana.
Activities
The Concise Oxford Dictionary (2006:11) defines “activity” as a condition in which things are happening, being done or an action taken in pursuit of an objective or the degree to which something displays its characteristics, properties or behaviour. The South African Concise Oxford Dictionary (2007: 11) sees ‘’activity’’ as a ‘’condition in which things are happening or being done’’. The Chambers Large Print Dictionary (2006:9) defines ‘’activity’’ as something that people do, especially for pleasure, exercise, etc’’. For the purposes of this research, activities will refer to the SADC activities that are co-ordinated at annual conferences of the Heads of State and
Government and the Council of Ministers of all the member states. Activities can cover a wide variety of subjects in various fields such as agriculture, banking and trade, politics, defence and security.
Development
According the Oxford Concise Dictionary (2004:4) the concept ‘’development’’ refers to the process of ‘’developing or being developed and a specific state of growth or advancement or an event constituting a new stage in a changing situation’’. The Free Dictionary defines development as a systematic use of scientific and technical knowledge to meet specific objectives or requirements (Free Dictionary 2013:online). The word ‘’development’’ in the context of SADC can been seen as the advancement of current operational activities in members states. The member states of SADC form an organisation gear to development of technology in all activities to improve the living conditions of its inhabitants. Development also denotes to a process from the current towards a desirable state in the Southern African members states of SADC.
Community
The word ‘’community’’ refers to the a group of people living together in one place, especially practising common ownership (Oxford Concise Dictionary 2012:online). The term ‘’community’’ means a unusually small, social unit of any size that shares common values and to build social and cultural ties to enhance the standard of living amongst a regional population and the sovereignty of member states (Wikipedia Encyclopaedia 2013:online).
In the SADC context, community refers to the member states in the Southern African region. These states forms a organisation to promote regional integration, poverty alleviation through economic development and ensuring peace and security (SADC 2009:online). The member states in Southern Africa pursuing common interest in their domain by engaging in joint activities, discussions and helping each other and share information.
Purpose statement
The concept ‘’purpose statement’’ refers to ‘’the intention to act’’ (Southern African Oxford Dictionary for Adult Learners, 1990:62). Purpose is defined in the Southern African Oxford Dictionary (2006:949) as the reason for which something is done or for which something exists or resolve or determination. The word ‘’statement’’ can be defined as ‘’a definite or clear expression of something in speech or writing’’ (The Southern African Concise Oxford Dictionary, 2007:1147). For the purposes of this research, the purpose statement of SADC denotes the reason why something exists or for which it has been done. It also refers to the desire or intended goals of SADC in general. “Purpose” in this research will therefore denotes the recognition of member states, but also acknowledges the need to promote co-operation amongst member states in order to address the challenges of the dynamics and increasingly complex regional and global environment (Thornhill, Odendaal, Malan, Mathebula, van Dyk and Mello, 2002:2).
