By Virginia Muwanigwa – SANF 04 no 26
The role of civil society in promoting regional integration came under the spotlight at a biennial World Assembly organized in Botswana, the first time in Africa, by the World Alliance for Citizen Participation (CIVICUS) from 21-24 March.
Botswana president, Festus Mogae, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Executive Secretary, Dr. Prega Ramsamy and Civicus Secretary General, Kumi Naidoo urged civil society to engage in genuine partnerships based on mutual respect and recognition of diverse interests.
Noting the paradoxical effects of globalisation, the three highlighted that in as much as globalisation has positive effects so too does it carry negative implications especially for the have-nots.
Officially opening the four-day meeting, President Mogae noted that the assembly’s theme of “Acting Together for a Just World” was thus relevant.
He said that good governance should not be limited to governments alone but “each individual, as well as social sector, has a role to play in promoting greater openness and local accountability.”
On the assembly’s core themes of economic, political and social justice, Naidoo noted that despite proponents of globalisation promising improved communication, technology and capital, and economic development, the reality is that there are more losers than winners.
Naidoo said economic justice should include economic governance at the national and global level.
The major challenge facing all countries, according to Ramsamy, is addressing both positive and negative effects of globalisation, In Africa, regional integration facilitates peace and stability, effective participation in the global economy and the creation of a wider economic space for investment.
“…we have restructured our organisation to enable it to effectively mobilize the energies of all key stakeholders in the region.
“SADC has accorded top priority and given full recognition to the key role and significant contribution of the civil society and Non-Governmental Organisations” he said.
Simultaneously, institutional transformations have also occurred among international cooperating partners on their policies towards the role of non-state actors, said Ramsamy.
The Cotonou Partnership Agreement (CPA) between the European Union (EU) and African Carribean Pacific (ACP) is an outcome of those changes. It provides a “sound legal basis and wide framework for involving non-state actors in political dialogue, policy formulation, and implementation as well as in the evaluation of cooperation strategies and programmes.”
The Executive Secretary emphasized that effective participation and constructive dialogue of all key stakeholders are the cornerstones of the process of regional integration in the SADC region and of development in general.
SADC has thus adopted a people-centred integration approach involving government but business, labour, NGOs, professional organizations and academics in determining not only the content and pace of its regional integration agenda but also community development processes.
He cited examples of the comparative advantage of civil society in areas such as: agricultural production and food security; education and vocational training; gender issues; primary health care, HIV and AIDS, TB and malaria; cross-border trade and small-scale enterprise development. SADC has thus established a SADC Council of NGOs whose interim secretariat is the Botswana Council of NGOs.
Ramsamy also cited regional civil society organizations including the Southern Africa Regional Poverty Network, the Electoral Institute of Southern Africa and the Southern African Research and Documentation Centre/WIDSAA Programme among others. Other social movements have established regional networks that facilitate working at the regional rather than at the national level.
The Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP), launched by the SADC Chairperson, President Benjamin Mkapa in Arusha recently also provides for the broad participation of relevant stakeholders in its implementation.
Challenges to effective participation of civil society organizations in the implementation of regional development programmes, according to Ramsamy, derive from the need for transparency and accountability to their constituencies, balanced representation and sustainability.
The assembly also discussed the issue of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve Basarwa, whom one civil society organization claims were forcibly moved by the Botswana government.
The government says the relocation aims to facilitate access to schools, clinics and other services to all people. President Mogae said the country rejects the notion that some black communities are more indigenous than others.
“People belong in settlements and not game parks… rural poverty, no matter how romanticized, is a condition – not a culture,” he said.
The World Bank came under fire with assembly delegates demanding to know who determines the terms of engagement between the World Bank, civil society or governments. “Civil society and the World Bank should regard each other as partners as they are all working towards fighting poverty through development,” said one delegate. (SARDC)
