by Munetsi Madakufamba – SANF 04 no 78
This article is part of our special daily coverage of SADC regional issues at the SADC Summit currently taking place in Grand Baie, Mauritius
GRAND BAIE, MAURITIUS, 17 August – Southern African leaders have pledged to strengthen and better coordinate their approach to multilateral trade talks taking greater advantage of the already existing integrated economic and political bloc of 13 countries.
The leaders, meeting at the Southern African Development Community (SADC) annual summit in Mauritius on 16-17 August, agreed that unilateralism does not pay in the complex game of international trade. They further noted that regional integration should not be viewed as an end in itself.
The new SADC chairperson, Mauritian Prime Minister Paul Berenger said that, “it is important for us to always keep in mind that regional integration is a stepping stone to global integration”. He added that, “harmonisation of policies at national and regional levels needs to be complemented by coherence with multilateral rules.
“Our commitment to the region should therefore be at par with our engagement in the multilateral trading system if we are to reform it to our advantage and benefit from trade opportunities arising.”
SADC member states, which are already faced with a number of trading concerns on the global front, stand to gain if they take a coordinated approach to international trade negotiations and develop common policy responses.
“We need to adopt appropriate strategies in ongoing negotiations with the European Union (EU), the US and at the World Trade Organisation,” said Berenger, a strong proponent of multilateralism.
He urged SADC member states to increase their competitiveness and to strengthen the supply side of their economies. Market access without adequate production capacity would be meaningless, he said.
SADC is negotiating an economic partnership agreement with the EU, which is also engaged in similar talks with other regions within the African, Caribbean, Pacific (ACP) group. The SADC-EU negotiations were officially launched last month and are expected to run until 2007.
The need for a common SADC position on global matters was also emphasised by Malawi President, Bingu wa Mutharika, in his inaugural address to the organisation following his presidential election victory in May.
“I am concerned that except, perhaps, in a few instances, SADC has not really come out to support its member states in multilateral and bilateral negotiations,” said Mutharika, a former World Bank economist.
He said that no one country can single-handedly face the industrialised countries and come out winning. “They are too strong for us.
“I therefore propose that when one or two of our member states are negotiating with industrialised countries in say cotton, tobacco, sugar… all SADC countries should rally behind that country and provide information and technical support so that the country concerned derives maximum benefits from such negotiations.”
Prega Ramsamy, SADC Executive Secretary, said the current restructuring of SADC institutions is meant to usher in a more focused and streamlined organisation. The new SADC structure has emerged with centralised management at the Secretariat, based in Gaborone, Botswana.
“We are optimistic that the new SADC structure if given the appropriate human and financial resources will serve as a vehicle to enable us to begin in earnest, the journey from poverty and marginalisation to prosperity, enlightenment and the centre-stage in global economic and political affairs,” said Ramsamy.
SADC was formed in 1980 with nine member states. The membership grew over the years to a high of 14 until Seychelles, which had joined in 1997, withdrew its membership in July this year citing financial constraints.
Madagascar, another Indian ocean island state, has applied for membership and is expected to be assessed for a year, under the new rules, before it becomes a full member. (SARDC)
