SANF 17 no 36 – by Joseph Ngwawi in Pretoria, South Africa
On 17 August 2017, southern Africa marks 25 years since the historic signing of the SADC Treaty and Declaration, an event that led to far-reaching transformation and advanced the regional agenda from one of loose cooperation to deeper integration buttressed by legally binding sector protocols.
At their historic summit held on 17 August 1992 in Windhoek, Namibia, leaders from the region signed the SADC Treaty and Declaration that effectively transformed the then Southern African Development Coordination Conference (SADCC) into the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
The Treaty and Declaration was signed by the leaders of the 10 countries that were members of the SADCC at the time – Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The other five member states – the Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles and South Africa – signed the documents later as they joined the organisation.
The signing of the Treaty and Declaration ushered in changes in the way the regional organisation operates.
Prior to 1992, the organisational and institutional arrangements were decentralised, with each of the 10 then member states being responsible for coordinating one economic sector.
The signing of the Treaty saw coordination of the programmes and activities being centralised at a Secretariat that was established in Gaborone, Botswana.
The Secretariat is the principal executive institution of SADC, responsible for strategic planning, facilitation, coordination and management of all regional programmes.
It is headed by an executive secretary who is supported by two deputies, one for Regional Integration and another for Corporate Affairs.
The Secretariat is arranged into directorates, and a number of stand-alone units responsible for cross-cutting issues.
Along with establishing SADC, the Declaration and Treaty set out the organisation’s objectives, institutions, and systems of operation.
They outline the modalities for regional cooperation in areas such as food security, land and agriculture; infrastructure and services; industry, trade, investment and finance; human resources development, science and technology; natural resources and environment; social welfare, information and culture; and politics, diplomacy, international relations, peace and security.
In recognition of the significance of 17 August in the history of the region, the day was designated as SADC Day.
Outgoing SADC chairperson, King Mswati III of Swaziland applauded “the growing awareness and participation of our people in the implementation of the SADC programmes and projects.”
“I do hope this will gradually move the region towards achieving the goals for which SADC was established, which is to reduce the levels of poverty and improve the standard of living of the people in the region,” King Mswati said in his SADC Day message ahead of the 37th SADC Summit that opens on 19 August in Pretoria, South Africa.
He cited some of the achievements by SADC over the past few years as the review and eventual approval of the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP), review of the Strategic Plan for the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation (SIPO), development of a Regional Infrastructure Master Plan in 2012.
Other achievements include the development of the SADC Industrialisation Strategy and Roadmap (2015 -2063) in 2015 and its Costed Action Plan that was adopted by an Extraordinary Summit in March 2017.
“These are indeed milestones which cannot go unnoticed yet there is still a lot of effort we need to put to realize more fruits for the future growth of our region,” he said.
The SADC chairperson also applauded the existing peace and security situation in the region.
“This is because the citizens and political leaders believe in resolving their differences amicably through contact and dialogue, recognizing that we are bound by common history, shared ancestry and above all, a common future as brothers and sisters,” the chairperson said.
He noted that peace and security are some of the priorities for SADC “due to the realization that without peace there cannot be any meaningful progress in the region.”
He, however, noted that despite the relatively stable political situation in southern Africa, the region still needs to address a number of social and economic challenges.
“These include food and water insecurity, energy insecurity, transnational drugs, human trafficking, smuggling, money laundering, cyber security and climate change and environmental degradation.
“In this regard, we will continue to strengthen the regional and national early warning centres on the need to exchange information and data through secure communication infrastructure.”
The 37th SADC Summit is scheduled for 19-20 August, and will deliberate on a wide range of issues, including exploring ways of harnessing the potential of the private sector to contribute to the industrialisation agenda and sustainable economic development in the region.
The theme for the summit is “Partnering with the private sector in developing industry and regional value-chains”.
At the summit, South African President Jacob Zuma will assume the rotating SADC chair from King Mswati III of Swaziland. sardc.net
