by Munyaradzi Chenje
The winds of change are carrying the 10-member Southern African Development Community (SADC) in a new direction – from the isolation of apartheid South Africa to its possible integration following this year’s democratic elections in that country.
It was clear at SADC’s annual consultative conference in the Botswana capital, Gaborone, between 26 – 28 January 1994 that the “winds of change” former British prime minister Harold MacMillan spoke about in the South African parliament over 30 years ago are blowing apartheid aside ushering in new opportunities for both South Africa and its neighbours.
Since its inception in 1980, the Gaborone-based SADC has been trying – as part of the struggle against apartheid – to cut the umbilical cord that links the economies of most of its members to that of South Africa. But with South Africa’s first multi -racial elections scheduled for April, SADC is now looking ahead to a future which includes the integration of South Africa.
“The issue is no longer how to isolate South Africa, but how to best co-operate with this major power in the region,” said the Swedish Under Secretary of State Alf T. Samuelsson, addressing the conference on behalf of SADC’s co-operating partners.
Conference chairman, Botswana Vice-President and Finance and Development Minister Festus Mogae, said SADC agreed with its co-operating partners “the significance of the emergence of a democratic South Africa in boosting the existing efforts towards regionalism in southern Africa.” Two South African liberation movements and full SADC members – the African National Congress (ANC) and the Pan Africanist Movement (PAC) highlighted the changes taking place in their country.
Representatives of both movements bade the conference farewell, acknowledging that this was the last time they were addressing it as revolutionary movements. The obvious implication was that a democratic South Africa would have become SADC’s eleventh member by the time of next January’s consultative conference.
Sipho Shabalala, the PAC representative, said it was with “a deep sense of a mission accomplished” for his organisation to address the conference for the last time before the April 27 elections. “We shall playa major role in encouraging the new African state after the demise of the settler colonial state known as South Africa to enter into socio-economic development partnership with SADC ….” he said.
The ANC representative said, “We dare say that the happy circumstance, where a democratic South Africa shall assume her place among the family of nations, including the family of SADC, is, with all certainly within grasp.”
In one of three conference theme documents, Regional Relations and Co-operation Post- Apartheid, SADC says it will “continue its planning and preparedness for the membership of a democratic and non-racial South Africa.”
“Democratic South Africa will join SADC in order for it to take its rightful place in the regional organisation and participate as an equal partner in the restructuring of regional relations and cooperation in a mutually beneficial manner for all the countries and peoples of southern Africa.”
The African Development Bank, which released its study on Economic Integration in southern Africa during the conference, said the region stands at the “threshold of a new era.” It said after years of struggle and sacrifice by countries in southern Africa, apartheid no longer dominates political and economic life in South Africa.
“Although the-effects and the inequities it has embedded will linger for some time to come, the demise of apartheid opens up prospects which were unimaginable even a few years ago,” said the Bank.
But the imminent membership of South Africa in SADC has raised concerns of the new state dominating its neighbours because of its economic might. In the 14 years of SADC’s existence, it has proved difficult to isolate South Africa economically for various reasons. These include the proximity of Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Swaziland and Zimbabwe which necessitated close economic interaction; and South Africa’s destabilisation of those countries, and Angola and Mozambique, put significant strain on the SADC members’ economies.
With 30 percent of southern Africa’s population and 18 percent of its land area, South Africa contributes 76.7 percent of the regional gross domestic product (GDP). According to the World Bank’s 1992 Development Report, South Africa had a GDP per capita, at current prices, four times . the regional average in 1990.
South Africa also boasts a trade surplus with the rest of the region estimated at more than US$l billion annually. About 40 percent of SADC’s total trade is with South Africa compared with intra- SADC trade at only four percent of the total trade of SADC members.
SADC documents, therefore, emphasise that integration with South Africa should be conducted on the basis of the principle of balance, equity and mutual benefit.
Zimbabwean Foreign Minister Nathan Shamuyarira said, .The economic strength of this Entity has to be discussed in the context of spreading mutual benefits.
He said its .totally unacceptable to SADC for some donor countries to regard South Africa as the gateway to the regional markets and establish their industries in South Africa to supply goods to the whole region.
“We should devise a formula that will enable to share proportionately both markets-and capital,” said Shamuyarira. But Brian Atwood, USAID administrator, said SADC need not fear a democratic South Africa as it did the old one.
“It will not try to destabilise the region,” he said. “Its economic success is tied to the region – and the region is tied to South Africa.”
While a democratic South Africa’s membership in SADC is not guaranteed, there is no doubt that it will have one form of relationship or another with the organisation.
SADC executive secretary, Dr Kaire Mbuende, said while the community is ready to welcome South Africa, the final decision would be made by the new South African government. “If they don’t join SADC, they will have to deal with SADC,” says Mbuende who replaced Zimbabwe’s Simba Makoni as executive secretary in January. “South African cannot ignore SADC.
“The former Namibian deputy agriculture minister said a number of obstacles could undermine integration not only with South Africa but among all the other SADC member states. The major one – highlighted by almost every speaker – is that of peace and stability.
Botswana’s President Sir Ketumile Masire said peace and stability are essential for regional economic goals to be met. “Unfortunately peace and stability remain elusive,” he said, adding that renewed war in Angola was causing human suffering of enormous proportions. He also emphasised that “the escalating violence in South Africa is a matter of great concern to all of us”.
The importance of peace and stability was perhaps emphasised when Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe – a severe critic of apartheid – held an unprecedented but historic meeting in Gaborone
with South African President Frederik W. de Klerk to discuss the insecurity caused by fighting tween two army factions in Lesotho. At a meetiag.hosted by Masire and also attended by ANC president Nelson Mandela the leaders agreed to work together to resolve the conflict in Lesotho. (SARDC)
