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The SADC People's Summit: Reclaiming SADC for Peoples Development
Richard Mambeva, Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development (ZIMCODD)
Extracted from Breakfree Newsletter : Volume 2, Issue 1- August 2006
August, 2006

It is now 26 years since the formation of the Southern Africa Development Coordination Conference (SADCC), rebranded in 1992 to the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC). When SADC was formed, its objectives included an acceleration of the economic well being and improvements of the standard of living of all peoples in the region, improve the quality of life, promotion and maintenance of peace and security, achieving economic growth and development, alleviation of poverty, creation of common political values; systems and institutions, promoting self-sustainable utilization of natural resources and effective protection of the environment, strengthening and coordinating the long-standing historical, social and cultural affinities and links among people or the region.

Twenty-six years later, it is estimated that 80% of the people in the region are living below the poverty datum line. The introduction of Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs), embedded in the doctrine of neo-liberalisation with the objectives of privatisation of public services, reduction in government spending and deregulation of the pricing system has threatened the objectives of SADC. Chances are oblique if ever SADC will be able to raise the standards of living of its peoples, reduce poverty, and end the debt crisis and fostering pro-people and participatory development strategies. Every year, the SADC Heads of State meet to discuss problems affecting the region but the region has only slipped deeper into poverty. Has SADC become a social club or a talk show? What is the level of commitment within SADC towards improving the people’s livelihoods? Is SADC a true representation of African solidarity? Have the SADC Heads of state grabbed the neoliberal carrot and completely forgot about multitudes of poor people back home?

As the SADC heads of State meet on 14 to 18 August 2006, in Maseru, Lesotho the poor peoples of the region are going to gather at the Cooperative College in Maseru in order to seek answers to the above questions. The Southern Africa Peoples Solidarity Network, SAPSN, in partnership with the Open Society Initiative, and Action Aid Southern Africa, are hosting this important People’s Summit on the 15^th to 16^th of August under the theme, ‘‘Reclaiming SADC for People’s Development: Assessing the Impact of Neo-liberal Policies on the Peoples’ Livelihoods’’. The purpose of the Summit will be to examine the current trajectory, the internal and external forces acting within and on SADC. Critical issues to be discussed include, but are not limited to:

• The impact of neo-liberal policies from institutions such as the World Bank, IMF, WTO and how they have impacted on the lives of the SADC citizenry
• The Impact of Debt on the lives of ordinary citizens of the Southern Africa region
• The Impact of unfair trade rules and agreements.
• The Impact of privatisations on the peoples with regards to access to health services, education and other social amenities
• Dumping of Textile goods and impact on the local/regional textile industries particularly from China.

The Summit will give the peoples of the region a chance and space to share their experiences and map out strategies and recommendations for the Heads of State Summit. The Summit will come up with Peoples’ Declaration that will be shared with the SADC Summit. The aim is to divest development strategies in the region from the current top-down approach to more people-driven and participatory development strategies that includes the masses in decision-making.

The recently pronounced budget review statement by the Minister of Finance, Dr Hebert Murerwa, was nothing short of an obituary of a deceased economy. The 327.2 trillion supplementary budget, the triple digit inflation rate of 1184,6%, an external debt of US$3,968 million, a domestic debt of Z$46, 1 trillion and a projected current account deficit of US434 million, shows an economy beyond distress or recession. One of the major impediments to Zimbabwe’s economic recovery and progression are trade injustices, which negate the country’s balance of payments. The Global trade forces at play are such that Zimbabwe’s exports of raw materials are bought at low cost, and the prices continue to fall, particularly of agricultural products while imported manufactured goods are very expensive.

For several decades now Africa’s share in global trade is just about 1%, and its share of the global market has remained stagnant for a long time. Rich countries do not only control global prices but also, in the case of the United States of America, USA, and the European Union, pay huge subsidies particularly on cotton, to their farmers so that small-scale farmers in poor countries cannot compete with these farmers from the US. The terms of trade and legal framework for global trade under the World Trade Organization is heavily tipped in favour of the rich. Furthermore, global trade has become tied to such conditionalities as debt repayment and trade liberalization. Africa is being forced, in return for loans, to open up its markets and be flooded by goods from the North, effectively killing its infant industries. The bulk of the money that Africa earns from global trade finds its way back to the coffers of rich countries as debt repayment and debt servicing. Between January 2005 and February 2006, Zimbabwe paid the International Monetary Fund (IMF) alone a total of US$210,6million to service its debt to the Fund, yet Zimbabwe projects a paltry net capital inflow of US$271,6 million for 2006. Due to falls in prices of agricultural and other primary products, Zimbabwe earns less from trade, and is unable to repay her debts, and in a vicious downward spiral is forced to borrow again from the rich in order to service her debts. Zimbabwe will recall how the media reported about her frantic efforts to borrow money from South Africa when the IMF was threatening the country with expulsion.

Efforts to address the global trade injustices are being made at various levels including the WTO talks, which have since collapsed, and the various trade justice campaigns all over the world. In Zimbabwe, trade justice activists have pulled their efforts together under the Global Week of Action Campaign, which was inaugurated in April 2005. The Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development has facilitated the national campaign in 2005 and 2006, which has involved public seminars, interdenominational prayer services, trade justice festivals, lectures and a soccer match. The April 13, 2005 Peoples Trade Justice Festival culminated in a landmark declaration from the cotton farmers, dubbed, ‘Defending our Livelihoods, Defending the cotton farmer’. The declaration demanded among other things, an end to the US and EU cotton subsidies, fair prices for cotton, and people-oriented domestic trade policies. The declaration was further developed into a fully-fledged and on-going Cotton Campaign under ZIMCODD’s Policy and Advocacy Program. So far, the cotton campaign has brought cotton farmers from Hurungwe, Guruve, Chipinge and Gokwe together with, Farmers Unions, the Ministry of Industry and International Trade, the Ministry of Agriculture, academics and Civil Society together in dialogue. Two of the cotton farmers under this campaign were part of the government delegation to the 6^th WTO Ministerial Conference held in Hong Kong in December 2005. The campaign has also involved a signature campaign which has collected over 10 000 signatures in support of the farmers’ declaration so far. ZIMCODD calls on more stakeholders to work towards improved terms global trade and viable trade opportunities for millions of people. The simple proposition being made is that people must be put before profits and that we must all fight to make trade work for the poor.

Visit the ZIMCODD fact sheet

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