SO WE CAN DELIVER

WE’VE run our race and played our part ‘very well’ during our 12 months as Chairperson of SADC in the eyes of member states. Accolades for His Majesty the King have been flowing from across our borders.

We say well done to His Majesty and the SADC team for living up to SADC expectations. This is no easy task for any leader who has to also balance out national and regional obligations which can be quite taxing on the host nation.
Back home, however, senators are divided over the idea of presenting the King with a beast for his sterling job so the Champagne bottles won’t be popped just yet.

This until the Minister of Economic Planning and Development Prince Hlangusempi brings a report to Parliament on the costs associated with the country’s SADC role and activities.
To the senators, success should not equate to suffering for the country that is believed to have been hard hit by a cash flow crisis. For the senators, the report is probably more of a cost-benefit analysis than just how much was spent.
For its part, the country has demonstrated to the region the capabilities at our disposal in delivering on national and international mandates. His Majesty the King was seen by fellow leaders as having applied a ‘hands-on’ approach to the assignment, hence the notable progress as observed by Namibian President Dr Hage Geingob.

The SADC Executive Secretary said she had recorded the most significant progress under the chairmanship of the King which was highly impressive. Not too surprising perhaps, because the King had indicated when assuming the role that he would push for progress and delivery like no other.
Senators are asking though, at what cost? That we will find out if and when the minister delivers such a report so we can weigh the gains against the losses. With this report, several questions will, hopefully, be answered regarding the benefits of our membership to SADC and other international bodies we subscribe to.

One of the key challenges facing most governments the world-over today is getting the general public and private sector to buy-in towards national and international development initiatives.
This has largely been caused by the lack of engagement by government and the people on the consultation, decision making and implementation of resolutions that have a direct impact on their lives, yet substantial resources are allocated towards the programmes, meetings and summits of these institutions.

For instance, our membership to the United Nations, which comes out with conventions that we find ourselves signatory to, has often been questioned whenever ratification of some conventions or protocols is found wanting.
Some African leaders are also beginning to question the relevance of the African Union (AU). Moves are underway to restructure the organisation to make it ‘more relevant’ to the needs of the citizens of member countries.
There is a realisation that it (AU) may not be serving the needs of the African people, particularly because it is largely funded by former colonialist countries. There are strong calls for a fully African country-funded AU which means member countries have to allocate more financial resources towards the AU.

Not every leader is happy with the proposed changes, particularly those in the Southern African region. SADC has developed a position on this proposed restructuring that is being spearheaded by Rwandan President Paul Kagame.
At its recently ended 37th Ordinary Summit, SADC leaders re-affirmed their support and recognition of the importance of the reforms at the African Union and emphasised the importance of complying with the African Union Constitutive Act, and the African Union guiding rules and procedures while carrying out the reforms.

They said any reforms that are contrary to the Constitutive Act should be implemented once the Constitutive Act has been amended. The chairperson of SADC is to submit the position of SADC on African Union Reforms to the chairperson of the African Union.

In short any changes to the AU need continental consensus. This position by SADC on the AU reforms speaks to a similar call by senators to the Economic Planning minister. They want to be consulted on SADC activities to ensure that national commitments are of benefit to the country.

Perhaps they want to share in the SADC success. Hopefully the senators will not have to wait too long in getting the report because the minister has demonstrated to the region how proficient he and the team can be in delivering on their mandate. We also look forward to equal application of this new found high work ethic towards addressing the urgent challenges facing various sectors of our beautiful kingdom.

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