Regional Integration

Southern African Development Community - SADC

In the promotion of regional integration, FES has been co-operating with the SADC Secretariat since 1995, mainly in the areas of political, social and economic dialogue. Presently its 15 member states are Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Governed by a summit of Heads of States and a Council of Ministers, SADC is administrated by a secretariat based in Gaborone. FES Botswana is the liaison office for all regional activities in co-operation with the secretariat.

Co-operation so far has included seminars and conferences with respect to gender, economic dialogue, regional labour market, social security and socio-economic impact of integration.

The FES supported the drafting of a "SADC Code on Social Security" which was officially presented to the SADC Secretariat. The Code has been approved by the respective SADC Council of Ministers and – after final approval by the SADC Inter-Ministerial Committee – has become an official SADC Policy Guideline.

A regional research programme from 2004 to 2008 on "Deepening Integration in SADC - Macro-Economic Policies and Their Impact" was developed by a team of researchers from all over the region. Country studies on Macroeconomic Convergence, Macroeconomic and Trade Policies, a Social Impact Analysis as well as a Survey on the Perception of Regional Integration by NSA were elaborated for 10 countries. The results of these studies are published in the 12 volumes of the series “Regional Integration in Southern Africa” The findings have been discussed in national workshops and a regional conference. The research programme aims at complementing the development of SADC policies with respect to the targets such as a Free Trade Area by 2008, a Customs Union by 2010, and a Common Market by 2015, followed by a Currency Union.

In December 2005, FES supported a Regional Consultative Conference on Gender and Development, a follow-up of a similar conference in 2000. The conference resulted in a concrete "Framework of Action" with one of the proposed activities being the upgrading of the Declaration on Gender and Development. With the support of FES a draft Gender Protocol was elaborated. Following extensive consultations at the national level, a regional Consultative Conference was held in Gaborone in April 2007, revising and consolidation the final, second “Zero-Draft” of the Protocol. Most of the SADC Heads of State were signing the Gender Protocol in August 2008 – except Botswana, Mauritius. The cooperation with the SADC-Gender Unit and a wide coalition Gender NGOs concentrates now on the implementation of the Gender Protocol at regional and national levels.

Regional Non-State Actors

More and more regional organisations open their offices and secretariats in Gaborone. Some have become partners of FES.

The Southern African Trade Union Coordinating Council (SATUCC) is the regional umbrella body of trade union federations of the SADC-Region. FES Botswana is the liaison office with SATUCC, whilst activities are planned and implemented through FES offices in Namibia, Zambia and South Africa.

The Electoral Commissions Forum of SADC Countries (ECF) is focusing on civic and voter education, the application of democratic standards as well as the observation of elections in the region. Co-operation with FES has centred so far around activities trying to strengthen the independence of Electoral Management Bodies in the region and the application of democratic standards. “Principles and Guidelines in the Independence of Electoral Management Bodies (EMBs) in the SADC Region” have been drafted in 2006 and – after consultations on the national level – have been finalised 2007. In 2008, a symposium on "Enhancing Democratic Governance through Credible Elections in the SADC Region" for the 10th year Anniversary of the ECF-SADC was organised in Zanzibar. In 2009 a programme in the SADC Region on the Guidelines and Principles on Election Monitoring was initiated with ECF. The objective is to strengthen the dialogue the between the EMBs and the Civil Society on the respect of democratic standards.

The SADC Council of Non-Governmental Organisations (SADC-CNGO) was initiated in 1998 with support from FES Botswana. It has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the SADC Secretariat in December 2003 and established its regional secretariat in Gaborone in 2004. Cooperation with FES so far concentrated in the planning and implementation of the “Regional Civil Society Forum” held every year parallel to the respective SADC Summit Meetings. The Forum is organised as a vehicle to promote the dialogue between SADC and Civil Society on the regional level. The 6th Forum will be held in August 2010 in Namibia. To strengthen the lobbying capacities of SADC-CNGO coalition and strategy plans have been develop with the umbrella organization in the trade union and faith based sector.