POLITICS-SOUTHERN AFRICA:
Regional Parliament Too Costly?
Rosemary Nalisa
WINDHOEK, June 5 (IPS) - The prospect of a regional parliament in Southern
Africa appeared less certain Friday (Jun. 4), when a five-day meeting of the
Southern African Development Community's Parliamentary Forum wrapped up in
the Namibian capital, Windhoek.
Earlier, speakers at the meeting had simply bemoaned the lack of progress
in setting up a regional parliament. Proposals were made last year in the
Zambian town of Livingstone to transform the Parliamentary Forum into a
Southern African legislature.
The eight-year-old forum, which is open to members of parliament (MPs)
from all countries in the 14-member Southern African Development Community
(SADC), currently includes representatives from 12 parliaments.
However, the focus of discussion shifted on Friday evening after a
document was circulated to delegates suggesting that the regional
legislature should be put on hold until feasibility studies had been done
for it.
The document, which originated at the SADC secretariat in Botswana's
capital, Gaborone, was issued just before the closing ceremonies of the
meeting got underway.
"It is important for member states to have an idea of the financial
burden that the establishment of a parliament entails," it said, adding that
consultations with SADC countries had indicated it was too early for the
region to have a parliament, and that SADC should concentrate instead on
strengthening the African Union (AU). (The AU was established in 2000 as a
successor to the Organisation of African Unity in a bid to promote greater
African participation in the international economy, amongst other things.)
The document also stated that no recommendation would be made by the
secretariat to the SADC Council of Ministers about the creation of a
regional parliament.
Delegates to the Windhoek meeting reacted with anger.
Mose Tjitendero, Speaker of the Namibian Parliament, said the
Parliamentary Forum would continue negotiations with SADC leaders to ensure
that a regional parliament was established.
He also noted that the various heads of state had already given the
parliament their blessing, citing statements by Namibian President Sam
Nujoma at the opening of the meeting in which he noted that the creation of
a SADC parliament was long overdue. Nujoma also indicated that Namibia was
prepared to host the institution.
Tjitendero's views were echoed by his Zambian counterpart, Amusa
Mwanamwambwa. "We believe that this process is unstoppable and lobbying
should continue as planned," he said.
In an earlier address to the meeting, the Speaker of Lesotho's parliament
- Ntlhoi Motsamai - said that a regional legislature would speed up
development in Southern Africa.
"Without a parliament at the regional level, our region risks being left
behind. SADC is one of the few regions in Africa that does not have a
regional parliament," she noted. Motsamai also serves as Chairwoman of the
Parliamentary Forum.
South African Parliamentary Speaker Baleka Mbete had similar sentiments. "The parliament will be in the position to carry out the mandates of the
people and further project SADC as an area where things happen," she told
delegates.
The Windhoek gathering also discussed the need to increase the
participation of women in the region's governments, as well as the phasing
out of visa requirements to facilitate free movement of people in Southern
Africa.
In addition, MPs were urged to step up their involvement in the fight
against the AIDS pandemic, which has taken a particularly heavy toll on the
region. A joint communiqué stressed the need for MPs to speak out on HIV
prevention, treatment for AIDS, discrimination against those who were
HIV-postive û and other issues.
The statement expressed concern at the high cost of the anti-retroviral
drugs used to treat AIDS - medicines which are beyond the reach of many
citizens in the SADC region.
The meeting further called on SADC member states to come up with a common
position on the safety of genetically modified (GM) organisms, and
recommended that GM grain should not be imported into the region unless it
was processed.
Zambia ignited a controversy in 2002 when it refused to accept GM grain
that had been donated as food aid to ease the effects of a drought which
brought much of Southern Africa to the brink of famine. At the time,
President Levy Mwanawasa described the grain as "poison". Zimbabwe and
Mozambique were also said to be concerned about GM maize, notably the fact
that it could contaminate their own, non-GM crops.
The Parliamentary Forum agreed to send a high powered delegation to the
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to assess the situation in that country.
This came as reports of violence were emerging from eastern DRC, where
army mutineers were said to have taken control of Bukavu û capital of the
Sud Kivu province, and an important town in the region.
The mutineers, led by General Laurent Nkunda, seized Bukavu on Wednesday,
and were also reported to have their sights set on other towns. Nkunda
previously served in the rebel Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD), but
became part of the DRC's transitional government when civil war in the
country was brought to an end last year.
RCD fighters were further said to have clashed with Mai Mai militias
north-east of Bukavu, Friday. The Mai Mai also fought against the RCD during
the five-year civil conflict.
The next meeting of the SADC Parliamentary Forum will be held in Tanzania
in November this year. (END/2004)
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