Sally Ncube, Equality Now, addresses the Standing Committee of the SADC Parliamentary Forum (SADC PF). Credit: Equality Now

By Cecilia Russell
JOHANNESBURG, Nov 3 2025 (IPS)

Closing the chapter on child marriages is still a distant ambition in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, and despite great strides at developing and passing legislation to eradicate it, existing and emerging drivers are still at play, making youngsters vulnerable to the practice.

These were key messages from Equality Now at the Standing Committee Session of the SADC Parliamentary Forum (SADC-PF) held in Kempton Park, South Africa, from October 24 to November 1, with the theme of Enhancing the Role of Parliamentarians in Advocating for the Signing, Ratification, Accession, Domestication, and Implementation of SADC Protocols.

Equality Now, in partnership with SADC-PF, launched two policy briefs—Protection measures for children already in marriage in Eastern and Southern Africa and Addressing emerging drivers of child marriages in Eastern and Southern Africa—for Parliamentarians’ consideration during a session aimed at sensitizing and increasing their knowledge on child marriage legislation and trends.

SADC countries adopted the Model Law on Eradicating Child Marriage and Protecting Children in Marriage in 2016; however, its domestication is uneven, children already in marriages need protection, and emergent drivers of child marriage need to be factored into the legal frameworks and policies.

Equality Now’s Divya Srinivasan addresses the Standing Committee of the SADC Parliamentary Forum (SADC PF). Credit: Equality Now

Equality Now’s Divya Srinivasan elaborated on the context of the domestication of the SADC model law on child marriage, noting that seven out of 16 countries (or about 45 percent) set the minimum age of 18 without exceptions. Five out of the 16 SADC countries set the age of 18 with some exceptions, with, for example, Botswana specifically excluding customary and religious marriages from the protection.

“Four countries, or around 25 percent, including Eswatini, Lesotho, South Africa, and Tanzania, provide for the minimum age of between 15 and 18. In these countries, the minimum age of marriage is different for boys and girls, with boys invariably having a higher age limit. In addition to these differences, all four countries allow for traditional and parental consent to lower the age of marriage,” Srinivasan noted.

Bevis Kapaso from Plan International said that since 2016, child marriage has dropped by 5 percentage points, going from 40 percent of all marriages to 35 percent in 2025, making it unlikely that the region will achieve SDG target 5.3, which aims to “eliminate all harmful practices, such as child marriage, early and forced marriage, and female genital mutilation” by 2030.

Most concerning was that the decrease was mainly urban, with the practice remaining fairly entrenched in rural areas.

This meant that children in marriages should be protected, and parliamentarians sensitized the drivers that were halting progress toward ending the practice.

Lawmakers should strive to ensure that married children have the right to void their marriages, retain their rights, access the property acquired during marriage, and not have their citizenship revoked, said Nkatha Murungi, an Equality Now Consultant.

“Children (in these circumstances) often end up stateless,” she said. While child marriage was a “symptom and a driver of entrenched inequality, poverty, and rights violations,” parliamentarians had a role to play in ensuring immediate, targeted measures to protect and empower children already in marriage, including the right to custody of their offspring and access to sexual and reproductive services.

Nkatha Murungi, an Equality Now Consultant, addresses the Standing Committee of the SADC Parliamentary Forum (SADC PF). Credit: Equality Now

Murungi suggested that lawmakers should also become aware of emerging issues, such as climate change. She said that after the 2019 floods in Malawi, which affected more than 868,900 people and displaced 86,980 individuals, child marriage spiked. Parliamentarians, according to Equality Now, should integrate child marriage prevention into national climate change adaptation and disaster risk management strategies.

It also suggested a gender-sensitive approach to economic empowerment by “supporting climate-resilient economic opportunities and programs for women and girls in affected communities.”

Other concerning emergent and persistent drivers include conflict and insecurity and increased migration and displacement, which often remove children from protective oversight while persistent poverty and inequality drive children into marriage.

The policy brief also warned about the rapid growth of technology, which, “while enabling advocacy and awareness, also facilitates misinformation that normalizes harmful practices, including child marriage.”

Sylvia Elizabeth Lucas, a South African parliamentarian and Vice President of the SADC parliamentary forum, on the sidelines of the meeting, stated that protecting children is non-negotiable; she emphasized that practical legislation and implementation, guided by the “spirit of ubuntu” (compassion and humanity), can effectively protect girl children.

On the sidelines of the meeting, Murungi elaborated that it was important to look at why the traditional approaches were not resulting in the ending of child marriages. Poverty has always been considered a driver, but traditional efforts to end child marriage have not benefited those living in poverty. Education was key to empowerment, not only for keeping children in school and out of marriage but also for giving them options for their futures.

The forum was reminded that it was imperative that the SADC Model Law be updated in their countries to reflect some of these emerging drivers.

“It is also necessary for Parliament and the Executive at the national level to work together to promote anti-child marriage policies and laws and ensure that targeted policy responses fill all prevailing gaps,” the policy brief on emergent drivers concluded.

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“We stand for cooperation and partnership – rather than competition – in our relations with Africa and the world” – Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation and chair of the African Union Peace and Security Council: Credit: Courtesy of Maite Nkoana-Mashabane

By Maite Nkoana-Mashabane
PRETORIA, Aug 3 2015 (IPS)

The Freedom Charter, which turned 60 this year, envisaged that a free and democratic South Africa would be guided in its relations with the rest of the African continent and the world by a desire to seek “peace and friendship”.

Twenty-one years after the attainment of our freedom and democracy, peace and friendship are still core objectives of our foreign policy.

The African continent remains central to our foreign policy, and this approach forms the basis for our friendship, cooperation and peace efforts all over the world. We stand for cooperation and partnership – rather than competition – in our relations with Africa and the world.

The African Union Summit, held in South Africa in June 2015,  set out measures for the rollout of Agenda 2063 as a continental vision for the “Africa We Want”, an Africa that is united, peaceful, prosperous, and which takes up its rightful place in world affairs.“It is vital that the continent identifies and addresses the root causes of conflicts, with the ultimate aim of achieving sustainable peace and development. Among these, democracy must be deepened to give our people a voice they deserve”

The Summit adopted a 10-year implementation plan for Agenda 2063, a sign that African leaders are committed to giving practical expression and commit their energies, talents and resources towards the realisation of the goals that are contained in Agenda 2063, working in partnership with various stakeholders, including business and other non-governmental sectors.

While there have been remarkable developments in some areas where the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region has experienced political and security challenges, the latest of which is the political and security situation in the Kingdom of Lesotho, there needs to be ongoing political and security engagement within the region.

South Africa will continue to forge closer political, economic and social relations through targeted high-level interactions in Africa.

The realisation of “The Africa We Want” requires peace, be it in the SADC, Great Lakes, the Horn of Africa or in North Africa.

Our continent, especially in East, West and North Africa, is also battling against a spate of dreadful and cowardly acts of terrorism, which we condemn and must be defeated.

We must silence the guns. To this end, the African Capacity for Immediate Response to Crises (ACIRC), the precursor to the African Standby Force (ASF), has to be operationalised as one of our tools for African solutions to African problems. This is a Force that should evolve into a critical element that helps us stabilise and keep the peace on the continent.

South Africa, in conjunction with ACIRC, will be hosting the AMANI Africa II Field Training Exercise this year to operationalise the African Standby Force. We are pleased to be part of strengthening our continent’s military response mechanisms. This further illustrates the continent’s commitment towards self-reliance and interventions led by African nations.

Under South Africa’s leadership of the AU Peace and Security Council (PSC) for the month of July 2015, we sought to put critical issues that are at the core of the continent’s efforts to ensure peace and stability at the forefront of the PSC’s agenda, including strengthening the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA), which comprise the PSC itself, early warning capacity, peace-making and post-conflict reconstruction and development.

We also brought into the spotlight the issue of peace, justice and reconciliation, which remains a very crucial matter for our continent in promoting nation-building and reconciliation in order to enable societies, especially in post-conflict settings, to heal, reconstruct and develop.

It is vital that the continent identifies and addresses the root causes of conflicts, with the ultimate aim of achieving sustainable peace and development. Among these, democracy must be deepened to give our people a voice they deserve. Our constitutions have to reign supreme to ensure accountability and political certainty.

Some of the fundamentals towards African unity are already in place. Our continental organisations are in existence and functional. What we need, however, is more effectiveness in programme delivery and in finding innovative sources of self-financing for budgetary self-reliance.

A united, peaceful and prosperous Africa is possible and within reach. And the prevailing environment is conducive for the realisation of the objectives of Agenda 2063.

Edited by Phil Harris    

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, IPS – Inter Press Service. 

Excerpt:

South Africa’s white rhinoceros recovered from near-extinction thanks to intense conservation efforts. Credit: Kanya D’Almeida/IPS

By Mabvuto Banda
LILONGWE, Nov 12 2014 (IPS)

“We are underpaid, have no guns and in most instances are outnumbered by the poachers,” says Stain Phiri, a ranger at Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve — a 986 km reserve said to have the most abundant and a variety of wildlife in Malawi —  which also happens to be one of the country’s biggest game parks under siege by poachers.

Phiri’s fears probably sum up the reason why there has been a surge in poaching of elephants tusks and rhino horns in southern Africa in recent years.

“We can’t fight the motivated gangs of poachers who are heavily armed and ready to kill anyone getting in their way,” Phiri tells IPS.

He says he is paid a monthly field allowance equivalent to about 20 dollars dollars, which is not enough to take care of his family of six.

“My colleagues and I risk our lives everyday protecting wildlife and it seems we are not appreciated because even when we arrest poachers, the police release them,” says Phiri.

Malawi’s Wildlife Act, he says, also needs serious amendments to empower and protect ranges and to also impose stiffer penalties if the government is serious about tackling wildlife crimes.

Phiri’s story resonates across southern Africa and gives insight into the challenges the region is facing maintaining transfrontier parks and managing wildlife crime.

TRAFFIC, a wildlife trade monitoring network that looks at trade in animals and plants globally, says well-equipped, sufficiently resourced rangers are needed on the ground to protect the animals and prevent poaching in the first instance.

Dr Richard Thomas, the global communications co-ordinator of TRAFFIC, tells IPS that most countries in southern Africa have increasingly become the target for poachers because it is a region that has the most rhino and elephants in the world.

“Southern Africa is home to more rhinos than any other region in the world, with around 95 percent of all white rhino and 40 percent of all black rhino,” he says.

According to TRAFFIC, 25,000 African elephants were killed in 2011, while 22,000 were killed in 2012 and just over 20,000 in 2013. This, TRAFFIC says, is out of a population estimated between 420,000 and 650,000.

Last year, Zambia lost a total of 135 elephants to poaching. In 2012 the country lost 124 elephants and in 2011 96 elephants were killed by poachers, according Zambian Tourism and Arts Minister Sylvia Masebo.

The same is true for Mozambique. The country’s local media have quoted Tourism Minister Carvalho Muaria as saying that the elephant population has declined by about half since the early 1970s. There are currently only about 20,000 left.

The Niassa Reserve, an area of 42,000 square km and home to about two-thirds of Mozambique’s elephants, now has about 12,000 elephants. Poachers killed 500 elephants last year and have wiped out Mozambique’s rhinos, Muaria says.

TRAFFIC says between 2007 and 2013 rhino poaching increased by 7,700 percent on the continent. There are only estimated to now be 5,000 black rhino and 20,000 white rhino.

Last month, South Africa reported that it had lost 558 rhinos to poachers so far this year.

But not all hope is lost. Southern Africa is responding to the threats to its wildlife by collaborating between countries that share borders and protected areas for wildlife.

A case in point is this year’s anti-poaching agreement between Mozambique and South Africa, which aims to stop rhino poaching mostly in the Kruger National Park, which shares a border with Mozambique. The two countries agreed to share intelligence and jointly develop anti-poaching techniques to curb rhino poaching.

Mozambique, said to be a major transit route for rhino horn trafficked to Asia, this year approved a new law that will impose heavy penalties of up to 12 years on anyone found guilty of poaching rhino.

“Previous laws didn’t penalise poaching, but we think this law will discourage Mozambicans who are involved in poaching,” Muaria tells IPS.

South Africa, according to press reports, is also considering legalising the rhino horn trade in an attempt to limit illegal demand by allowing the sale of horns from rhino that have died of natural causes.

Ten years ago the 15-member SADC regional block established the Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources (FANR) directorate. Since then regional protocols, strategies and programmes have been developed and passed, among them the SADC Transboundary Use and Protection of Natural Resources Programme.

Under the SADC Transboundary Use and Protection of Natural Resources Programme is the Regional Transfrontier Conservation Area Programme (TFCA) and Malawi and Zambia have benefited from this arrangement so far.

Malawi’s Minister of Tourism and Wildlife Kondwani Nakhumwa tells IPS that the Nyika Transfrontier Conservation Area project has helped reduce poaching in Nyika National Park, the country’s biggest reserve.

The Malawi-Zambia TFCA includes the Nyika-North Luangwa component in Zambia situated on a high undulating montane grassland plateau rising over 2000m above the bushveld and wetlands of the Vwaza Marsh.

During summer a variety of wild flowers and orchids bloom on the highlands, making it one of Africa’s most scenic views unlike any seen in most other game parks.

“Through the project, Vwaza has managed to confiscate 10 guns, removed 322 wire snares and arrested 32 poachers,” Nakhumwa tells IPS.

Humphrey Nzima, the international coordinator for the Malawi-Zambia TFCA, says that since the project was launched there has been a general increase in animal populations.

“Significant increases were noted for elephant, hippo, buffalo, roan antelope, hartebeest, zebra, warthog and reedbuck,” says Nzima citing surveys conducted in the Vwaza Marsh and Nyika national park.

The escalating poaching crisis and conflicts on the ground occurring in many national parks across Africa will be one of the topics of discussion at this year’s International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Parks Congress 2014, which is currently taking place in Sydney, Australia.

“In Sydney, we will tackle these issues in the search of better and fairer ways to conserve the exceptional natural and cultural richness of these places,” says Ali Bongo Ondimba, president of Gabon and patron of the IUCN World Conservation Congress.

Edited by: Nalisha Adams

The Southern African Development Community has an ambitious infrastructure development plan to deal with the region’s deficit road, rail and ports infrastructure. Pictured here is the Democratic Republic of Congo capital, Kinshasa. Credit: Einberger/argum/EED/IPS

By John Fraser and Collins Mtika
LILONGWE/JOHANNESBURG, Aug 29 2013 (IPS)

The Southern African Development Community has had to revisit its plans to raise funding for its ambitious regional development plan in the wake of a cold-shoulder from western nations and multilateral finance institutions.

“Nobody has come forward to fund any of the projects we have outlined. I have been to Japan, the United States and the United Kingdom, among other countries,” SADC deputy executive secretary for regional integration Joao Samuel Caholo told IPS.

“What is holding us back as SADC is our inability to fund our own priorities and programmes. Therefore, a sustainable funding mechanism has to be established if we are to show that we are committed and progressing.”

However, development experts have questioned whether SADC is sufficiently mature to handle ambitious projects such as the Regional Infrastructure Development Master Plan (RIDMP), which is estimated to cost 500 billion dollars.

The RIDMP aims to rebuild the region’s deficit road, rail and ports infrastructure, increase its power-generation capacity, and establish communication and weather systems. Access to water, and providing the infrastructure for its distribution is also a priority.

“SADC has the potential and we are asking for the goodwill of all member states. Let them put in the seed money,” said the outgoing executive secretary.

The long-awaited SADC Development Fund will be modelled on the European Investment Bank and other regional funding ventures. SADC countries will initially contribute 1.2 billion dollars or 51 percent. The private sector and international partners will contribute the remaining 37 and 12 percent respectively.

Contributions will be over a five-year period starting in 2013 based on a country’s affordability, institutional capacity and other criteria, which Caholo was reluctant to divulge.

“If after five years a country fails to pay its contribution, its shares will be recalled and distributed among the complying states so that the 51 percent shareholding by African states is maintained,” Caholo said.

However, a member state will still be able to access funds for its development projects as outlined in the RIDMP.

Professor Eltie Links, the chairperson of Doing Business in Africa at South Africa’s University of Stellenbosch Business School, told IPS that “SADC as a regional body would have to think about the objectives and the management of a new financing arm.”

“The fact that the region comprises a number of countries with varied levels of development makes it essential that some or other form of assistance be given to economies that are suffering in the development sphere. This, however, can only be afforded if there is sufficient economic and financial muscle in the regional body,” Links said.

He said there was no doubt about the need for more infrastructure development in the region, but development aid channelled through SADC “will always be at the cost of the bilateral support given by these same [donor] countries to the region’s needy countries. This aid funding pool has always been finite.”

He suggested that donors would need to be convinced that SADC is now at a stage where it can handle multi-billion dollar projects.

“SADC’s record as an institution that is well organised and governed has been questioned in the past. To the extent that these perceptions of a body with challenges in governance still persist, it will not get the type of support needed for a project financing arm.

“It will also have to demonstrate the ability to administer and manage such funding and projects; something it has not been able to prove beyond any doubt.”

This view was echoed by the chief executive officer of the Frontier Advisory consultancy, Martyn Davies, who argued that the SADC secretariat should not be the body that seeks to fund projects, and should instead focus on coordinating and bringing projects to the point of bankability.

“SADC, unfortunately, does not do enough in harmonising pursuits towards regional integration, and needs to do more of the basics toward promoting the facilitation of trade and capital flow in the region,” Davies told IPS.

“Donors regularly work with SADC, but the more important engagement should be with big business, and this is currently insufficient. There needs to be greater communication from SADC as to its role and also outreach to and engagement with business in order to better implement these goals.”

Trade consultant John Mare agreed that initially SADC should play more of a coordination role.

Mare told IPS a new funding institution was not needed as “there are already too many others – but SADC can help shape bankable projects and relate them to SADC priorities.”

He added that there was a need for better capacities inside SADC to work on such projects and, especially, a greater need for coordinating mechanisms between all stakeholders at national and regional levels.

“A key challenge is to improve SADC coordination with other regional organisations in which many SADC members are also members. It is crucially important that this happens – and the tragedy is that SADC is said to have more capacity than many other regional organisations in Africa,” Mare said.

He added that while there were many potential projects in Africa, what was missing was driving mechanisms for these projects.

Davies agreed there is no shortage of projects, but suggested “the challenge lies in fostering cooperation between the respective governments and bringing the projects to bankability.”

“I have never seen a good project that cannot get funding when politics is aligned.”

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe will be inaugurated for another five-year term as president. He is pictured here at the SADC heads of state summit in Malawi on Aug. 17 where he was given a standing ovation. Credit: Kervin Victor/IPS

By Jeffrey Moyo
HARARE, Aug 22 2013 (IPS)

Robert Mugabe will be inaugurated on Thursday, Aug. 22, to serve yet another five-year term as Zimbabwe’s president after holding the post for the last 33 years. And he does so as analysts here raise concerns that a recent High Court ruling recommending the arrest of outgoing Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s lawyers on contempt of court charges could be the start of political oppression.

“The [Aug. 20] order by High Court judge Chinembiri Bhunu to arrest Tsvangirai’s lawyers may be a sign of more impending arrests as the ruling party tries to tighten its political grip here through silencing the voices of opposition political parties,” independent political analyst Masimba Kuchera told IPS.

Tsvangirai’s lawyers, Lewis Uriri, Alec Muchadehama and Tarisai Mutangi, filed a Constitutional Court application on his behalf seeking to nullify Zimbabwe’s Jul. 31 polls, saying it did not meet the Southern African Development Community’s (SADC) minimum standards for a fair vote. They argued that the election was conducted without media and security sector reforms, and that widespread vote rigging had occurred.“SADC failed Zimbabweans and set a wrong precedent for democratic elections here." -- Thabani Nyoni, spokesperson for the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition

Tsvangirai also filed two urgent petitions with the Zimbabwe High Court to access the election results to use as evidence in his Constitutional Court challenge. He is alleged to have questioned the integrity of the judiciary in these petitions.

The High Court did not rule immediately on the matter and on Aug. 16, a day before the Constitutional Court hearing, Tsvangirai withdrew his challenge as he felt he would not receive a fair hearing without the requested voting material.

However, on Aug. 20 the Constitutional Court proceeded with its ruling, saying constitutionally there was no legal tenet to allow withdrawal of the case.

And also on Aug. 20, Bhunu ruled against the two petitions filed by Tsvangirai to access the election records, and recommended the arrest of the outgoing prime minister’s lawyers.

However, Douglas Mwonzora, spokesperson for Tsvangirai’s party, the Movement for Democratic Change-Tsvangirai (MDC-T), told IPS they were not surprised by the Constitutional Court ruling and were now exploring other political means to object to the election outcome.

“Although we sought to withdraw our election challenge, the court could not allow us to do so. We are not surprised by this ruling because we saw it coming after we were denied access to voting material used on election day, which we wanted to use as evidence to prove our case of massive vote rigging by [Zimbabwe Africa National Union-Patriotic Front] Zanu-PF,” Mwonzora told IPS.

Owen Dliwayo, programme officer for the Youth Dialogue Action Network, a local democracy lobby group, said the Constitutional Court ruling was a desperate ploy to legitimise Mugabe’s disputed electoral victory.

“The court just proceeded with Tsvangirai’s case as a way of legitimising the veteran ruler’s disputed re-election. If the MDC-T had been allowed to withdraw [its case], Mugabe could have faced a legitimacy crisis in the southern African region,” Dliwayo told IPS.

Human Rights Watch’s senior researcher for the Africa division, Dewa Mavhinga, said the Constitutional Court ruling means that the MDC-T will have to raise their grievance with regional bodies.

“The court ruling leaves the MDC-T leader with options to pursue regional and international legal remedies, including with the [African Union’s] African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights,” Mavhinga told IPS.

However, the MDC-T may not have any success with SADC. Mugabe’s victory was legitimised at the SADC heads of state summit in Malawi on Aug. 17 and 18. Mugabe had been welcomed by loud cheering and two standing ovations.

Current SADC chair, Malawian President Joyce Banda congratulated Mugabe on his country’s peaceful elections and pledged the organisation’s complete support. At the summit, Mugabe was appointed deputy president, and the next summit chair, of the regional body.

“Clearly, the MDC-T may be fighting a losing battle. Mugabe now clearly heads SADC considering his political seniority to Banda, who may be soon taking instructions from the aged veteran politician. This puts the MDC-T in a difficult position,” independent political analyst Malvern Tigere told IPS.

Meanwhile, pro-democracy activists say they are disturbed by SADC’s endorsement of the election.

“SADC failed Zimbabweans and set a wrong precedent for democratic elections here, which kills people’s hopes of changing things through an electoral process,” Thabani Nyoni, spokesperson for the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, an amalgamation of 70 rights groups here, told IPS.

Claris Madhuku, director for Platform for Youth Development, a democracy lobby group here, told IPS: “Now Mugabe has been legitimised by both SADC and the Constitutional Court here. He will become more confident and will be more stubborn … on the basis that he has been given legitimacy.”

It paves the way for Mugabe to be sworn into office on Thursday, which has been declared a public holiday here.

Professor Anthony Turton, a trustee of the Water Stewardship Council of Southern Africa, says water will be key to the growth of the Southern African Development Community. Credit: John Fraser/IPS

By John Fraser
JOHANNESBURG, Aug 20 2013 (IPS)

Water remains a key component in development policy. And, as the Southern African Development Community discusses how best to develop the region, the effective management of watercourses will be key, says Professor Anthony Turton, one of the foremost experts on water policy in southern Africa and a trustee of the Water Stewardship Council of Southern Africa.

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has an ambitious 500-billion dollar regional development plan that aims to develop the region’s roads, rails, and ports. The generation of power, and establishment of communication lines and meteorological systems have also been outlined as important to the region’s development.

Turton told IPS in an interview that the SADC Water Protocol, which outlines the practical implementation of management, protection and use of the shared watercourses in the region, is regarded globally as a model example of regional water integration. Currently, about 70 percent of the region’s water is shared between two or more countries.

“Energy is a national developmental constraint for many countries, but if the hydro potential of SADC is fully realised then regional energy security will replace national deficiencies,” Turton said.

“To do this we need regional [cooperation] over water, which is why the SADC Water Protocol was the first signed after South Africa joined the grouping. The private sector is now starting to come to the party, most notably in the mining and agribusiness sectors, where water and energy constraints are being recognised.”

Excerpts of the interview follow:

Q: What is the track record of past cooperation, in terms of success on the plus side or inefficiency and corruption on the other?

A: The SADC region is often cited in the global water sector as being the best example of water cooperation in transboundary resource management. The SADC Water Protocol is the foundation document for SADC regional integration, and serves the same purpose as the original coal, iron and steel agreements played in the creation of the European Economic Community and later the European Union. Cooperation over shared water in SADC is thus high.

Regarding corruption, the best case was that of Masupha Sole who was a senior executive in Lesotho Highlands water scheme who was indicted and imprisoned for corrupt dealings involving major construction companies in the 1980s and 1990s, some of which were South African. That case became one of the world’s first in getting a conviction, so I guess it is actually a good news story."Water is to SADC as coal, iron ore and energy was to the creation of the European Economic Community (which later became the EU)." -- Professor Anthony Turton

Q: In practical terms, do any worthwhile future or potential regional water projects come to mind?

A: On a grand scale there are major inter-basin transfer projects such as the Lesotho Highlands between Lesotho and South Africa; the North-South Carrier in Botswana; the Eastern National Water Carrier in Namibia and the Cunene-Cuvelai project between Angola and Namibia. Another interesting project is the first major desalination plant at Trekopje in Namibia. I believe this will be the first of many in the SADC region.

Q: Do you believe that climate change is a real threat to the region, and if so how might it have an impact?

A: In short yes. Greenhouse gas concentration is likely to raise ambient air temperatures by as much as four and maybe even six degrees Celcius in some parts of southern Africa – assuming a global rise of two degrees Celcius is “acceptable”. This will fundamentally alter the conversion ratio of rainfall to runoff, but it will also increase evaporative losses off dams.

An appropriate mitigation strategy is Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) (also known as Managed Aquifer Recharge – MAR), now a mainstream technology in places like California, Texas and Australia, but not yet in widespread use in the SADC region. I am currently working with an Australian technology provider to introduce this into Botswana. This stores water underground rather than in dams, preventing the losses to evaporation and thus greatly improving the sustainable yield of a given system.

Q:   Why is there a need for SADC countries to cooperate over water issues?

A: The four most economically diverse countries in southern Africa are highly water constrained (South Africa, Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe), whereas some of the neighbouring states are water abundant (Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia). Water is to SADC as coal, iron ore and energy was to the creation of the European Economic Community (which later became the EU). Water cooperation in the SADC region will enable regional integration to mitigate these risks by allowing regional water, food and energy security to be guaranteed at regional rather than at national level.

Excerpt:

Sipho Mabaso selling the second-hand clothing he imports from Mozambique. He said he has been forced to pay bribes to Swaziland Revenue Authority (SRA) officials at the border. Credit: Mantoe Phakathi/IPS

By John Fraser and Mantoe Phakathi
JOHANNESBURG/MBABANE, Aug 18 2013 (IPS)

Experts are agreed that the key to unlocking the economic potential of the Southern African Development Community lies in easing cross-border flows of people, goods, capital and services.

But even if border restrictions can be lifted, a lot more needs to be done in terms of enhancing road, rail, electricity supply and other infrastructure within the region.

Chief executive officer of consultancy Africa @ Work, Dianna Games, told IPS that while moves are being made to bring down physical barriers to cross-frontier movement, informal barriers are often replacing them.

“As tariff barriers have gone down, there has been a mushrooming of non-tariff barriers – leading to delays at border posts and inefficient border posts, with the worst being the Beit Bridge border crossing between South Africa and Zimbabwe,” she said.“Quite simply, really, we need an Africa that works.” -- Dr. Rose Phillips, the South Africa-based chief executive officer of management consultancy Accenture

“This should have been sorted out long ago – and it suggests that while there is a lot of political lip service being given to trade liberalisation, the countries are as protectionist as ever.”

Even Swaziland’s cross-border traders say they are barely able to make ends meet because of the high taxes and customs duties that they have to pay to import goods through the southern African nation’s border posts. While the Swaziland Revenue Authority (SRA) charges 14 percent value added tax (VAT) for goods from South Africa, a different formula applies to those imported from Mozambique.

Dudu Fakudze sells second-hand clothing in the Swazi capital of Mbabane and goes to Mozambique every week to purchase stock.

“It’s always frustrating to bring in stock from Mozambique because the customs officials do not consider the value at which you bought the item,” Fakudze told IPS.

“We are forced to pay either E450 (46 dollars) per bale or charged between E3 and E5 (30 and 50 cents) per item for the second-hand clothing from Mozambique,” Fakudze said. “I hardly make a profit because of the amount I pay at the border.”

SRA communications director Vusi Dlamini admitted that importers pay more for goods from Mozambique compared to those from South Africa. He attributed this to the fact that Mozambique is not part of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), which Swaziland is part of, along with South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho and Botswana.

Dlamini said that according to the Harmonised Tariff Book used by all SACU countries, second-hand clothing from countries that are not part of SACU should be charged at E25/kg (2.50 dollars/kg) in custom duties plus 14 percent VAT. Goods imported from SACU countries are only charged 14 percent VAT.

But he said it appeared that the application of this provision for non-SACU countries would throw the traders out of business.

“After much engagement with hawkers’ representative, it was decided that a flat rate which provides for both customs duties and import VAT be used for a range of commonly-imported goods,” he said.

Dr. Rose Phillips, the South Africa-based chief executive officer of management consultancy Accenture, stressed the importance of SADC countries working together to tackle the region’s challenges through agreements between governments.

“They are key in promoting and facilitating the creation of new industry opportunities given, for example, that Angola and Nigeria are experiencing the highest growth rates in Africa,” she told IPS.

“The World Bank, IMF [International Monetary Fund] and the WTO [World Trade Organisation] should actively promote government legislation which reduces corruption, improving the flow of foreign and cross-regional investments, as well as creating a consolidated platform for sectoral growth.”

She said that more facilitation of trade and less reliance on aid was needed to accelerate sustainable economic development on the continent.

“Quite simply, really, we need an Africa that works.”

“Regional economic integration and intra-Africa trade are designed to benefit SADC countries and businesses through providing economies of skill and scale, predictability, common standards and regulations and transparency of information in the region – key ingredients for a strong private sector that is competitive. Further harmonisation of trade policies, stronger governance and joint regional cooperation and investment are but some of the actions needed.”

She stressed the need for more focused investment in the building and the maintenance of infrastructure, such roads, information and communications technology, rail, water and power supply.

And she also supported the SADC focus on developmental corridors.

“Road freight costs (in Africa) are two to four times higher per kilometre than in the United States, and travel times along key export corridors are two to three times longer than those in Asia.”

South African trade consultant John Mare told IPS that while donor support for infrastructure development from bodies such as the African Development Bank was welcome, “the funds must be targeted and managed in an effective manner.”

“I personally support the creation of bodies that are dedicated and linked to certain infrastructural projects, as they can help manage all aspects of the completion of such projects – along with funding management and the inclusion of the private sector in public-private partnership structures.

“This all seems to suggest regional authorities should create some suitable body such as the Maputo Development Corridor Board, but with an expanded executive mandate from the start – to work in partnership with all stakeholders and help mobilise as well as manage funding,” Mare said.

Phillips stressed that the opening up of Africa cannot just be left to governments. “The private sector plays a vital role,” she argued.

“Inclusive growth and development that advances the active economic participation of Africans is the responsibility and the reward of the public and private sector alike.”

Phillips said that the development of Africa required more than money, and that people are crucial, with human capital a key resource for African development.

“As more and more highly-educated Africans are coming home and our talent investment is bearing fruit, we are capitalising on the melting pot of talent that is uniquely African; diverse by nature, education, experience and viewpoint, and innovative by implication,” she stated.

The extent to which banking services are available freely between SADC states differs across the various products offered and the clients served by banks. Credit: Kristin Palitza/IPS

By John Fraser
JOHANNESBURG , Aug 14 2013 (IPS)

Leading bankers are concerned that the regulatory environment in some southern African states is preventing them from offering a full range of services to individuals and companies across the region.

Efficient and affordable financial services are crucial to both the development of businesses and infrastructure projects within the Southern African Development Community [SADC] – and in expanding the reach of banking to the millions who are currently outside the system.

The concerns are being raised ahead of the SADC heads of state and government meeting in Lilongwe, Malawi, on Aug. 17 and 18.

The group chief executive officer of BancABC Douglas Munatsi told IPS that, on the surface, the banking rules in SADC states are similar, as they all stem from the Basel guidelines, an international regulatory framework for banks.

“However, the reality is that some regulators don’t apply the rules the same way, on issues such as the minimum capitalisation of a bank,” he said.

“Sometimes the process is not as transparent as it should be. A country may have very positive investment rules, but labour laws can be very rigid, such as those covering expatriates in Botswana.”

The group chief executive officer of BancABC Douglas Munatsi said that banking rules in SADC states are similar on the surface. But in reality all regulators did not apply the same rules. Credit: John Fraser/IPS

He said that if a bank extended its reach across the region, it needs to be able to deploy people into new territories, but this is not always easy.

“This affects us, as we find limited skills in some places, but we are only allowed to move in a certain number of staff,” he said. “The regulatory environment in some countries is still relatively weak...Political uncertainty in countries like Zimbabwe is another matter of concern.” -- Cas Coovadia, the managing director of the Banking Association of South Africa

Mike Brown, the chief executive officer of Nedbank, one of South Africa’s biggest banks, agreed that there are inconsistencies.

“The extent to which banking services are available freely between SADC states differs across the various products offered and the clients served by banks,” he told IPS.

“In wholesale banking [bank services for companies] for example, the growing trade between SADC countries has resulted in banks developing trade finance solutions to facilitate the ease of intra-regional trade.”

Brown noted that there has been “more limited” progress in providing banking services to ordinary customers because of a failure to harmonise regulations across SADC. He also cited exchange controls as an obstacle to expansion.

Brown said that migrant workers, such as miners from neighbouring countries who work in South Africa, need to be able to send funds across borders to support their families back home.

“Companies have emerged that provide cross border money remittance solutions. These include mobile operators and money remitting companies [such as Western Union and Moneygram]. The cost of these services is still, however, high and prohibitive for many people – and not highly utilised,” he warned.

And in some cases banks are not open to providing services for rural women.

Forty-year-old Vivian Zivira, an agro-dealer from Nyanga in Zimbabwe’s Manicaland province says many women like her with communal land face significant challenges to secure loans to start income-generating programmes.

She says that this is because Zimbabwean banks take too long to process their applications, and charge high interest rates.

“It took me about six months to access my first loan because the banks wanted collateral, which I eventually provided through my husband. They gave me 5,000 dollars with 25 percent interest. Despite a very good repayment record, the bank could not increase the second loan,” Zivira told IPS.

But Cas Coovadia, the managing director of the Banking Association of South Africa, said he believed there were no major issues affecting the offering of banking services between states.

“The SADC Banking Association has been working with the SADC Committee of Central Bank Governors to develop an integrated payments and settlement system, which will improve banking across states substantially,” he told IPS.

However, he did warn that “the regulatory environment in some countries is still relatively weak. Infrastructure is another issue, particularly telecommunications. Political uncertainty in countries like Zimbabwe is another matter of concern.”

The chief operating officer of First National Bank Africa, Leonard Haynes, agreed that sound infrastructure plays a big part in a bank’s ability to make its services available, and he highlighted the importance of telecommunications and stable electricity.

He also suggested that the unavailability in some places “of personal identity documents or similar reliable forms of identification makes it a challenge to comply with ‘know your customer’ requirements.”

“Credit bureaus in some of these countries are generally not in existence, or are not reliable yet as a reference point, to provide customer information on which credit decisions can be based,” he told IPS.

Brown said that the different regulatory environments in different states “present a challenge in managing regional operations, by limiting the economies of scale that can be achieved across the border.

“For example, some countries require banking technological systems to be located in that particular country. This results in the need to duplicate infrastructure across a number of countries and increases the operating costs and eventual costs to customers,” Brown said.

He noted that some countries are changing their regulatory rules, and that this can provide both challenges and opportunities.

“For instance, Zimbabwe and Zambia have increased the minimum capital requirements for banks. An unpredictable regulatory environment contributes to the complexity of managing operations in multiple countries, particularly if this is combined with an unclear level of indigenisation.”

He said that one would expect that as the ease of doing business in the various countries improves, and the operating environment is harmonised, this would result in greater investment across the borders and more substantive regional strategies.

* Additional reporting from Michelle Chifamba in Harare.

Fisheries contribute at least 10 billion dollars to African economies every year and in Angola and Namibia they are vital economic drivers. Fishermen carry their boat in from the sea in Doring Bay, 350km north of Cape Town. Credit: Patrick Burnett/IPS

By Servaas van den Bosch
WINDHOEK, Jul 19 2013 (IPS)

Southern Africa has to settle in for another round of negotiations after talks on Economic Partnership Agreements failed to produce results in June, bringing countries closer to losing access to the lucrative European Union market.

A high-level visit to the region by EU Trade Commissioner Karel de Gught this week highlighted there are still many differences.

The troublesome trade negotiations between the EU and the Southern African Development Community (SADC)–EPA grouping that includes Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland (BLNS), as well as Angola, Mozambique and South Africa, have stretched five years past their 2008 deadline.

South Africa joined the negotiations two years back and is looking to improve the terms it has under the Trade and Development Cooperation Agreement, especially for agricultural products.

For the BLNS, which import about 80 percent of their trade from the continent’s economic powerhouse and are joined with Pretoria in the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), the entry of South Africa on the scene presents dilemmas, as well as opportunities for further negotiation and regional economic integration.

As the two economic heavyweights – South Africa and the EU – face it off, the smaller countries are stuck in the middle. From Jun. 14 to 21 senior officials talked in Brussels about clinching the long-awaited trade deal, but little progress was made.

“Basically we are where we were last year, nothing has changed in Brussels that would close the deal,” commented Rejoice Karita, senior trade advisor at the Agricultural Trade Forum, a Namibian company representing  the agricultural industry.

An impasse in the trade talks occurred between the EU and South Africa when the former indicated that the South Africans had not offered enough in terms of agricultural market access. The EU had requested market access for 67 tariff lines, but South Africa only conceded on 20 lines and put tariff rate quotas on some of them. According to negotiators, the EU responded that the offer fell short of closing the gaps in market access regulations and they needed to see improvement.

This stalemate jeopardises the discussion on agricultural safeguards, which are extremely important for the smaller economies in the region. Such safeguards allow countries to increase duties or put in place quotas if a sudden surge in imports threatens local agricultural production. The EU will need to see concessions on South African market access to give the green light for agricultural safeguards. But both parties are unwilling to move, with the South Africans keen to protect their dairy industry and processed products such as ham and confectionaries.

According to Karita, the next round of talks in September and October will be crucial. “The two blocs have strong positions and there is little movement forward. From the side of the European Commission new articles are being added to the text. Such negotiation tactics delay the process and eventually Namibia could be the odd one out,” she told IPS.

A major stumbling block is the issue of export taxes. Facing competition from China, the EU is eager to lock in raw materials, but the developing economies of Southern Africa want to be able to impose taxes to divert exports for local value addition and developing of the local economy.

European Union Trade Commissioner Karel de Gught was in Namibia and South Africa this week and said that the matter of export taxes is almost resolved with only industrial export taxes outstanding. Credit: Servaas van den Bosch/IPS

De Gught told IPS during a visit to the Namibian capital, Windhoek, that the matter of export taxes is almost resolved with only industrial export taxes outstanding. But Namibian negotiator Permanent Secretary Dr. Malan Lindeque said the issue cannot be merely ‘brushed aside’.

“Export taxes are a crucial issue for Namibia. We are primarily exporters of raw materials and need to reverse that situation. It’s crucial we move toward more explicit provisions on export taxes that meet our needs,” Lindeque told IPS.

Lindeque lamented an October 2014 deadline Europe imposed on the talks, after which Namibia will lose preferential market access.

“Because of this unfortunate deadline some circumstances cannot be properly accommodated in the talks. Still, we will only sign an agreement that is in our long term interest.”

He also warned that increased access of European agricultural goods into South Africa plays out in the Namibian market through the Southern African Customs Union.

“Already European products are extremely competitors. It is cheaper to import basic foodstuffs from Europe than to produce them locally. It is always an uphill battle for our producers to get their products on the local shelves let alone export them into the region,” he said.

In trying to reassert its grip on Southern Africa, Europe is trying to find the right tone. But the talks remain riddled with paranoia and accusations and the visit of De Gught made it clear that many stumbling blocks remain.

The latest round of talks in June were preceded by a courtesy call to Namibia by the Angel Carro, head of division for Southern Africa in the European External Action Service. The visit backfired somewhat as Carro, who came to extend the hand of friendship, was unceremoniously, and perhaps unfairly, labelled a “euro thug” by commentators when conceding in an interview that aid to Namibia would be reduced on the basis of its growing economy and upper middle-income status. In 2011 the World Bank reclassified Namibia as a middle-income country as its per capita income is 4,700 dollars. World Bank figures show that growth reached 4.9 percent in 2012.

The status of the former colonial masters has been dented in the region since the Eurozone crisis and some of the countries negotiating in the SADC–EPA, most notably Botswana, are faring much better than a couple of the EU member states.

On the other hand, growth in South Africa is stalling, coming in at a modest 2.5 percent last year, half that of Namibia. With a weakening exchange rate and investors shunning the country, because of labour unrest and political uncertainty, South Africa is painfully reminded it is still a deal-taker in the global economy and does not yet set the agenda for the continent.

By Jinty Jackson
MAPUTO, Jun 28 2013 (IPS)

Mounds of sand and rubble are what are left of sections of Maputo’s beachfront road as bulldozers, manned by Chinese construction workers, tear up the road that is being rebuilt. Southern Africa is under construction and the reminders are everywhere.

Amid the dust and earth-moving equipment, delegates from across the southern African region are gathering in the Mozambican capital Jun. 27-28 at the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Infrastructure Investment meeting to try to galvanise the funding needed for an ambitious cross-border infrastructure network that will help make the region globally competitive.

Over the next 15 years SADC wants to set in motion an extensive revamping of existing infrastructure as well as building new logistics, including hydro-dams, power transmission lines, roads and railways, while boosting internet connectivity and broadband access across the region.

An estimated 64 billion dollars are urgently needed to fund the first phase of an “Infrastructure Master Plan” SADC adopted at a 2012 summit in Maputo and wants to start putting into motion. Over the next 15 years the total cost of infrastructure projects could run to 500 billion dollars.

“This number can be frightening, but if we do not invest now we will jeopardise our trade capacity,” SADC secretary-general Tomaz Salomao admitted. “We have decided to do it now.”

Poor infrastructure is seen as the biggest hurdle to economic growth across the region. Investors complain that weak infrastructure is one of the main pitfalls to operating in the region. In 2009, the World Bank estimated that the “infrastructure gap” cut two percent off national growth figures in the region per year.

How SADC will raise money to fund what is needed is the big question. Several countries have already set aside big amounts for infrastructure; South Africa committed 400 billion dollars in 2012. Regional integration is an obvious way to cut the cost of doing business for everyone.

For development financiers like the Development Bank of Southern Africa, the assurance that governments are prepared to work together on major cross-border projects is half the battle won.

“For us as bankers that is a critical part. When we look at projects the first thing we look at is, does it have sponsor support from various governments? If you have that, you have ticked a major box,” the general manager of the Development Bank of Southern Africa’s Project Fund, Mohale Rakgate, told IPS.

The needs are enormous, and nowhere more so than in the power grid. The region lags behind West and East Africa in terms of access to electricity. Only 24 percent of its residents have access to electricity, and in rural areas the proportion is closer to five percent.

Malawi, Angola and Tanzania have yet to be connected to a common power pool, the Southern African Power Pool, set up by national electricity companies in 1995 to create a common market for power in the region. Bringing them in forms part of SADC’s short-term infrastructure development goals.

Southern Africa is better placed than ever before to be able to finance its more ambitious dreams. Countries in the region have been remarkably resilient in the face of the global economic slow-down. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the region registered robust growth of 5.1 percent in 2012, which could accelerate to 5.4 percent this year.

Demand for the region’s commodities is partially driving growth, according to the IMF.

But that is only part of the story. Southern Africa is more politically stable than it has been for decades, young people are increasingly taking advantage of new economic opportunities – particularly those presented by information technology – and prudent fiscal policies by governments have helped buffer countries from the crisis and helped build up foreign reserves

“These countries now have quite a lot of capacity to raise debt. The question is how much and how sustainable is it?” Graham Smith, programme manager for Trademark Southern Africa, a United Kingdom-funded programme to help boost regional integration, told IPS.

An obvious source of infrastructure funding is the African Development Bank. Infrastructure already makes up over 30 percent of its portfolio, but governments and the bank alone are not up to the task of raising the kind of finance that is now needed.

The bank is in the process of setting up the “Africa 50” fund that it hopes will be able to leverage some 100 billion dollars to finance infrastructure on the continent. The timing for the initiative is right, according to the bank. Quantitative easing in Europe and the United States will make infrastructure investments in the developing world more attractive.

“You are looking at mid-single to double-digit returns over a long period of time such as for roads or power projects,” the African Development Bank’s regional director Ebrima Faal told IPS.

Investment will not only come from outside, but from the continent itself, Faal believes.

“We see tremendous potential for pension funds. We also see tremendous potential for central bank reserves and other sovereign funds investment,” he said.

Beyond development financing, SADC is setting a great deal of store in building what it calls “public private partnerships”.

In Mozambique, the lack of rail infrastructure is hampering a coal rush in the northeastern Tete province. Brazilian coal company Vale had little choice but to finance the revamping of an old rail track through Malawi and down to a deep-water port on Mozambique’s coast, in order to get its coal out. The company said it would spend 6.5 billion dollars on railway and port construction.

“Sometimes people think it is easy. It is not easy. For each dollar we invest in our mine we have to invest another in infrastructure to enable the project to be feasible,” Vale’s chief executive officer in Mozambique, Ricardo Saad, said.

Thanks to Vale’s line, landlocked Malawi will be able to move its goods more easily to the coast as extra capacity is reserved for passengers and goods. And the line offers possibilities of linkages to Zimbabwe and Zambia.

The region’s rail network is a mishmash of poorly maintained, insular systems that need to be painstakingly revamped and connected to each other for development corridors to become realities.

And concessionaires are seldom prepared to take all the risks involved in building infrastructure unless they are involved in high-yield activities like coal mining.

“Ports and power projects are the most likely to attract public-private partnership because you can ring-fence a long-term revenue stream,” said Smith. Much of the rest, he added, “will be public-sector financed.”

China’s deepening role in the infrastructure sector was a matter not widely discussed in Maputo. The Asian giant already has a 20 percent market share of infrastructure contracting, according to a 2012 report by business consultants Ernst & Young. Chinese loans for infrastructure are growing and in 2011 close to 15 billion dollars in Chinese commitments were secured for infrastructure projects continent-wide.

“We are considering collaborating in transport and power projects. It is a big market from a business point of view,” Jon Lee from China’s Development Bank told IPS. The bank’s presence in Maputo was the only sign of a real and burgeoning Chinese engagement on the continent.

“We are going to engage China big time,” SADC’s director of infrastructure and services, Remmy Makumbe, told IPS. “Our only concern about China is that it is mostly involved in bilateral arrangements rather than regional arrangements. We don’t have a problem as long as they engage in bilateral projects that address a regional framework.”

Happy Shongwe, a smallholder farmer from rural Maphungwane in eastern Swaziland, shows off her seeds. Credit: Mantoe Phakathi/IPS

By Mantoe Phakathi
MAPHUNGWANE, Swaziland, Jun 15 2013 (IPS)

The overcast sky is a sign that it might rain, and Happy Shongwe, a smallholder farmer from rural Maphungwane in eastern Swaziland, is not exactly happy.

Inside a roofless structure made of cement blocks sit different types of legumes – peanuts, jugo beans, mung beans, cow peas and ground nuts – which she has placed in separate containers. “Women also form the majority of farmers and it makes sense to ensure that women have enough inputs to do their farming.” -- FAO assistant representative Khanyisile Mabuza

“If I don’t cover the seeds, the rain will spoil them and they will fail the test at the laboratory,” Shongwe tells IPS. “I have to cover the seeds with a sail to ensure that the rain doesn’t get to them.”

The unfinished structure is where she keeps her harvest for drying, before taking the legumes to the storage containers. An award-winning smallholder farmer who cultivates nothing but legume seeds for planting, Shongwe says the crop is drought tolerant and grows well in the dry parts of the country.

“I always monitor the weather because the little rainfall we get from this part of the country is enough to germinate the seeds,” she says. “You just have to know your weather so that you plant at the right time.”

She is preparing to take samples of her harvest to the Ministry of Agriculture’s Seed Quality Control laboratory for testing. If her seeds are of good quality, then she’ll package and label her stock before it is ready for sale.

“I get a certificate that shows that my seeds germinate at the required standard, therefore good for planting,” explains Shongwe.

One of her major clients is the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations. FAO buys the seed for the organisation’s demonstration plots to promote conservation agriculture.

“FAO has placed an order of one tonne of ground nuts from this harvest which we are supposed to supply by September,” says Shongwe.

On her own she cannot supply such a big order from her four-hectare farm, so she works with a group of 10 women calling themselves the Lutsango Palata Cooperative. In fact, she chairs the association of women she has mobilised herself to go into seed production.

“We make a lot of money from selling the seed inputs compared to farmers who sell for food,” says Shongwe.

The National Maize Corporation buys a 50kg bag of maize at 13 dollars while a 5kg bag of nuts sells for 14 dollars.

There are about 10 associations of women doing similar work, bringing the number of farmers in this project to over 100, all from the drought-stricken Lubombo Region. These farmers produce indigenous seeds which they sell within their communities before offering them countrywide.

“It used to be very difficult for farmers to come across seed inputs for legumes because these are marginalised crops,” according to FAO assistant representative Khanyisile Mabuza.

Mabuza said FAO asked the Ministry of Agriculture to train women farmers in seed production and entrepreneurship back in the 1990s when the drought started. In 2008, FAO introduced Input Trade Fairs (ITF) where poor farmers received 72 dollars in vouchers from FAO to buy farming inputs.

“The community-based seed producers were also invited as vendors at the ITFs and that is where more women started joining in,” Mabuza tells IPS.

In the Kingdom, she says, legumes are considered “women’s crops” and men ignore them. As a result, there was a deliberate effort by FAO to target women to grow seed for themselves for these marginalised crops, which are very important in balancing the diet.

“Women also form the majority of farmers and it makes sense to ensure that women have enough inputs to do their farming,” says Mabuza.

She adds that there was a deliberate effort by FAO to target the dry areas, because legumes tend to withstand drought. For many years, farmers have been persistent in their cultivation of maize, which is the country’s staple food, although they received no yield because of the drought.

“We want our farmers to understand that because of climate change, drought is going to be a part of their lives and they must now learn to adapt,” according to Mabuza.

Farmers from the drought-stricken areas can sell their legumes so that they can afford to buy maize from their counterparts based in wetter areas.

“We’re very happy with the progress these women farmers are making,” says Mabuza.

The community-based seed producers are providing an alternative to the escalating costs of hybrid seed products sold by two multinational companies in the country, Seed Co. and Pannar. According to Seed Quality Control operations manager, Chris Mthethwa, many subsistence farmers do not have enough resources to buy the expensive hybrids.

“The advantage with indigenous seeds is that you can replant their offspring, yet that is not possible with hybrids,” according to Mthethwa.

He said the big companies are also reluctant to sell indigenous seeds because they are not as profitable as their hybrid counterparts. That is why the government, with support from FAO, decided to mobilise smallholder farmers to produce the indigenous seeds, whose taste many Swazis prefer.

There is a possibility that seeds from the smallholder farmers will be exported under the Food Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN) Harmonised Seed Security Programme (HASSP).

Swaziland is among four countries in this programme – Zambia, Malawi and Zimbabwe – working on aligning their seed legislation with the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Seed Regulatory System. According to HASSP programme manager Dr. Bellah Mpofu, this pilot project will ensure easy movement within the SADC region of seeds produced from the participating countries.

“This will improve the access to and availability of quality seed to smallholder farmers,” he tells IPS.

This means by the end of the project this year, Shongwe, who won the 2011 FANRPAN Civil Society Policy Movers and Shakers Award, can expand her customer base.

“I can’t wait to start exporting,” she says proudly.