SA: Time to rethink affirmative action

Adam Habib, 28 October 2007, Mail and Guardian

South Africa confronts a central political dilemma: how to advance redress to deal with historical injustice while simultaneously building a single national cosmopolitan identity. This is the defining element of the national question.

Attempts were made to grapple with this issue at the ANC's national general council meeting in 2005 and the party's policy conference last year, but the outcomes were unsatisfactory on both occasions. The forthcoming conference at Polokwane gives the ruling party another opportunity to tackle the issue -- and it should, because the national question is one of the great dilemmas of our time. It lies at the heart of much of our contemporary debate, including affirmative action, economic policy and skills shortages.

Of all the approaches that have been advanced to address this political dilemma, the most cynical is the colour-blind perspective, which suggests that South Africa has realised an equality of opportunity, and government should not be involved in initiatives that recognise racial differences among citizens. Advocates of this view are hostile to affirmative action and redress, and assume that an equal playing field already exists.

But there is ample evidence to suggest the contrary. Indeed, the discrimination suffered by black people in the past crucially influences their life chances in the present. As a result, not only is there a moral but also a pragmatic and instrumental rationale for affirmative action. Without redress, inequalities will continue to replicate in a racial form, forever holding South Africa hostage to polarised politics of fractiousness and ethnic mobilisation.

What is the solution? Perhaps the best place to start is by focusing on the conceptual foundation of the formal affirmative action programme. This perspective recognises that, though apartheid discriminated differentially on a racial basis, women and citizens with disabilities were also disadvantaged. Affirmative action therefore includes among its beneficiaries Africans, coloureds, Indians, women and citizens with disabilities. But it is on the racial aspects of this redress where the greatest demographic advancement has been made.

The existing affirmative action programme has been subjected to withering criticism from a variety of quarters, including from voices within the ruling party and its alliance partners Cosatu and the SACP. Its current implementation is seen to have three limitations.

First, the redress strategy has implicitly assumed an equal playing field within the black population, which is simply not the case. Inequality among blacks has been rising for nearly two decades. The net effect is that more well-off sections of the black population monopolise the benefits of redress initiatives.

Second, the implementation of redress has in some cases compromised service delivery to the poorest and most marginalised. Note that I have qualified this statement by using the term "implementation", because the legislation on redress is clear that, in the event of "equity" candidates not being found for positions in the public service, it is illegal to deny these to other citizens. Yet anyone familiar with the public service will know that this has become a widespread practice.

Moreover, a range of news reports suggest that positions in the public service are not being filled even though competent white candidates are available. This is because key performance indicators in the public service are determined in quantitative statistical terms without serious assessment of the availability of equity candidates on the market. Managers in the public service are conditioned not to fill positions rather than compromise diversity proportions. The result is that in sector after sector, service delivery is severely compromised with the consequences played out in the poorest communities.

Finally, the implementation of redress has had the unintended effect of heightening racial consciousness and alienating a section of the population. However unfair certain business people, politicians and public officials may deem this to be, the alienation has to be addressed openly, if only because the Constitution commits the nation to the development of a national cosmopolitan identity, and mandates the state to act in ways that facilitate this outcome. A redress mechanism must be developed that can simultaneously tackle historical injustices while enabling the development of a South African identity.

This would need to be established with criteria that do not reinforce society's historical divisions and are compatible with a cross section of citizens' views about what constitutes "fair" and "just". Redress built on such shared principles is necessary so that bonds of social solidarity can be fostered throughout the population.

The most obvious way to do this is to use class as the defining criteria by which to advance redress. This idea is supported by the DA, which conceives of a charity-oriented intervention directed at alleviating poverty. This, however, would not transform the structural features that tend to reproduce racial inequality. Some progressive intellectuals also recommend a class-based affirmative action because they see it as more effective in achieving the Constitution's desired ends.

Yet the class-based affirmative action strategy has two significant weaknesses. First, it implicitly assumes that economic empowerment is the only element required in the affirmation of historically oppressed communities. But is not psychological liberation as essential as economic empowerment? Second, however well implemented, class-based affirmative action will simply not deracialise particular sectors of society.

For example, the deracialisation of corporate ownership will not automatically result from class-based redress. Given the racial profile of poverty, it could deracialise the lower echelons of the class hierarchy, but one cannot assume that it will automatically do so for the upper echelons of the corporate structure. And deracialising this upper echelon of the class hierarchy is as important a moral and strategic imperative as is eroding the correlation between race and poverty.

This suggests that no redress programme founded on a single defining criteria, whether race or class, is likely to succeed in realising all of our constitutional obligations.

South Africa requires an initiative constructed on more nuanced terms, incorporating race and class. This could take two forms, one of which is already under consideration in official circles and being partially implemented. This is a programme with a race-based redress agenda that is heavily qualified by material criteria. An example is the broad-based BEE programme. Under pressure from the ANC branches and the party's alliance partners, the government has been compelled to broaden the benefits of its racially based economic empowerment agenda. Take, for example, the recent sale of MTN shares to black citizens, where a maximum of R50 000 worth of shares could be bought by any one individual. Similarly, the recently announced Sasol black empowerment deal is skewed in favour of its employees. In both cases there is an attempt to broaden the benefits of the economic empowerment to lower-middle and working-class individuals.

An alternative could be a class-based redress agenda supplemented by more specific race-based initiatives. This would primarily be to the benefit of South Africa's poor, who are almost entirely black. In effect, the programme would have the twin effects of deracialising and eroding poverty.

Where objectives such as the deracialisation of corporate ownership are unlikely to be affected by this programme, specific race-based initiatives could be implemented. There is already an example of this in the sector charters, which allocate targets for black ownership, management, skills development and so on. The lever encouraging companies to implement these charters is continued eligibility for government business, procurement and licences for the mining of the nation's national resources. The benefit of this comprehensive redress agenda is the ability to focus limited state resources on poor and marginalised communities, while using government's regulatory powers to condition the private sector to use its resources to deracialise the market economy.

I favour a nuanced, class-defined redress programme, supplemented by race-based initiatives, rather than the race-based programme qualified by class criteria that is now under consideration and partly being implemented. Both could have similar deracialisation, empowerment and poverty alleviation effects. The latter initiative, however, is more vulnerable to reinforcing racial identities, which would be an obstacle to building a non-racial society. The former would help to realise the twin objectives of the Constitution: to effect redress for those who have been historically disadvantaged, while simultaneously building a cosmopolitan, non-racial nation.

Adam Habib is deputy vice-chancellor for research, innovation and advancement at the University of Johannesburg. This article is based on an HSRC study on redress and citizenship in South Africa co-edited by Habib and Kristina Bentley.

SA slips in global competitiveness index

I-Net Bridge, Business Day, 31 October 2007

SA HAS slipped in the global competitiveness index ranks from 36th position last year to 44th this year, according to the World Economic Forum (WEF).

When compared with the same countries included in the index last year, SA would be at position 41. The countries included in the index this year differ to those of the previous year, as two countries that were included last year - Angola and Malawi - are excluded this year due to lack of survey data.

In addition Serbia and Montenegro are now treated as two individual countries after being treated as a single entity last year. Several other countries were also added to the list this year.

Only one other sub-Saharan African country is included in the top half of the rankings - Mauritius - ranked in 60th position. Several countries from the region are positioned at the very bottom. SA has the same competitiveness score - 4,42 - as Bahrain, ranked 43.

Several countries in the Middle East and North Africa region are in the upper half of the rankings, led by Israel (17), Kuwait (30), Qatar (31), Tunisia (32), Saudi Arabia (35) and the United Arab Emirates (37).

The US tops the overall ranking in the global competitiveness report, while Switzerland is in second position followed by Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Finland and Singapore, respectively.

Chile is the highest ranked country in Latin America, followed by Mexico and Costa Rica. China and India continue to lead the way among large developing economies.

"The United States confirms its position as the most competitive economy in the world. The efficiency of the country’s markets, the sophistication of its business community, the impressive capacity for technological innovation that exists within a first-rate system of universities and research centres, all contribute to making the United States a highly competitive economy," said Xavier Sala-i-Martin, Professor of Economics at Columbia University and Co-Editor of the Report.

"However, some weaknesses, particularly related to macroeconomic imbalances, continue to present a risk to the country’s overall competitiveness potential, and to the global economy as a whole. This danger has most recently been demonstrated by the fallout and contagion caused by the country’s sub-prime mortgage crisis and the ensuing global credit crunch," said Sala-i-Martin.

The rankings are calculated from both publicly available data and the executive opinion survey, a comprehensive annual survey conducted by the WEF together with its network of partner institutes in the countries covered by the report. This year, more than 11 000 business leaders were polled in a record 131 countries, the WEF said.

SA : Trade deficit narrows as exports decline

Business Day, 31 October 2007

THE trade deficit narrowed to R4,3bn last month from R9,1bn in August, partly on a sharp fall in oil shipments, official data showed today.

The decline will alleviate some immediate pressure on an ailing current account, the shortfall of which stood at 6,5% of gross domestic product in the second quarter of the year. The South African Revenue Service (SARS) said both exports and imports fell compared with the previous month, with mineral product shipments, which includes oil, declining 34% month-on-month.

However, analysts said the smaller shortfall may only be temporary, with the gap expected to widen sharply over the next three years on a big jump in imports to feed a massive government infrastructure spending programme.

"If we look at the overall figure it is definitely a smaller deficit than we had expected," ETM economist Russell Lamberti said.

"But the overall trend continues to show what we already know, that we are going to continue to post fairly large deficits for some time to come."

The government and its state-owned entities plan to spend more than R400bn to upgrade infrastructure, with much of the machinery and products likely to be sourced from abroad.

The National Treasury yesterday forecast the current account deficit to widen to 7,8% of GDP by 2010.

SARS said exports declined by 6,2% last month compared to August to R39,81bn, while imports fell by 14,4% to R44,16bn.

Exports of base metals declined by 13% month-on-month, while machinery imports were also down 13% and vehicles and aircraft imports 24%, or R1,5bn, lower.

Market reaction to the data was muted with the gap roughly in line with the consensus R6,4bn deficit, and the data notoriously volatile. The cumulative trade deficit for the first nine months of the year was R55,1bn compared to R42,5bn during the same period last year, SARS said.

SA Budget for 2008

Mariette le Roux, 29 October 2007 -Sapa/AFP

As South Africa's economic growth slows and inflation heats up, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel will present a medium-term budget on Tuesday with decidedly less to smile about than six months ago.

While analysts expect Manuel to be more cautious in his revenue predictions, they believe past prudence and a R5-billion budget surplus announced in February has left him with enough room to manoeuvre.

"We are certainly facing slower growth. GDP growth is expected to be well below 4 percent next year," said T-Sec economist Mike Schussler.

"This is going to change things. The minister is going to be in a slightly more difficult position."
As a result, Manuel is apt to cut his predictions for 2008/09 revenue income.

"The revenue prediction is likely to be conservative," said economist Jac Laubscher of Sanlam. "But the minister won't need to cut back on spending plans. He has enough fuel in the tank."

Presenting his annual budget in February, Manuel posted the country's first budget surplus in recent memory and forecast 5 percent annual economic growth to the end of the decade.

He also envisaged another surplus for the coming fiscal year.

But gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 5,6 percent in the final quarter of 2006, and 5 percent for the year overall, has since slowed to 4,5 percent in the second quarter of 2007.

And consumer inflation minus mortgage costs (CPIX) has quickened to 6,7 percent in September from 4,9 percent in February.

The CPIX figure is used by South Africa's central bank to measure inflation performance against the target of between 3 percent and 6 percent.

With CPIX consistently exceeding the target since April, up from a low of 3,1 percent in February 2005, the Reserve Bank has hiked its prime lending rate by a total of 3,5 percent since June last year to curb spiralling inflation.

Schussler predicts Manuel might shift his spending emphasis away from social welfare to investments for economic growth such as transport infrastructure.

He also hoped some money would go towards the erection of new power stations to boost the production side of the economy.

Laubscher said it appeared inevitable that the government would have to push money into parastatals like electricity provider Eskom and transport entity Transnet to prevent the cost of much-needed infrastructure expansion being passed on to consumers - thus also feeding inflation.

"Economic spending has to grow faster than social spending," he argued.

Nico Kelder of asset management company Efficient Group said Manuel had no major concerns as revenue, though projected to be somewhat lower, was still growing faster than inflation.

"The minister himself had predicted we will see slower economic growth by this time.

"While the economic circumstances might be somewhat more difficult, he has budgeted well for it and has done well in earlier Budgets to resist the temptation of cutting taxes and hiking spending to unsustainable levels."

The opposition Democratic Alliance urged Manuel to cut company taxes, give more money for health care, education and skills development and reduce the state's exposure to loss-making parastatals.

Such steps would boost job-creating economic growth, said DA finance spokesperson Kobus Marais.

Failure to do so, he said, would testify to "a government that has become a sitting duck, entrapped by the demands of the populist left ... ahead of the governing party's December national conference and leadership elections."

The ANC goes to its elective conference at year-end with President Thabo Mbeki likely to seek a third term at the helm of the party. Seen as a shrewd administrator running a successful economy, Mbeki is often criticised for being too business-friendly by the ANC's left-wing allies who are backing ANC deputy leader Jacob Zuma.

SA Trade balance : 'No balance, no lasting growth'

Slindile Khanyile, 30 October 2007, Business Day

South Africa's economic growth would not be sustainable if it continued to be driven mainly by the exports of raw materials and an emerging black class that consumed mostly imported goods, deputy president Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka has warned.

Speaking yesterday at the official opening of the first SA Trade and Investment Conference and Exhibition, Mlambo-Ngcuka called for a balance and diversification of the country's economic growth engines.

"South Africa is a nation at work," she said. "Last year all our provinces grew by an average 3 percent of gross domestic product per annum and indicators are that we can grow faster and move robustly.

"But we need a balanced approach," she added. "We cannot rely on exports of raw minerals and consumption of imported goods."

The economy has been growing an average 5 percent over the past three years. August trade figures from the SA Revenue Service show an increase of 0.8 percent in exports to R42.5 billion.

South Africa mainly exports gold and other metals, diamonds, cars and machinery.

This growth has been widely credited to South Africa's black middle class, which has amassed considerable buying power.

Azar Jammine, chief economist at Econometrix, was encouraged to hear Mlambo-Ngcuka addressing these weaknesses. "She is correct to highlight these weaknesses because though we have had a boom in the economy in the last three years, not everything is as it should be, and that is because our skills base is not sufficient to produce more locally.

"Even the growth of the black middle class goes hand in hand with skills, because if we do not develop enough skills, in the long run, they will not be able to take on jobs."

Mlambo-Ngcuka reiterated the government's support for black economic empowerment, saying that it was a necessary ingredient for the country's economic growth.

"We cannot have a part of the country where some people do not participate in the economy," she said.

In support of Mlambo-Ngcuka's comments, Tshediso Matona, director-general at the department of trade and industry, said the codes of good practice, which were finalised earlier this year, had spurred empowerment activity.

Matona said: "We are also seeing a lot of [empowerment] activity in the mining and telecommunications sector as well, and there are a lot of multinationals who are taking it up. These are deals which are larger and more broad based."

The SA Trade and Investment Conference, which aims to attract more foreign investment to the country, is being attended by more than 500 delegates from 16 countries.

La représentante européenne à Maurice reprécise certains points des négociations pour les APE

APA News, 05/10/2007

La représentante de la Commission Européenne (CE) en Ile Maurice, Mlle Claudia Wiedey, est revenue vendredi sur certains points des négociations pour un Accord de Partenariat Economique (AE) entre les 16 pays membres de l’Afrique de l’Est et l’Afrique Australe (ESA) et l’Union Européenne (UE).

Au cours d’une réunion à Port Louis, avec Rama Sithanen, vice Premier ministre et ministre des Finances et du Développement Economique, Mlle Wiedey a expliqué qu’en prélude à la rencontre ESA-UE prévue les 22 et 23 octobre à Madagascar, une autre rencontre se tiendrait mardi prochain à Mahe, la capitale des Seychelles, en vue d’élaborer des propositions alternatives, au cas où les négociations en terre malgache viendraient à échouer.

A la réunion de Mahe participeront des représentants de la CE et des pays membres de la Commission de l’Océan Indien (IOC). Maurice serait représenté par son minister des Affaires Etrangères et du Commerce International, M. Madan Dulloo.

Le vice premier ministre mauricien a qualifié de « très importante », la réunion de Mahe en ce qu’elle servira de "solution de rechange" pour les membres de l’IOC.

M. Sithanen a indiqué, en outre, qu’au cours d’une conversation téléphonique jeudi, avec le Secrétaire général du Marché Commun de l’Afrique de l’Est et de l’Afrique Australe (Comesa), M. Erastus Mwencha, ce dernier lui a dit que les membres de l’ESA ne devraient pas s’empresser de signer un accord avec l’UE, qui, à la longue, pourrait révéler des anomalies.

M. Mwencha aurait également déploré l’absence du sucre sur la liste des produits de l’ESA ayant libre accès sur le marché européen.

Le Mozambique consulte le secteur privé sur le développement de la SADC

APA News - 01/08/2007

Mozambique has begun a massive consultation campaign with the private sector including the civil society in a bid to identify activities and grey areas for development by the Southern African Development Community (SADC), sources told APA here Monday.

International relations director in the foreign affairs ministry, Cerina Mussa, told reporters in Maputo that a similar action was being undertaken in all member-states of the SADC.

The aim is to enable Southern African countries to rid off political and economic difficulties and a reduced debt burden by 2015.

Heavy indebtedness is particularly believed to be contributing to the slow flow of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into the countries of the region.

SADC, which has the potential to become one of the fastest markets in the world, has struggled to attract foreign investment crucial to kick-start economic growth, Mussa said.

The SADC is eager to solve this by widening the region’s market potential by implementing a free-trade accord and move towards a harmonised monetary area that would encourage growth, she explained.

“For example, Mozambique has a bilateral agreement with Malawi and we know that maize produced in Tete (northern Mozambique) is consumed in Malawi and we can take advantage of that because Malawi does not have the production conditions we have in terms of land extension,” she said.

Mussa explained that consultations underway are also aimed at seeking ways of curbing the illegal trade of crops within Mozambique’s neighbours including Zambia, Zimbabwe and Tanzania and make these deals more formal.

SADC is planning establish a Free Trade Zone by 2008, Customs Unions by 2010 and a Common Market by 2015, as well as a common currency billed for 2018.

The 14-member SADC comprises Angola, Botswana, South Africa, Swaziland, Mozambique, Tanzania, DR Congo, Namibia, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Madagascar, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

La Banque Mondiale accorde US$ 114 millions / la SADC

APA News - 21/09/2007

The US-based World Bank has approved US$144 million in loans and grants for regional projects, according to a World Bank regional director for Angola, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe, Michael Baxter.

Baxter said the new funding is an increase on 18 projects benefiting from his institution in Mozambique following the World Bank’s commitment of 800 million.

Of this amount, US$93 million will fund the Mozambique-Malawi transmission interconnection project, the second phase of the Southern African Power Market Programme that will connect Malawi to SADC\’s Southern African Power Pool (SAPP), allowing a two-way energy trade between the two countries.

An International Development Association (IDA) credit for Malawi is US$48 million, while Mozambique gets US$45 million to construct 135 km of transmission lines and substations for the power sharing venture.

According to Baxter, this will provide Mozambique’s energy sector with a new revenue source and ensure much-needed diversification in Malawi’s electricity supply and allow the export of any off-peak power surpluses.

The deals signed in the Mozambican capital Maputo also envisage assisting small-scale farmers in the central Zambezi River valley in the amount of US$26 as a grant by the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

“The agreements signed today (Friday) sums up US$144 million in credit and grants, most of which is additional or complementary assistance representing the institution’s commitment in various sectors of activities in Mozambique,” Baxter said.

La SADC dépêche des émissaires en République Démocratique du Congo-DRC

Angola Press Agency (Luanda), 23 October 2007

A multidisciplinary team of the Troika of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC)'s Defence and Security Committee will soon travel to Kivu, eastern DR Congo, to analyse the situation on the ground and outline strategies and ways to overcome the instability prevailing in the region.

Angop learned the information from the Community's executive secretary, Mozambican Tomaz Salomão, who attended a Troika's meeting on Thursday afternoon, meant for an analysis of the situation prevailing in the DRC, particularly in the eastern region of that SADC member country, and seek ways to maintain it assistance.

The Troika groups Angola, as president of the Political, Cooperation, Defence and Security Organ, United Republic of Tanzania and Swaziland, including the members of the SADC secretariat.

According to the source, the meeting has adopted three main stands. The first is connected with humanitarian operation, intended to assist about 600,000 refugees and displaced people.

To start with, SADC will air an appeal and marshal resources to assist the Congolese currently in urgent need of humanitarian aid, said the source, adding that all will be done by the members of the region to assist those people.

The second stand has to do with sending the said Troika multidisciplinary team into eastern DRC's Kivu zone, to analyse the situation and design strategies and ways of tackling the problem.

The team will talk with such neighbouring countries as Rwanda and Burundi, and hold contacts with some institutions and countries like Belgium, the US and England that have a relevant role to play, judging by their interests in the Great Lakes region.

"All this will be a combination of effort and synergies aimed at bringing peace and democracy to the democratic Republic of Congo", Tomaz Salomão also said.

The third aspect of the decisions made in Luanda is linked to the issue of defence and security, whereby the specialists of the defence theatre can observe on the ground the concrete aspects and come up with points of view of technical and military character.

But Tomaz Salomão explained that the fact that the Troika multidisciplinary team comprises a military component, does not mean SADC is considering a military intervention.

He noted that the fact there are military actions in progress, military specialists are required to produce the necessary counselling towards a solution to the problem and help restore peace in that country.

This is the Troika's first session since Angola took up the presidency of the Political, Cooperation, Defence and Security Organ, during the summit of heads of State and Governments held in August this year in Lusaka, (Zambia).

ZAMBIE : Les forages pour la recherche de minerai d'uranium ont commencées

Albidon says uranium exploration drilling commences in Zambia

Albidon Ltd said its joint venture partner African Energy Resources, has begun a 4,000 metre reverse circulation drilling programme at the Chisebuka uranium prospect at Zambia's Kariba Valley JV, to evaluate the high-grade surface uranium mineralisation.

The company said this programme will complement the ongoing Chirundu joint venture drill programmes at Njame and Gwabe, around 80 kilometres south-east of Lusaka, Zambia's capital.

The company said currently two drill rigs are in operation with a third being mobilised from South Africa. It expects to maintain a two-rig programme throughout 2008, an increase on the single rig deployment for most of 2007.

Source

La Zambie sélectionne une équipe de 7 experts pour sa stratégie minière

Zambia: State Selects Royalties Talks' Team

The Times of Zambia (Ndola), 24 October 2007

Government has established a team of seven international mining experts and senior Government officials to study how best the negotiations of development agreements with the mining sector can be done, Finance and National Planning Minister, Ng'andu Magande has said.

Mr Magande said that the team, which constituted reputable experts from major copper producing countries around the world such as Chile, had been meeting over the last 10 days to chart the way forward on the matter.

Speaking in Lusaka yesterday when he closed the launch of the culture remodeling economic exchange forum, Mr Magande said that the team was expected to submit its report to a committee of ministers in the next few days.

"We want to come up with the best re negotiation position such that if three per cent on mineral royalties is not a good number, then we can come up with another new number and give it to the mining companies," he said.Mr Magande said the mineral royalty for 2007 was projected at K77.28 billion and that a total of K30.30 billion was collected from the royalties by August 2007.

The minister said that the Government was expected to collect K46.90 billion in mineral royalties for the remaining part of the year.He said that Kansanshi mine and Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) were the major contributors to the royalties.

Mr Magande said Africa should try to derive maximum benefits from natural resources given that the resources are non- renewable.He said that tax policies and systems should be tailored in such a fashion that there were maximum benefits.

Mr Magande said that tax payable in 2007 was expected at K412.96 billion. By June 2007, Mr Magande said that a total of K278.78 billion was collected by the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) and K142.09 billion was expected to be collected between July and December during the year.

Une voie ferrée Angola/Namibie

Angola Press, 25/10/2007

Le Président namibien, Hifikepunye Pohamba a déclaré mercredi, à Windhoek, que la liaison entre l`Angola et la Namibie par voie ferrée permettra de renforcer la circulation des personnes et des biens, ainsi qu`une large intégration économique régionale.

"Cela permettra de renforcer de plus en plus l`intégration régionale économique, selon les protocoles signés à l`abri de la communauté de dévelop- pement de l`Afrique Australe (SADC)", a-t-il affirmé dans un discours prononcé à l`ouverture des pourparlers officiels entre les deux gouvernements.

De son côté, le Chef de l`Etat angolais, José Eduardo dos Santos a proposé aux deux gouvernements de considérer la liaison entre l`Angola et la Namibie à travers un réseau routier qui arriverait jusqu`à Menongue, dans la province de Kuando Kubango.

Nous saluons la création de l`équipe technique conjointe pour les questions du fleuve Cunene. Le projet de fourniture d`eau Xangongo-Ondjiva et la réhabilitation du barrage de Gove".

L`Angola et la Namibie sont liés par un accord relatif à l`exemption de visas dans les passeports diplomatique, de service et ordinaire des citoyens angolais et namibiens qui se deplacent dans chacun des Etats pour un séjour de 30 jours renouvelable pour la même durée.

Parmi les secteurs de coopération, il y a aussi la défense basée sur la technique militaire, la définition des politiques, l`instruction, l`échange des informations, les missions d`appui à la paix, le deminage, les recherches, le sauvetage et d`autres actions similaires.

Intègrent la délégation présidentielle, les ministres de l`Intérieur, Roberto Leal Monteiro, de l`Energie et des Eaux, Botelho de Vasconcelos, de la Justice, Manuel Aragão et les vice-ministres des Relations extérieures, George Chicoty, de l`Education, Pinda Simão, de la Culture, Virgílio Coelho, des Transports, Hélder Preza ainsi que de la Pêche, Vitória Barros.

Peace in Sadc

Defence Minister, George Mpombo says Southern African countries have made commendable strides towards maintain peace and stride in the sub-region.

Mr. Mpombo said the peace the SADC region has enjoyed should be quarded jealously.

He was speaking in Lusaka at the opening ceremony of the 12th session of the Zambia-Botswana Joint Permanent Commission (JPC).

Mr. Mpombo said without peace,there can never be sustainable development in all areas of human endeavour.

At the same function, Botswana's Minister of Justice Defence and Security, Phandu Skelemani said the future JPC meetings should dwell on issues of transforming the bilateral relations.

Source

L'UE pourrait revoir ses ambitions à la baisse

David CRONIN, BRUXELLES , 30 oct (IPS)

A deux mois de la date limite fixée par l'Union européenne (UE) pour la conclusion des nouveaux accords de libre-échange avec quelques-uns des pays les plus pauvres au monde, l'UE admet qu'elle devra sans doute revoir ses ambitions à la baisse.

En conséquence, la plupart des "Accords de partenariat économique (APE)", qu'elle espère conclure d'ici au 31 décembre avec les quelque 80 pays du bloc Afrique, Caraïbes et Pacifique (ACP), ne se limiteront qu'au commerce des marchandises. Les autres questions, relatives notamment à la libéralisation des services, aux nouvelles règles en matière d'investissement ou de concurrence seront remises à plus tard.

Le 22 octobre dernier, le commissaire européen au commerce, Peter Mandelson, annonçait que la plupart des APE ne concerneraient que le commerce des marchandises. Cette déclaration faisait suite à une série d'avertissements, lancés à l'adresse de l'UE, estimant que les pays africains n'étaient pas encore prêts au libre-échange.

Plusieurs gouvernements européens -- dont la Grande-Bretagne -- ont également insisté auprès de Mandelson (qui est d'origine britannique) pour que les négociations en vue de ces nouveaux arrangements ne soient pas "surchargées" de thématiques.

Toutefois, des militants de la lutte contre la pauvreté et des industriels africains n'ont pas vraiment le sentiment que le commissaire européen est devenu plus "réceptif" qu'avant à leurs arguments.

A titre d'exemple, ils rappellent que, deux jours après cette annonce, la Commission européenne rejetait la proposition émise par différents gouvernements d'Afrique centrale. Les huit pays qui négocient pour cette région se sont vus signifier que les prochains pourparlers, fixés pour le 29 octobre, devraient se poursuivre sur la base du document préparatoire rédigé par l'UE.

Les Etats d'Afrique centrale proposaient que les barrières douanières sur les produits européens exportés vers leurs marchés soient réduites de 60 pour cent, mais l'UE a insisté sur le fait qu'une réduction de 80 pour cent au cours des 15 années à venir serait "un strict minimum".

Devant le Parlement européen, Mandelson a estimé qu'une plus longue période de transition, comme prônée par les pays ACP, "ne mènerait nulle part" vis-à-vis de l'Organisation mondiale du commerce (OMC), vu qu'elle entrerait en contradiction avec ses règles. L'une des clauses de l'Accord général sur les tarifs douaniers et le commerce (GATT), qui a mené à la création de l'OMC, prévoit que tous les marchés à l'exportation devront "être substantiellement libéralisés" à la suite de la conclusion de nouveaux arrangements commerciaux.

Ce terme "substantiellement" fait aujourd'hui débat dans la pratique.

Pour Martin Abéga, porte-parole de l'Union des employeurs d'Afrique centrale (UNIPACE), le commissaire européen doit apporter les preuves de ce qu'il avance. "Discutons et négocions avec l'OMC", lance-t-il. "Sur quels documents se base Peter Mandelson pour affirmer ce qu'il prétend?", s'interroge-t-il.

Au moins cinq des huit pays du groupe Afrique centrale engagés dans ces négociations des APE sont considérés par les Nations Unies comme "moins avancés". Selon l'ONU, ils peuvent profiter du système "Tout sauf des armes", même s'ils ne signent pas un accord de libre-échange. Ce programme permettrait à leurs exportations d'entrer en Europe sans quota ou droit de douanes.

Mais Mandelson a déjà menacé les trois pays considérés comme les moins pauvres du groupe -- le Cameroun, le Gabon et le Congo -- d'imposer des tarifs punitifs s'ils ne signent pas d'APE. Cette mesure les priverait d'au moins 350 millions d'euros (503 millions de dollars) de ressources annuelles, selon une étude publiée récemment par l'organisation "Christian Aid".

Offrir aux denrées en provenance de ces pays un traitement de faveur, en l'absence d'un accord de libre-échange, entrerait en contradiction avec les règles de l'OMC, déclare Mandelson. Le système préférentiel, qui couvre les denrées en provenance des pays ACP depuis 2000, doit expirer avant le début de l'année prochaine.

Mandelson rappelle aussi régulièrement que le système préférentiel offert aux producteurs de bananes, par exemple, a déjà été remis en cause par les pays d'Amérique centrale et d'Amérique latine, ce qui laisse croire qu'ils pourraient dénoncer d'autres traitements préférentiels qu'ils estiment discriminatoires à leur égard.

Abéga n'est pas impressionné par la problématique des bananes soulevée par le commissaire. "En affirmant cela, Mandelson tente de créer des divergences au sein de nos pays", dit-il. "Seul un pays d'Afrique centrale, le Cameroun, est producteur de bananes. Les bananes sont certes importantes pour notre économie, mais elles ne représentent pas toute l'économie". L'Amérique centrale n'est pas une cible privilégiée pour les exportateurs de l’UE. Les entreprises européennes témoignent déjà un intérêt croissant pour d'autres régions du continent.

Les pays ACP représentent plus de la moitié des exportations européennes de fleurs, par exemple. Soucieux de leur expansion, des producteurs de fleurs européens s'inquiètent déjà de tarifs de l'ordre de 50 pour cent s'ils vendent vers l'Afrique de l'ouest et exigent de la commission qu'elle revoie cette taxe à la baisse.

Pendant ce temps, les exportations de fruits et de légumes d'Europe vers l'Afrique du Sud ont augmenté de plus de 100 pour cent entre 1995 et 2005, celles de chocolat de près de 40 pour cent.

Paul Goodison, du réseau "European Research Office", qui suit de près le commerce entre l'UE et l'Afrique, estime de son côté que les pays ACP devront être en mesure de protéger certains secteurs importants face aux flux de produits européens importés. Selon lui, ces mesures devront être prises sur le long terme, mais la Commission européenne n'a l'intention de les autoriser que pour deux ou trois ans.

"Il y a clairement une offensive intéressée de la part de l'UE dans les négociations en vue des APE par rapport aux denrées et aux produits agricoles", affirme Goodison. "Etant donné l'inégalité en terme de taille entre l'UE et les économies de chaque pays ACP -- une cargaison en provenance de l'UE peut parfois représenter l'entière consommation annuelle d'un produit -- la commission doit se montrer davantage flexible au sujet des mesures de protection".

Jacob Kotcho, du groupe de pression ACDIC au Cameroun, accuse la Commission européenne de "mauvaise foi", car elle ne prend pas sérieusement en compte les préoccupations des Africains.

"Les marchés européens ont été ouverts aux produits africains durant de nombreuses années, mais ces pays n'ont pas pu en bénéficier", dit-il. "Si nous voulons que le commerce soit au service du développement, nous devons renforcer nos capacités. Une période de transition nous permettrait de le faire".

La question des services bloque les discussions des APE

Sam Nzioki, Afrique du Sud, 26 oct (IPS)

L'inclusion des soi-disant questions de la nouvelle génération ou de Singapour dans les Accords de partenariat économique (APE) rendra la conclusion de ces accords peu probable d'ici à la date limite du 31 décembre.

Nkululeko Khumalo, chercheur principal à l'Institut sud-africain pour les affaires internationales (SAIIA), a déclaré dans un entretien avec IPS que ''l'approche coercitive adoptée par l'Union européenne (UE) sur la libéralisation des services empoisonne l'atmosphère des négociations''. Le SAIIA est une organisation non gouvernementale spécialisée dans la recherche en relations internationales basée à Johannesburg, en Afrique du Sud.

''Elle nuit aux perspectives d'une probable percée dans la conclusion des APE avec la Communauté de développement de l'Afrique australe avant la fin de l'année'', a souligné Khumalo.

L'Afrique du Sud est résolument opposée à l'inclusion des questions de la nouvelle génération, qui comprennent la libéralisation du secteur des services, des investissements, de la politique de concurrence et des droits de la propriété intellectuelle. Elle se cramponne à la vision selon laquelle les APE ne doivent pas inclure ces questions pour être en conformité avec les règles de l'Organisation mondiale du commerce (OMC).

En outre, un autre argument est qu'il est prudent d'avoir les cadres légaux et infrastructures nécessaires en place avant l'ouverture des marchés locaux à la concurrence avec les entreprises européennes.

Le groupe APE de la Communauté de développement de l'Afrique australe (SADC) a affirmé que ''les avantages issus de l'inclusion des services et des questions de la nouvelle génération ne sont pas automatiques'', selon un rapport du chercheur Talitha Bertelsmann-Scott, présenté à la conférence organisée par le SAIIA, le Centre européen de gestion des politiques de développement et le Programme de facilitation du commerce régional à Bruxelles, au début de cette année.

Des délégués à cette conférence ont souligné que certaines conditions requises importantes étaient nécessaires pour la réussite des APE. Au nombre de celles-ci, figurent les capacités intérieures juridiques, administratives et réglementaires.

Khumalo a indiqué à IPS que l'UE devrait se rappeler que les APE sont destinés à renforcer le développement. Les exigences pour que la libéralisation des services soit incluse avant la fin de l'année violent cet objectif.

Un autre obstacle concerne les approches différentielles de la SADC et de l'UE par rapport à ''l'Aide au commerce''. Le groupe APE de la SADC a proposé l'inclusion d'un chapitre sur le développement dans les APE pour permettre le financement continu pour le renforcement des capacités commerciales.

Du point de vue de la SADC, il est prévu, comme garantie de l'appui financier de l'UE aux structures et mécanismes nécessaires, d'assurer que les APE génèrent un développement économique significatif pour la région.

Selon Bertelsmann-Scott, la SADC a demandé des garanties de financement complémentaire de l'UE pour le développement après l'expiration de l'accord de Cotonou en 2020. Cette demande repose sur les préoccupations selon lesquelles même avec l'accès aux marchés européens, certains pays de la SADC auront besoin encore de plus de temps pour devenir compétitifs à un niveau qui générera des profits en provenance du commerce international.

L'UE soutient que toute ressource supplémentaire offerte dans les nouveaux APE devrait être fondée sur la réciprocité. Les délégués de l'UE à la conférence de Bruxelles ont indiqué que l'accord de Cotonou fournissait déjà des offres financières pour ''l'Aide au commerce''. L'opinion est que les APE sont convenablement financés.

La position de l'UE est que les accords de libre-échange réciproques fourniront des opportunités de développement aux pays ACP qui devraient bénéficier de leur entrée sur les marchés européens.

L'opposition de l'UE à la proposition d'une rubrique sur le développement est liée à sa perspective de libéraliser les services. L'UE soutient qu'elle risque de porter un fardeau plus lourd dans les engagements de libéralisation dans les APE, comparé à celui des pays ACP.

La possibilité de ne pas conclure les négociations des APE d'ici à la date limite de la fin de l'année est l'objet d'une préoccupation importante pour ces Etats membres du groupe APE de la SADC qui ne sont pas catégorisés comme des pays les moins avancés (PMA). Il s'agit du Botswana, de la Namibie et du Swaziland.

La catégorisation non-PMA les exclut de l'accès aux marchés européens dans le cadre de l'initiative ''Tout sauf les armes''. En tant que tels, ils doivent entrer dans de nouveaux contrats d'accords de libre-échange réciproques sous la forme des APE pour être conformes aux règles de l'OMC.

Des négociations peu concluantes conduiront à l'expiration de la dérogation de l'OMC qui a permis au commerce entre les ACP et l'UE de se poursuivre conformément aux conditions préférentielles de l'accord de Cotonou. Les biens des ACP seront soumis à des tarifs d'exportation financièrement écrasants à partir du 1er janvier de l'année prochaine.

Khumalo a observé qu'il y avait lieu de se préoccuper pour les Etats non-PMA de la SADC -- spécialement au sein des entreprises exportatrices qui finalisent leurs budgets annuels quelques mois avant le début d'une nouvelle année.

Pendant ce temps, IPS a rapporté que l'UE voulait abandonner l'insistance sur les questions de Singapour pour le moment dans ses négociations avec le groupe APE de l'Afrique de l'ouest pour assurer qu'un APE sur le commerce des biens soit finalisé d'ici à la date limite du 31 décembre.

Dans une lettre adressée au groupe de l'Afrique de l'ouest, Peter Mandelson et Louis Michel, respectivement commissaires européens au commerce et à l'aide au développement, ont déclaré qu'ils aimeraient signer un APE moins ambitieux.

La lettre déclare que ''au minimum'', un accord relatif au commerce des biens devrait être conclu cette année. Ceci serait un ''tremplin vers un APE total'', ont ajouté les commissaires, ''pour lequel des négociations se poursuivraient en 2008''.

L'UE soutenait jusque-là que les APE devraient être conclus d'ici au 31 décembre et qu'ils devraient couvrir les questions aussi bien le commerce des biens que la libéralisation des services, la concurrence, l'investissement, les marchés publics et la propriété intellectuelle.

South Africa – European Union Ministerial Troika Meeting

Notes following South Africa – European Union Ministerial Troika Meeting Presidential Guesthouse, Union Buildings, Wednesday 10 October 2007

Remarks by Minister Dlamini Zuma
Well, first of all welcome to you all.

We are very pleased that we have had this meeting of the EU Troika and South Africa under our new Strategic Partnership Dialogue which we call the Mokubakuba Dialogue which is the Yellowwood Tree in English and this partnership is very important because the strategic partnership is opening up new areas of engagement in addition to what we have had in the TDCA.

At this meeting we were reviewing the TDCA. Some of you will remember that there was an provision that we would review the operation of the TDCA after five years. That process has taken place and completed. And the review report was given to us this afternoon and off course, the report outlined work in a number of areas, viz. trade, development, science and technology, and it also looked at areas that we are going to be establishing co-operation on customs, peace and security, transport, human rights, and we also had a discussion that focused on a number of critical areas like the strategy for EU and Africa and off course, the famous forthcoming EU-Africa Summit. We had very good exchanges on that.

We also discussed the question of the EU-SADC EPA negotiations. We exchanged views on that including the World Trade Organisation Doha Round. I am not providing many details because the principals will provide the details later.

We also discussed the question of climate change – this is a very important global issue and within the context of the forthcoming Bali meeting. There has been a lot of work done, there has been a dialogue between the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism and the European Union earlier this month.

We also discussed issues around energy in its entirety viz. energy generation, energy efficiency, diversification, transfer of technology and other areas of co-operation including areas of looking at early warning mechanisms to avoid disasters in mining and so on.

It has been a very wide ranging series of discussions.

We also had the opportunity to share ideas on the reformation of the Bretton Woods Institutions.

We are really very happy to have hosted this meeting because we have always met in Brussels and this is the first opportunity we have had to share some African hospitality with our colleagues. We thank our African colleagues for accepting our invitation and coming to visit us in South Africa.

Minister Amado
Thank you Minister Dlamini Zuma.
Just to briefly complement what was said by Minister Dlamini Zuma and to also express our happiness that is shared also by the EU Commissioner Louis Michel to be with you here in South Africa today for the first time. I would like to stress the importance we have attached to this morning considering that South Africa has become a very important and relevant partner to the European Union.

Analysing the discussions we have had today we consider the value we added to our external relations implementing a strong partnership with South Africa.

I believe we need to upgrade this relationship in the future. South Africa has an important role and is playing an important role in a new and quite dynamic international system, multipolar with more demanding multilateral approach and having the European Union Strategic High Level Partnership today with the United States, Russia, China, Brazil, India, I believe that in Africa we need to have a special interlocutor around South Africa certainly considering the values, principles, the way we identify our co-operation.

I believe that we really need to strengthen this partnership. We have the possibility to review the way in which this partnership is evolving. In the end we assume the strengthening of our dialogue will go towards exchanging views of European and Africa issues.

But also, those issues which are today at the core of the global agenda demanding a more inter dependent and articulated action by all global players. I believe that this dialogue with South Africa can be reinforced in the future. I hope this dialogue will have continuity at a high level.

So thank you once again. I am very happy to today have the opportunity to listen to some of your colleagues in government. The richness of this meeting was also determined by the participation of some of your government colleagues.

Commission Louis Michel
It is of course very important to highlight that this is the first, as Minister Dlamini Zuma has already pointed out, time we are meeting in South Africa. This underlines the European Union’s desire to strengthen our relations and co-operation with South Africa as a Strategic Partner. In a certain sense it indicates we want to change the nature of the relationship to becoming really a true partnership, relationship between political partners. Today already, in our interactions, we felt that the nature was different, more frank and open. And we have tackled many global challenges which we have to both deal with. This is very important.

Also, if you permit me Madame, a few words on the Country Strategic Paper: we have signed a new seven year development co-operation programme between South Africa and the European Community.

To be honest, this new programme is not business as usual. For the first time, it is a seven year programme with the full span of the European Community’s financial perspective for the years 2007-2013. This demonstrates that the European Community’s commitment to South Africa at a time when several donors are questioning the need to continue co-operation with middle income countries such as yours.

The framework for this co-operation has been set in a joint programme, not only in the sense it has been jointly agreed to between South Africa and the EC. This has always been the case. But also, 11 EU member states have joined us in drafting a common country strategic paper. Europe, ie to say the community and its 27 member states, contribute nearly 27% of its ODA to South Africa. The three folds of ODA are based on a single common strategy.

The indicative programme which we have signed today sets aside an indicative amount of €980 million for the seven year period. This is approximately R10 billion. Furthermore, this programme is complemented by an additional €900 milllion in loans that will be provided, over the same period, by the European Investment Bank.

Thank you

Questions and answers

Question Minister Dlamini Zuma, Ambassador Sooklal said that if other EU leaders joined Gordon Brown in boycotting the Summit, the other African leaders will not attend what he called a “watered down” Summit. At which point would Africa decide it was not worthwhile to attend this Summit?

Answer Well we did not do that calculation but nevertheless, we are optimists, so we approach this matter from that perspective of optimism. We are quite confident that a critical number of European leaders and a critical number of African leaders will attend the Summit. Therefore the Summit will be, in our view, a good Summit.

We understand that it is very rare, at least in Africa, I don’t remember in the 9 years in which I have held this portfolio of a Summit being attended by every Head of State. There are always some countries represented at other levels. So if that happens in Lisbon, it will be nothing unusual.

Even the Millennium Summit in New York in 2000, which was a attended by a huge number of Heads of State and Government, was not attended by ALL heads of State and Government.

So I think, we should not take one person who has said they might not attend this Summit and then infer that this one person will make this Summit successful. Summits depend on a number of people being there and not just one person. So, off course, we would have wanted Prime Minister Gordon and other European Heads of State and Government to attend the Summit but if there are a few of them who cannot attend, as there will be some African Heads of State and Government who cannot attend.

We are very optimistic that this Summit will go ahead and that there will be sufficient representation to ensure it will be worthwhile.

Question Minister Amado, what would be the breaker for you, as the host of the Summit? Is it conceivable that the Summit will not take place?

Answer (Minister Amado) I cannot take on board the Gordon Brown position and boycott the Summit. The Gordon Brown position has been around for a long time. As you know, this is on the agenda of the European Union for a long time. As you know, we have two European Union Commissions that will look at the strategic relationship between the African Union and the European Union, approved by all Heads of State and Government, at the Lisbon Summit. We only have the public statements of Prime Minister Brown in a way that he has expressed this point. If you remember the article he wrote expressing the importance of this Summit, the Strategic Importance of the engagement between Africa and Europe within a developmental paradigm. It mentions that if President Mugabe attends the Summit he would not attend it.

As you, Minister Dlamini Zuma has just said, we cannot envisage a Summit with 80 Heads of State and Government. We also remember that the British government was not represented at the 2000 Cairo Summit either. If you ask me if I would like to see Prime Minister Brown attend the Summit, then certainly, I would because it is a very important Summit as he himself as recognised.

We have for the first time a very substantial agenda clarifying the way in which we want to interact with Africa in future. We have a plan of action clearly identifying areas of co-operation and partnership. So we are approaching the Summit with optimism. We would like to have a different strategic, or at least a different atmosphere, in which to deal with the preparations for the Summit.

Reality is what we know and just to finalise, I would like to stress this point: we are on the eve of a new multi-polar world and we are trying to dynamise, this is also a strategic objective of the European Union, multilateralism all over the world and for the first time we have the possibility of a united summit between the European Union and Africa. The African Union has been in existence for 5 years; the European Union has been in existence for 15 years but we pursue the same goals and challenges – to promote peace, stability, economic and social development in our continents and we believe the European Union has this responsibility to diffuse , to promote political and economic integration in the regions of the world, so we need to place this summit at the multilateral level of relations between the African Union and the European Union. And to deal with problems we may have with Zimbabwe and other countries or regions in the world, we need to deal with bilaterally. That is the reason we have a common position in dealing with Zimbabwe for such a long time.

As Minister Dlamini Zuma stressed, to paralyse the relations between our both continents, because today you have problem with Zimbabwe, it would be a huge strategic mistake. This is our point, and this is why we are trying to deal bilateral with challenges and conflicts we have with countries with a view to developing a strong multilateral perspective between the European Union and Africa.

(Minister Dlamini Zuma) Just to say, we are very grateful and happy with the manner in which the Presidency of the European Union is dealing with this matter together with the Commission and other member states.

And maybe, just for the record, Prime Minister Blair did not attend the 2000 Cairo Summit either. And Prime Minister Gordon Brown did not attend the 62nd session o f the United Nations General Assembly either. So, I think we should look at this matter very positively and put it into perspective.

Question Commissioner Michel, on the matter of Darfur, do you think that the violence that is currently taking place is sponsored by the government and is an attempt to derail the meetings scheduled to take place in Libya at the end of the month? On the DRC, do you see the instability in eastern Congo as a failure of President Kabila?

Answer (Commissioner Michel) About Darfur first: We are waiting for a quick settlement of the matter of the deployment of the hybrid force. We will give the hybrid force a chance to bring stability. It is important to have security for the people. At the same time, it is important for the government of Sudan to implement peaceful solutions. Everybody has to take responsibility in Sudan and Darfur. As you know, Darfur is a great concern of the European Union. We have contributed a lot to the humanitarian situation. We have further means diplomatically to look at implementing the hybrid force. The European Union played a role in convincing President Bashir to accept the hybrid force. We have to continue to put pressure on the government of Sudan and indeed on ALL sides – not just the government. This is very important.

About the Democratic Republic of Congo: if you ask me if the military option is a good option that will resolve the problems posed by General Nkunda, I will say NO, I don’t believe in the military option in order to resolve the challenges in the eastern congo. We have to resolve the problem by dealing the root of the problem. Everybody knows this. There is frustration amongst some groups of the population. What is the problem? The problem is that General Nkunda becomes, in a certain sense, an icon to the people to feel this frustration.

The only solution is to have a political solution and to build on improving the security in the eastern Congo. There is no other solution.

I repeat, President Kabila has the legitimacy of being elected freely and democratically. Another point is that we also have to give time to the leadership of the Congo to resolve these challenges. We are wanting immediate solutions but this is a very difficult situation. The Congo is a very difficult country to lead. There is a lack of capacity of the State. Institutions have to be rebuilt. We have to help them achieve this. I know the people are very impatient but you cannot deliver as quickly as the people want. There are many challenges: eastern Congo, lack of State capacity – we have to help the Congo in order to find solutions.

Is the military option the correct one? In my opinion, it is NOT. I think that the only concrete solution is a diplomatic one.

(Minister Dlamini Zuma) Just to stress that President Kabila was only elected only a year ago after along period of problems in the DRC and I think he needs to be given time to try and sort out the challenges in his country. It does not mean that if there is an election today, all the problems of yesterday disappear. Time is required to sort these things out.

We should also remember that in this country, there were lots of problems that persisted after the elections. Some of your would remember that in 1995 on 25 December, there was a massacre in (inaudible) precisely because the problems to not merely disappear on the day of the elections. Time is required.

We can now see a big difference in South Africa between 1994 and now. So, I think the President should be assisted. He had inherited a lot of problems.

Question Commissioner Michel and Minister Mpahlwa, are you able to share with us discussions around the Doha Trade Talks? Commissioner Michel, are we likely to see movement on these talks before the Lisbon Summit?

Answer (Commissioner Michel) First of all, about Doha: I think that it would be very important and useful to conclude these talks and to have an agreement because in fact the world economy and the world policy needs movement especially with regard to the developing countries. So I think, at the moment, the economies are submitted to risks from the financial markets.

Doha is off course, a guarantee, against this risk in the financial markets and protectionism. I think that if all the big actors are conscious that it is their duty and that a solution is possible then we can get an agreement and we can succeed. So it is simple.

We are not far off from a solution – provided everybody can be flexible. We can emerge from the problem. I am very optimistic about this.

I am not sure you will have immediate progress. I cannot answer that question. For the moment it seems that progress is possible. The Summit is really a very important challenge as it can change the nature of the relationship between Africa and the European Union and it can change the influence of both continents in the world system. This is really very important.

I am not in charge of the Doha Round and I am not in charge of these negotiations. I am speaking on behalf of my colleague Peter Mandelsohn.

(Minister Mpahlwa) Perhaps the first point to make is that this meeting that we have just concluded was not a negotiating session. It was really a bilateral engagement between two strategic partners. And therefore it was an opportunity for us to share perspectives. I would like to approach this question from this angle.

I think this became an opportunity for us, and I think we agree on this, the process thus far has produced quite a lot that is on the table right now. This will be important for the global trading system.

That is in the interests of us, particularly as developing countries, to build on what is on the table to finding a solution. Off course it also became an opportunity for us to share our views on the agricultural stance that provides a basis for keeping the negotiations and track and the momentum going. We think, in our view, that the agricultural position sufficiently accommodates the position of the US and the EU and the particular concern that was raised. So indeed, we expressed the view ourselves that we do see the text as a basis for further engagement. We have not positioned ourselves to reject the text. There are some sharp issues that must be addressed if we are to move the process forward and I think we must ensure there are sufficient flexibilities to ensure that the agricultural text can accommodate the interest of the developing countries and the EU.

This was the spirit in which the discussions were held. While not negotiating we took the opportunity to raise the issues that were off importance to us. The EU was able to say that they think there is a possibility to reach an agreement by the end of the year but in order to achieve this result from our perspective, these are the things we need to attend to, viz. how do we respond to some of the concerns that have been there on the part of the BLNS countries in the period that the TDCA has been under implementation and how do we accommodate those issues as we now try to harmonise the TDCA through the review and the SADC-EPA negotiations must be conducted in a way that harmonises the relationship of the EU with our region while helping us to deepen regional integration. We also have to develop an approach to dealing with the issue of services if we are to achieve this outcome by December this year.

This was the spirit in which the discussions were held. Broadly, our discussions will guide our negotiations to focus on the matters we highlighted.

Question Minister Manuel, what amount of money that was announced today would go towards budgetary support? Can you tell us what percentage of our budget would this be and what projects would this be allocated to?

Answer South Africa is far less dependent, than most other developing countries, on official development assistance. I think that the key issues for us are in deepening a partnership. And a fair amount of the resources will be mobilized by local and provincial government in support of programmes of poverty relief. This is a strong focus of the EU.

We are looking at issues of human resource development, the key to lifting people out of poverty is to develop skills. We spent a long time discussing the distribution of educated personnel and how we can improve on the maths and science literacy of educators and therefore of learners and consequently of the education system. So there are a fair amount of issues that will be dealt with in line function as we proceed but the total ODA as a percentage of budget is less than 1%, I think it is 0.84%

Issued by Department of Foreign Affairs

Last Act in Zimbabwe

Despite the devastating effects of over two decades of Mugabe’s reign, which continue to seep across its borders and anger surrounding south-African countries, it might actually be discontent within his own party that finally unseats the octogenarian

By Gwynne Dyer, Egypt Today, May 2007

It will take a while yet, but the long and brutal reign of Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe is probably nearing its end. Not because of the democratic opposition at home, whose members are regularly beaten up and sometimes killed by the regime’s police. Not even because neighboring countries in southern Africa are at last putting pressure on Mugabe to go. Just because his own partners-in-crime have decided that it’s him or them.

The key moment actually came last December, when for the first time the senior ranks of the ruling Zanu-PF Party stood up to Mugabe and refused to accept his proposal to postpone the next presidential election in 2008 to 2010. It was typical Mugabe salami tactics — give me two more years, and maybe I’ll decide to resign in 2010 — but this time it didn’t work.

In that case, said Mugabe, I’ll run for president again in 2008 (which would keep him in the presidency for his 90th birthday in 2014). Given the speed with which Zimbabwe’s economy is collapsing and its population fleeing abroad, seven more years of Mugabe and it will not be worth inheriting power there — so Mugabe’s potential heirs within Zanu-PF itself have begun to rebel.

All that has followed — the vicious assaults of opposition leaders by Mugabe’s police in mid-February, the South African government’s decision a week ago to start talking to Mugabe’s Zanu-PF rivals and Zimbabwean opposition leaders, and the emergency meeting of the leaders of the 14-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC) in Tanzania on March 28th — is a response to this new perception that Mugabe doesn’t have long to run.

“I have been to these SADC summits and I know that behind closed doors they are brutally frank,” Mugabe’s former information minister, Jonathan Moyo, told The Guardian last week. “They will remind Mugabe that he told them he would retire at the end of his term in 2008 []. They will tell Mugabe that his rule in Zimbabwe is dragging down the whole southern African region.” None of that got into the meeting’s closing communiqué, which ritually expressed solidarity with Mugabe, but Moyo is probably right, because Zimbabwe is becoming a blight on the region.

Inflation in Zimbabwe, at 1,700 percent, is the highest in the world (the next highest, Burma, is only 60 percent), and the average income is less that a tenth of South Africa’s. Whereas ten years ago Zimbabwe was seen as the breadbasket of Africa, now it cannot feed half its people. There are an estimated three million Zimbabwean economic refugees in South Africa because unemployment in Zimbabwe is 80 percent or more. Also, Zimbabwean life expectancy is now the lowest in the world: 37 for men, 34 for women.

Then there is the unbridled brutality of the police force, the official contempt for the law, the propaganda that blames all the failings of the regime on foreign imperialists plotting against it — it’s not exactly the image that southern Africans want for their region.

On the whole, southern Africa does not fit that image. From South Africa to Tanzania, most of the governments in the SADC are democratically elected and law-abiding. Most economies are showing good growth, and nobody is starving. But it is a well-known fact that people on other continents have difficulty in telling one African country from another, and that investors are the most ignorant of all. Zimbabwe’s multiple failures take up more space in the international media than all news about all thirteen other members of the SADC combined, and so the neighbors’ patience has run out.

In fact, it ran out some time ago, but being realists about the nature of politics in Mugabe’s Zimbabwe, the other SADC leaders saw no point in publicly demanding change. Now, however, there is blood in the water. Mugabe managed to bully Zanu-PF’s central committee into nominating him for the presidency again on Friday, but everybody knows that two major factions in the party want him to quit. That has opened the door for others to demand change as well.

The main contenders for the succession are not without sin. Emmerson Mnangagwa was state security minister when 25,000 members of the minority Ndebele tribe were murdered by the regime in the 1980s for supporting the wrong political party. Vice-President Joice Mujuru is the wife of Solomon Mujuru, a former army chief who became very rich thanks to his involvement in illegal land-grabs during the seizure of all the farms owned by white Zimbabweans.

The ideal outcome would be an alliance between Zanu-PF dissidents and Zimbabwe’s democratic opposition in a transitional government leading to free, internationally supervised elections. The reality may be a good deal messier, because the Old Man doesn’t know how to let go. He has imported 3,000 ‘security personnel’ from Angola to stiffen his own police, who are deserting in droves and going to work in South Africa as security guards because inflation has made their wages in Zimbabwe almost worthless.

But either way, Mugabe’s long misrule has reached the beginning of the end.