Speech at SADC Consultative Conference, Gaborone, Botswana, 28 October 2002

H. E. State Secretary Olav Kjørven

Speech at SADC Consultative Conference, Gaborone, Botswana, 28 October 2002

Final version

Hon. President of the Republic of Botswana

Excellencies,

Ladies and gentlemen,

It is a great pleasure for me to be here today and to participate in this consultative conference of the South African Development Community (SADC). I would very much like to thank the government of Botswana for organizing this important event. Norway and Botswana have enjoyed close cooperation for 25 years, quite successful cooperation I believe, and it is a joy to be here. Thank you very much for the wonderful performance, which make our traditional songs and dances pales in comparison, not just literally speaking. Norway has longstanding relations with many countries in Africa, particularly in southern Africa. We also have longstanding relations with SADC itself.

First of all, I would like to say that I am generally speaking on behalf of the government of Norway. However, I hope that the representatives of the donor countries present here today will agree with much of what I am about to say.

Poverty is the greatest challenge of our time.

Poverty is the lack of freedom to meet one’s basic needs and those of one’s family. Poverty is a violation of the rights and the dignity of innumerable human beings. Moreover, the gap between the rich and the poor is making the world more insecure.

SADC’s objective of promoting sustainable and equitable economic growth and socio-economic development to ensure poverty alleviation is, thus, vitally important. Promoting democracy and good governance are necessary components in the fight against poverty, and, of course, very important SADC objectives in their own right.

Translating these objectives into action is a major and urgent challenge. The SADC Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan, which I believe will be completed shortly, will be crucial in this regard. I, and I am sure I speak on behalf of many donor countries, look forward to studying this important document.

Sub-regional organizations such as SADC can make a big difference for the better in today’s Africa. NEPAD’s Initial Action Plan defines sub-regional organizations like SADC as building blocks and as keys to speeding up integration and implementing growth inducing development programmes. The Initial Action Plan emphasizes the importance of the full participation of sub-regional stakeholders. Whether NEPAD is to succeed depends on many factors. There can be no doubt that commitment by SADC to the African Peer Review Mechanism is one such factor. On the other hand, it is probably also true that SADC will face an uncertain future should NEPAD fail. SADC may thrive if NEPAD succeeds, and vice versa.

Whether or not SADC will be able to play a constructive role in the African Union’s (AU) and NEPAD’s efforts to achieve their aims will to a large extent depend on the success of the restructuring process. An effective and dynamic SADC is a precondition for meeting the numerous challenges in the region. The SADC restructuring process has taken longer than anticipated, but it is on the right track. I call on everyone to do their utmost to finalize the restructuring process so that SADC can play its rightful role in sub-regional and continental development.

Regional development and regional cooperation are the essence of SADC. However, they cannot take place unless they involve all stakeholders, such as the private sector, public institutions, NGOs, governments and the people themselves in each country. Any process of change presupposes strong ownership and commitment by those involved in it. The establishment of national committees is an important step in this direction.

Norway considers SADC to be an important organization for promoting peace and progress in the region. My government strongly supports a new, dynamic SADC and has therefore provided financial support to this process. Provided that the outcome of the restructuring is positive, Norway will consider strengthening our cooperation with SADC further. I also know from contact with other donors that there are considerable resources available that could be utilized for this important process. I would call upon the SADC Secretariat to take a strong lead in prioritizing and to present its resource requirements to the donor community. It would then be a challenge to donors on how best we could respond in a coordinated and effective manner. For major programs, the possibility of basket funding should be looked into.

SADC is currently undergoing far-reaching institutional changes. However, restructuring an organization is not an end in itself. The purpose of restructuring must be to make the organization a better and more efficient tool for responding to the needs of its member countries. I am therefore very pleased to see that the main topic of this year’s consultative conference focuses on this very issue: how to make SADC an effective tool for dealing with the most important challenge of all – fighting poverty.

Developments over the past 10 years illustrate Africa’s vulnerability to a number of outside factors such as financial flows, commodity prices and weather patterns. But above all they show that conflicts and wars are draining the continent, meaning the people of Africa, of resources, and the capacity for growth is undermined. There is probably nothing hurting African men, women and children more than armed conflicts – both directly and indirectly. But, many reports clearly demonstrate that for some very few people, the war economy is highly rewarding, as it makes possible the ruthless exploitation of mineral and other resources. SADC must have a role in bringing this to a halt. The international community also clearly has a responsibility in this regard, particularly what concerns supply of arms to warring groups.

One of SADC’s main objectives – as stated in the Common Agenda adopted by the Extra-Ordinary SADC Summit in March 2001 – is to consolidate and maintain democracy, peace and security. In this respect there have been some encouraging developments in the SADC region this year: the peace achieved in Angola after almost three decades of civil war improves the prospects of alleviating poverty there, provided that the country start investing in its people and the country’s wealth be properly managed. The withdrawal of troops from the Democratic Republic of the Congo could be the first step towards stability in that country. However, the negative developments in Zimbabwe are of great concern to my government. I urge the government of Zimbabwe to ensure that civil and political liberties and the rule of law are respected so that social and economic prospects might again improve in Zimbabwe. I call upon the neighbouring countries to encourage such developments in Zimbabwe. The region needs a stable and prosperous Zimbabwe, as much as Zimbabwe needs a stable and prosperous region.

Perhaps the most urgent problem the SADC region is facing at the moment is the food crisis. Several SADC countries are threatened with a major humanitarian crisis in the form of famine. Continued vigilance and more resources are required to ensure that emergency food reaches those most in need in the coming months. SADC plays an important role in conducting emergency food security assessments. And we need to look forward beyond the most immediate concerns and prepare for the next planting season. In order to deal effectively with this crisis you must, and we must, cooperate and coordinate across all relevant actors: SADC itself, national governments, UN agencies, NGOs and international donors.

Norway is providing significant contributions in order to help alleviate hunger and assist the farmers in starting a new planting season.

Adding to the food crisis is the tragedy of families and societies who are being destroyed by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. HIV and AIDS is a health crisis as well as a development crisis. The pandemic must be halted and reversed for the hardest hit countries to have any possibility of economic development and poverty reduction. The economically active sector of the population is hardest hit by the epidemic. The farming communities hit by drought are doubly affected. The combined effect of drought and AIDS on rural communities is extremely worrisome, both in a short and long term perspective. You must develop an appropriate policy response, to address this enormous humanitarian and developmental challenge. Key questions include: How restore food security when the farmers are sick, weakened or even dead? How to provide homes, education and security for hundreds of thousands of orphaned children? Norway and the international donor community at large stand ready to assist, as you develop your policies on response to these challenges.

At its recent Summit in Luanda SADC announced its intention to intensify its efforts to combat HIV/AIDS and other communicable diseases. I warmly welcome this decision.

I also welcome the Summit’s call on its Member States to continue to nominate more women to decision-making positions. In general women are still largely under-represented. Equal representation between men and women is an important democratic concept. However, it is also essential for improving quality in education, health care, employment and other areas of human development.

Another important human rights issue currently on the international agenda concerns the strengthening of the Convention Against Torture, by adding an Optional Protocol to assist States in their efforts to prevent torture. We call on all SADC countries to study the draft resolution put forward by Costa Rica to the United Nations General Assembly, and supported by a number of countries, including South Africa.

As I said in my introduction, poverty is the greatest challenge of our time. I am proud to announce that earlier this year my government presented an Action Plan for Combating Poverty in the South towards 2015. The plan constitutes the basis for our development policy in the time to come and clearly spells out a number of measures that will guide all Norwegian government agencies. It embraces the idea that development is about freedom, of expanding the opportunities of people – whether individuals, families or communities – to take control of their lives. Political and civil rights are key. So are investments in health, education and critical infrastructure. The policy environment must stimulate private investment, including by providing the poor with formal title to their assets. Our development cooperation policy is dedicated to the imperative that we must do our part to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.

Norway will give priority to supporting countries with good poverty reduction strategies and concrete policies that fulfil preconditions for development, such as democracy, the rule of law and effective public management. We attach great importance to the will to combat corruption and improve the policy environment for agriculture and other industries. Many SADC countries do well on these indices. We look forward to maintaining a close relationship with you as you continue the struggle for a better future for all citizens of the southern African countries.

I wish you all the best in your deliberations.

Thank you for your attention.