The 44th Ordinary Summit of SADC Heads of State and Government was held in Harare, Zimbabwe where President Emmerson Mnangagwa assumed the chairpersonship. Picture: Information Ministry Zimbabwe / X
By Kim Heller
August has been kind to Zimbabwe’s President, Emerson Mnangagwa. On Monday 19 August, The Herald newspaper’s posters shouted out that the SADC Summit was a resounding success. For Mnangagwa, the Summit was certainly a feat.
Firstly, he was officially declared as SADC’s new Chairperson. Secondly, no-one dared to call him out for the repression of opposition voices over the weeks leading up to the Summit.
Thirdly, he managed to hide Zimbabwe’s real-life woes beneath newly erected infrastructure, roads, and freshly planted trees. And fourthly, the Summit supported the removal of sanctions on Zimbabwe which was touted as an impediment to progress and prosperity not only in Zimbabwe but the region as a whole.
Fungisai Sithole, programme manager of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, wrote this week that the SADC Summit was a huge blow to democracy. Sithole writes, “Zimbabwe wants to shine: major roads in Harare have been resurfaced, event venues spruced up and streets cleaned of vendors. The capital’s airport has undergone a major touch-up, and the parliament now features immaculate landscaping. But all that these cosmetic improvements do is to underline that which has not been upgraded, sanitised, or beautified – human rights.”
The harassment, attacks and jailing of political and human rights activists in the build up to the Summit signalled the high level of discord between government and citizens. But this did not deter Heads of States from attending the 44th Southern African Development Community (SADC) ordinary summit.
Only three Head of States did not attend. These were the Presidents of Zambia, Comoros, and Mauritius. South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa was among the SADC leaders in attendance. The leader of political party, BOSA, Mmusi Maimane, wrote that the Presidents who skipped the summit should be saluted. He criticised President Ramaphosa for “enabling oppression and death next door while claiming to care about human rights on the global stage”.
For Mnangagwa, it was all smiles. He spoke of the honour of assuming the role of SADC Chairperson. He paid tribute to the previous Chair, President of Angola, João Lourenço, and commended the SADC for the role it has played in fostering peace, security, and prosperity in the region.
He committed to marching forward, as a unified body, towards greater prosperity. Dr Martin Rushwaya, Zimbabwe’s Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet, said, “As the new SADC Chair, His Excellency the President carries the hopes of the sub-region for building peace and solidarity as well as driving socio-economic transformation.”
Others were far more sceptical. United Zimbabwe Alliance leader, Elisabeth Valerio, who was the only female candidate in the 2023 Zimbabwean elections explained this week why she was not at SADC. “My view is that opposition parties present at the summit were there to sanitise the facade of a matured democracy, yet we all know the reality.
“We must hold our national leaders to account. We expect them to deliver real progress for the people, not just celebrating ceremonial positions.” Valerio said. “If we are to expect anything positive from holding the SADC Chairmanship, it should first be reflected in tangible improvements within our borders.
“Sadly, reality is far from this. The majority of Zimbabweans continue to suffer under economic hardship, and we have witnessed the continued violation of citizens’ rights.” Valerio said that the SADC protocols and guidelines on governance, which the Zimbabwean government is expected to uphold, remain a distant promise for the ordinary Zimbabwean.
Speaking at the Summit, Claver Gatete, the United Nations under-secretary-general and executive secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa focussed on the severe fiscal crisis of the Continent as a whole, with sovereign debt standing at over USD1 trillion, and climate change eroding 5% cent of GDP on average annually.
“These impacts are quite evident in the SADC region,” Gatete noted. He spoke of the need for SADC to develop regional agglomeration, energy solutions and economic value chains to ensure sustainable industrialisation across the region and elevate SADC’ s role within the Continent.
He also spoke of the need to ensure food security and sovereignty, declaring that there is no reason for Africa to be spending USD 120 billion per year importing food when “SADC can be Africa’s breadbasket”. He concluded his address stressing that the need for rapid industrialisation and home-grown solutions are absolute necessities.
The SADC Summit outcomes focussed on the need to accelerate the implementation of regional projects and programmes. This includes co-operation on energy projects, transport infrastructure, climate proofing the region’s agriculture and expanding manufacturing and tourism.
The Summit recognised the importance of the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFCA) agreement forged between the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, the East African Community and SADC in July. This affords SADC member states access to a market of 26 countries, and a population of close to 700 million.
The Summit took place at a time when the region is battling with food insecurity, environmental devastation, war and conflict, and poor economies. A shocking statistic presented at the SADC summit was that sixty-eight million people, which amounts to 17% of the region, are currently in need of humanitarian support due to devastating droughts and other climate related disasters. At the Summit, member states were asked to facilitate the necessary aid as well as monitor and mitigate against future climate risks.
War is rampant in DRC despite SADC efforts to quell conflict and violence. However, Angolan president João Lourenço delivered some good news at the Summit when he announced that talks between Rwanda and DRC were scheduled for August 20 to discuss a draft peace plan.
The new chairperson of the SADC organ on politics, defence, and security co-operation, Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan set out her plan to strengthen security mechanisms and promote good governance across the region. On the issue of war and conflict, the Summit called for an immediate ceasefire in Palestine and the release of all hostages.
The outbreak of Mpox, in nine African countries and Sweden, and which has caused at least 500 deaths in DRC was given due attention. One of the critical outcomes of the Summit was to urge member states to ensure that the outbreak is carefully monitored.
Member states were asked to ensure that there is adequate diagnosis of the disease, as well as prevention and control including raising awareness among communities. SADC called for the World Health Organisation to assist with resources and assistance in this regard.
The Secretariat of SADC was instructed to hold an urgent meeting of ministers of Health to ensure a co-ordinated regional response to the Mpox outbreak.
Whether the 44th Ordinary Summit of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) will be a “resounding success” will depend on whether the outcomes are honoured and actioned.
At the heart of its success is to ensure good governance across its member states. And it all begins at home – in each and every member state. For now, jailed activists, in Zimbabwe have been released. But this hardly means the end of human rights abuses.
The pretty façade of Zimbabwe’s new facilities, roads and infrastructure were paved with the intention to impress international guests, rather than improve the lives of ordinary citizens. It was a matter of show and tell. Behind the shine is the story of much suffering.
And by all account SADC leaders showed little concern about this as they enjoyed the sparkling new facilities.
* Kim Heller is a political analyst and author of ‘No White Lies: Black Politics and White Power in South Africa’. This article was written exclusively for The African. To republish, see terms and conditions.
** The views expressed in this article are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of The African