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This newsletter focuses primarily on new developments affecting
civil society within Southern Africa. SARPN commissioned three
contributions, from institutions and persons with a
long-standing interest in civil society dynamics, to
stimulate some thinking on this key topic.
In the first article Bocongo, based in Gaborone, writes about
the imminent establishment of formal linkages between SADC and
a SADC-wide Council of NGOs. As Bocongo notes, one of the
objectives of the CNGO will be to facilitate an enabling
environment for NGOs across the region, with poverty policies
being a key focus of the Council and its national affiliates.
As the region moves almost inexorably towards deeper political
and economic integration, so too will linkages between civil
society organisations increasingly deepen. Arguably, linkages
between regional civil society, even if restricted to some
specific sectors, are more advanced than formal
inter-governmental linkages. SADC has committed itself to
increasing civil society access to its workings; this space
needs to be grasped by civil society formations.
The second article, by Georgie Frohlich of DRNF/Netwise from
Namibia, reflects upon some of the technical issues involved in
information sharing and dissemination between NGOs across the
region. This NGO has built up specific expertise and experience
in environmental networking which should be of direct relevance
to other NGO or regional sector networks.
These articles are supplemented by a contribution from Roy
Clarke, a Lusaka-based analyst and consultant. It takes the
form of a dialogue between imaginary actors, representing key
players in the development field. Despite its satirical nature,
it raises key issues which need to be confronted in the
development arena in Southern Africa. The poverty analysis
section closes with two articles reporting on a new regional
network (for farmworkers) and a review of civil society in
South Africa, drawn from a new research report.
SARPN will be pleased to carry any short responses to
these articles in the next edition of its newsletter. Please
send comments to sarpn@hsrc.ac.za as soon as possible.
Other sections of the newsletter carry a wide variety of
reports on poverty reduction processes and initiatives.
Researchers amongst our newsletter readership will no doubt be
particularly interested in the recently published proceedings
of a conference organised earlier this year by Ravi Kanbur on
the long-standing “Quants vs Quals” debate in poverty research.
1.2 Forthcoming SARPN events
Readers might be interested in two very different SARPN
forthcoming events.
The first, to be held in Pietermartizburg later this month,
is a follow-up to our June conference on Land Reform and
Regional Poverty in Southern Africa. The workshop will examine
the relationship between HIV/AIDS and land reform, specifically
focusing on the experience within KwaZulu-Natal. The workshop
will be held in conjunction with HIVAN, based at the University
of Natal, Durban, and the HIV/AIDS desk at the South African
National Department of Land Affairs.
Given the centrality of the topic, especially within a
rights-based approach to development and poverty reduction,
SARPN will also be facilitating similar workshops in Zambia
and, possibly Malawi. These will probably take place in January
next year.
Further details on the Pietermaritzburg workshop can be
obtained from:
http://www.sarpn.org.za/activities.php
SARPN will also shortly be hosting Ravi Kanbur, the
world-renowned scholar from Cornell University. Earlier this
year, we commissioned Professor Kanbur to write a short
critique of what is now known as the New Partnership for
Africa's Development (NEPAD). Professor Kanbur will be speaking
at a SARPN event on 10 December in Pretoria, where he will
present his views on NEPAD, particularly how it might flesh out
its anti-poverty agenda. SARPN will be bringing a wide range of
regional actors to the meeting. Full details will be announced
shortly.
Readers who wish to read the final NEPAD document can access
it on our www at:
http://www.sarpn.org.za/RegionalPovertyPapers/rppapers_nov2001.php
Given the centrality of NEPAD to the poverty debate we would
like to host a number of smaller discussions across the region,
in partnership with existing actors. Options for these
workshops will be discussed at the Kanbur meeting.
Finally, SARPN has commissioned a number of reports from
diverse actors and analysts in Mozambique on various issues
affecting land rights and land utilisation particularly
focusing on the Mozambican Land Law which is regarded as a
progressive framework for regulating investor/community
developmental partnerships. These papers will be debated by a
wider range of persons at a roundtable event in Maputo in
January. Our partner in this process has been the Nucleo de
Estudos da Terra E Desenvolvimento (NET) at the University of
Eduardo Mondlane in Maputo. This initiative also follows from
debates and comments raised at our June land conference.
Details will be available from SARPN shortly on the planned
event.
1.3 New additions to the SARPN www
SARPN's www continues to grow as we develop firmer linkages
across the region. For some time now we have been posting
material sent to us by organisations and networks central to
the fight against poverty and who do not have a www at their
own disposal; these include the CSPR in Zambia and the MEJN in
Malawi.
Some specific new additions can be mentioned:
- the draft Zambian and Malawian PRSPs
- the NEPAD document
- a commentary (by Andrew Whiteford) on poverty data sources
available from selected Southern African countries
- an analysis by the South African Institute of International
Affairs on poverty policies within the SADC region
- some sectoral analyses, notably water, migration,
HIV/AIDS and trade and their impact on poverty. Some of
these latter papers will be posted in the next few days.
These papers, and others, can be accessed at:
http://www.sarpn.org.za/rppapers.php
Persons who might have missed our earlier newsletters can access them at:
http://www.sarpn.org.za/newsletters.php
Finally our www will also shortly include extracts and
summaries from published documents on poverty from some SADC
states. Our objective in posting these extracts is to alert
readers to the extent of material that is available; these
documents are often not available on government wwws. By
publishing these extracts we hope to spur the demand for, and
utilisation of, such material by a wider group of persons and
institutions across the SADC region. They will be posted under
specific country headings (material gained from a recent visit
to Zambia and Malawi will be posted in the next few days).
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