'United SADC means people first'
22 August 2005
The 14 Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries - including Zimbabwe - have no choice but to cooperate to solve their common problems, says President Thabo Mbeki.
"The SADC member states have long shared the dream of the rest of the African masses throughout our continent, that to realise their most fundamental hopes, they must ensure that Africa unites," Mbeki said on Friday in his latest weekly letter in ANC Today, the online publication of the African National Congress.
SADC leaders recently concluded their two-day Jubilee Summit in Gabarone, Botwana. The community, founded in 1980, is made up of South Africa, Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe, with Madagascar joining this year.
"The leaders of our region gathered in Gaborone should respect the principle and practice of batho pele - people
first," Mbeki said in his letter.
"Africa needs to build the necessary regional building blocks that would serve as the stepping stones that would be used to achieve the unity of our continent.
"The contemporary global situation makes it impossible for any country to be an island sufficient unto itself," he said.
"SADC member states face the same problems concerning the reality and impact of poverty and underdevelopment in our individual countries.
"Our countries are also bound to one another by many ties. This means that the objective situation in our region dictates that we have no choice but to cooperate to solve our common problems."
Mbeki said the region had responded magnificently to this challenge when it faced the task to achieve its liberation from colonialism and apartheid.
It established a voluntary network, the Frontline States, which came together with Nigeria to support and promote the liberation of the region.
Referring to the
"protracted controversies" that had engulfed Zimbabwe over the past few years and the potential strength of the Zimbabwe economy, Mbeki said Zimbabwe was a vital and integral part of the region.
A stable and prosperous Zimbabwe was critical to the integration of the SADC region and its rapid rejuvenation.
"It can and must play a central role in the struggle to achieve the goals spelt out in the SADC treaty.
"The 'spirit of the Frontline States' means that as members of SADC we must be ready and willing to work closely together, understanding that we share a common destiny.
"It means that all of us must understand that what we do in any one of our countries has an impact on the rest. It means that as countries, we will sink or swim together," Mbeki said.
SouthAfrica.info reporter
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