Resource-Sharing and Self-Reliance in Southern Africa

Abstract

The main objective of the Southern African Development Coordination Conference (SADCC) is to achieve regional self-reliance through cooperation, but this cannot be achieved without proper information management. The SADCC countries are too dependent on ready-made solutions provided by foreign advisers. There is a considerable amount of information available in the SADCC region, but the absence of national documentation services, and of a national union catalogue, undermines the establishment of intra-regional resource-sharing facilities. Networking will facilitate both accessibility and availability of the region's resources to a wider community. Examines the advantages to the SADCC countries of the networking idea and progress in regional information networks such as SADIS (Southern African Documentation and Information System).