Southern Africa Development Community Research Articles

Financial Imperatives and Constraints towards Funding the SADC Standby Force

Achievable and viable peace and security efforts in Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) have been limited by an over dependence on foreign and international peacekeeping. The aim of this article is to unpack financial imperatives and constraints towards funding the SADC standby force (SADCSF). Through this the article hopes to provide lessons towards a suitable and sustainable funding mechanism aimed at addressing the financial challenges confronting African standby forces in peace operations. In particular, this article focuses on the SADCSF since its establishment in 2007. This article uses information from existing statistical and research data to first, identify existing funding models in international (regional and continental) peace operation and stand-by forces across the globe. Second, using four critical analytical frames (financial viability, the nature of regionalism, fiscal sustainability and economic landscape), the article highlights various implications of a lack of funding mechanism for regional peace and security in Africa. Third, the article shows that the following are critical to find a sustainable funding mechanism for the SADCSF: the financially demanding variable geometric nature of regional integration in Africa; the proliferation of security agencies; the complex nature of terrorism and interventions; the cost of skill acquisition and training of the multidisciplinary personnel; payment of wounded soldiers and contingents and member state tight budget. Based on international experiences and local realities expounded, this article suggests lessons towards building a suitable and sustainable funding mechanism for African peace and security in general, and regional standby forces in particular.

FINANCING STRUCTURE AND FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY OF SELECTED SADC MICROFINANCE INSTITUTIONS (MFIs)

ABSTRACTThis study analyses selected Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) in delineating how commercialized financing structure relates to financial sustainability given the need to control poverty through financially sustainable MFIs. The study takes from a recent SADC microfinance survey which recommended financial rescue packages for ailing MFIs to proffer financial sustainability. This survey failed to specify the form of financing which supports financial sustainability in addition to the inconclusive and little evidence in this regard. We note that though the financing structure and the level of financial sustainability varies with countries, MFIs are generally financially unsustainable. A robust probit model framework affirms the role of financing structure on financial sustainability. Portfolio at risk, cost efficiency and costs linked to deposit attraction explain financial sustainability. We suggest the availing of more donations, upgrading risk management and improving cost efficiency to induce financial sustainability.

Public Participation in Environmental Matters International Human Rights Developments in Europe and Africa

In different ways, international law on participatory rights in environmental matters – the right to participate in decision-making, and have access to information and access to justice – is developing in Europe and Africa. In this article, I compare these legal developments. I limit my focus of comparison to the international minimum standards for participatory rights in environmental matters, as developed in legal frameworks and jurisprudence of two key treaty regimes of each region. I start with an overview of the developments in Europe, with which I am most familiar, and move on to considerations about the developments in Africa. Limiting the comparison to the listed treaty regimes means that national laws will not be considered. While for a huge part of Europe, European Union (EU) law – which is not international law – is significant for the promotion of participatory rights, EU law will also be excluded from the comparison. Having said that, to a great extent, applicable EU law on the matter substantially draws on the two European treaties considered here. To different degrees, these two treaty regimes apply also to areas outside the EU, i.e. to states in Europe which are not EU member states, and to states in the Caucasus region and Central Asia that were former republics in the Soviet Union. As for Africa, in addition to the two treaty regimes considered here, legal or political measures to promote public participation have been taken in other or related international regimes, e.g. by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), East Africa Community (EAC), and African Ministerial Conference of the Environment (AMCEN).

English

The study evaluates the effects of global/international finance on financial development, as well as analyse the options for enhancing the flow of global finance, in the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) region. The study is motivated by the seemingly disconnection between global finance and international financial centres and financial development in the SADC region. The study uses a cross-country dynamic panel model, and estimations established that countries with international financial centres contribute nearly double to pooled financial development in the SADC when compared to countries without. It was also established that global finance that is currently received by SADC countries has no effect on financial development in these counties. The study recommends strategies through which South Africa, a globally connected country, could link other SADC countries to global financial markets and help in driving the development of financial systems in these countries.   Key words: Financial development, global finance, international financial centres, Southern Africa Development Community (SADC).

Towards a model for a parliamentary constituency information centre: a case study of the Parliament of Zimbabwe

Theoretical models of communicating parliamentary information, as well as ensuring the smooth functioning of Parliamentary Constituents Information Centres (PCICs), have highlighted challenges affecting the delivery of information to constituents. The Parliament of Zimbabwe (PoZ) became one of the first parliaments to implement PCICs among Southern Africa Development Community countries. The intention was to improve the dissemination of information to constituents, among other functions. In a study that evaluated the performance of Zimbabwe’s PCICs and their future improvement, a number of operational challenges have surfaced, and this calls for potential solutions to address the challenges, which have in turn brought the need of a suitable model for PCICs to the fore. This article presents a proposed PCIC model for the PoZ based on the findings from a survey conducted in Zimbabwe between 2012 and 2015. The target population included the donor community, constituents, Office Assistants and Members of Parliament. Various methods and instruments were used to collect quantitative and qualitative data. Further, the study examined several theories and models to inform the development of a model for PCICs in Zimbabwe.

Remittances, Foreign Direct Investment and Growth in SADC: A Panel Co-integration Approach

The current growth in per capita gross domestic product for countries within Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) has been below the target of 7% as provided by the sustainable development goals. This study uses panel co-integration techniques to establish the presence of non-linearity between long term growth and remittances, the substitutability or complementarity between foreign direct investment (FDI) and remittances as sources of long term growth. Annual data for 12 SADC member states for the period 1970 to 2014 was employed. Findings show that remittances promote long term growth and the connection between the two is nonlinear. Remittances positively affect growth as long as the level of elasticity is at most 1.09% after which the level of growth subsides. The non-linearity connection suggests the need for strong institutions to extend the positive effect of remittances beyond the threshold. The study finds that remittances and FDI flows are complementary in the growth process. The SADC region benefits by putting policies that promote trade and develop financial products that promotes continuous investment by households who are the key recipients of remittances. SADC countries benefit more by increasing reliance on remittances as opposed to FDI flows to spur growth.

Addressing Climate Change in Southern Africa: Any Role for South Africa in the Post-Paris Agreement?

Climate change is a global challenge. Its ramifying effects on both natural and human systems cut across different regions of the world. While Africa as a whole is being confirmed to be more affected by climate change due in part to a relatively low(er) mitigation and adaptive capacity, coupled with a situation where majority of its population depends mainly on natural resources, Southern Africa is singled out as a potentially vulnerable subregion for other additional factors. Representing a milestone in the trajectory of the global climate change process, the 21st session of the Conference of Parties (COP-21) resolved with a consensual climate change deal known as the Paris Agreement. The Agreement, through the instrumentality of a ratchet up mechanism, otherwise described as Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs), seeks significant cuts in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions effectively from 2020. In essence, it calls for a novel though gradual shift from carbon-emission approach to low emission development strategy. This, no doubt, is indispensable to sustainable development at all levels. Beyond national commitments as obligatory for parties, there is a need for regional cooperative efforts which should bring about shared appropriate policy responses that promote green energy as well as seize opportunities inherent in it for national and deterritorialised gains. Adopting neoliberal and green theories, the institutional framework of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) where South Africa is expected to take a lead is examined in this article.

A new state’s debut in regional diplomacy: Namibia and the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC)

ABSTRACTThe Republic of Namibia has been one of the last states in southern Africa to gain independence. As a newly independent state, Namibia formulated a regional foreign policy-based on historical support and relations. One arena where Namibia made its diplomatic debut was in a multilateral context through its engagement with the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and its predecessor, the Southern African Development Coordination Conference (SADCC). Building on the parallels in Namibia and SADC’s relations, Namibia has transformed itself into a leading country in the region through various diplomatic practices typically used by new states. As s a newly independent or new state, the case of Namibia’s regional diplomacy in respect of SADC offers some insights into new state diplomacy. Firstly, Namibia’s regional diplomacy reflects some continuity in the liberation movements’ relations with regional actors. In the second instance, regional diplomacy offers new states a relatively safe environment to develop its diplomatic confidence. Thirdly, Namibia’s regional diplomacy reiterates the importance of diplomatic skill, technical expertise and bureaucratic experience, which, in the fourth instance, can be translated into credible organizational and diplomatic innovation in the region.

POLITICAL ECONOMY OF TRADE WITH THE EUROPEAN UNION: SOUTH AFRICA’S PURSUIT OF NARROW SELF-INTEREST

In the years between 1995 and 2008 South Africa was engaged in trade negotiations with the European Union (EU), which were seen as platform for addressing the trade imbalances in favour of the EU. In 2002, a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was signed between South Africa and the EU. Despite its membership to the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), South Africa engaged on the negotiations on its own which led to trade and political tensions with other countries within the community. By going alone South Africa was clearly indicating an appetite to vigorously pursue its interests at the expense of regional partners. It is argued that the exclusion, at an early stage of the negotiations, of other regional countries within SADC was counterproductive and had the potential to harm the regional trade relations. In addition, the change of approach at later stage that brought in the regional approach to the negotiations improved the regional trade relations within SADC.

What does the EU-SADC EPA really say? An analysis of the economic partnership agreement between the European Union and Southern Africa

ABSTRACTAfter more than 10 years of negotiations, the European Union and six members of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) successfully concluded talks on an economic partnership agreement (EPA). The EPA is a reciprocal trade agreement under the umbrella of the Cotonou Agreement, under which all parties commit to trade liberalisation but under which the SADC EPA countries can exempt sensitive products from liberalisation so as to take account of their level of development. This article explains in detail the contents of the agreement, examines the degree of trade liberalisation, and explores the lesser known provisions of the EPA. The article then argues that part of the agreement's developmental character resides in the numerous provisions that offer benefits to SADC EPA states but not to the EU. It also highlights provisions that could be invoked to help African states in the process of economic diversification. Finally, contrary to some detractors, the article takes the view that policy space for policy-makers remains by and large respected.

Current Trends in the Economic Development of the Participating in the Tripartite Free Trade Area Regional Economic Communities

Abstract. The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, the East African Community and the Southern Africa Development Community are three of the eight regional economic communities that are recognized by the African Union as building blocks of the African Economic Community. The three RECs recently concluded the negotiations to establish the Tripartite free trade area on a tariff-free, quota-free, exemption-free basis by simply combining their existing free trade areas. The multiplicity of trading arrangements in southern and eastern Africa, ranging from bilateral agreements between individual countries to free trade areas and customs unions, poses a huge implementation challenge to the deepening and development of the process of economic integration thus the creation of the Tripartite free trade area can be regarded as a step in the right direction. The paper aims at presenting the economic properties of the economies in the three RECs participating in the negotiations on the Tripartite FTA with a special focus on the analysis on intracommunity trade as an indicator for the current state-of-art and the perspective of the integration process in the three RECs. It presents the aims, principles and main challenges of the Tripartite FTA negotiations. Then it examines thoroughly the three participating RECs in terms of the economic properties of their member states and the trends in their international trade. Some conclusions are drawn on the integration potential of the participating RECs as well as on the possibilities presented by the creation of the Tripartite FTA. Keywords. Tripartite FTA, COMESA-EAC-SADC, Regional economic integration, African economy. JEL. F15, F55, N77.

Applying the energy productivity index that considers maximized energy reduction on SADC (Southern Africa Development Community) members

Under the trend of global energy prices continuously going up, this paper considers the concept of maximized energy reduction to model the energy productivity index by decomposing it into energy technical change and energy efficiency change. The paper takes the eight SADC (Southern Africa Development Community ) members as an example to estimate their energy efficiency, energy productivity change, energy technical change, energy efficiency change, and rebound effect on energy use, as well as to test the Jevons Paradox. The time period of the data spans 2005 to 2009. The empirical result shows large energy performance differences among the eight SADC members. Not one country among the eight members is an energy technology innovator. After calculating the rebound effect and testing the Jevons Paradox, the result shows that there seems to be no obvious Jevons Paradox in this economic region.

Water resources transfers through southern African food trade: water efficiency and climate signals

Temporal and spatial variability of precipitation in southern Africa is particularly high. The associated drought and flood risks, combined with a largely rain-fed agriculture, pose a challenge for water and food security in the region. As regional collaboration strengthens through the Southern Africa Development Community and trade with other regions increases, it is thus important to understand both how climate variability affects agricultural productivity and how food trade (regional and extra-regional) can contribute to the region's capacity to deal with climate-related shocks. We combine global hydrological model simulations with international food trade data to quantify the water resources embedded in international food trade in southern Africa and with the rest of the world, from 1986–2011. We analyze the impacts of socio-economic changes and climatic variability on agricultural trade and embedded water resources during this period. We find that regional food trade is efficient in terms of water use but may be unsustainable because water-productive exporters, like South Africa, rely on increasingly stressed water resources. The role of imports from the rest of the world in the region's food supply is important, in particular during severe droughts. This reflects how trade can efficiently redistribute water resources across continents in response to a sudden gap in food production. In a context of regional and global integration, our results highlight opportunities for improved water-efficiency and sustainability of the region's food supply via trade.

Life cycle theory and financial sustainability of selected SADC microfinance institutions (MFIs)

The Life Cycle Theory (LCT) has been applied in business in an effort to explain the ‘birth, growth, maturation and death’ processes of firms. However, its application and relevancy in the microfinance field has not been popular. The LCT connotes that, the management of MFIs gains experience through time hence sharpen the business model and MFI financing. This allows MFIs to navigate from being small, inefficient and un-sustainable institutions into large, sustainable and financially sustainable institutions. Financial sustainability is celebrated by institutionalists for enhancing outreach to the poor in a consistent way. This makes financial sustainability a supreme MFI development lag necessary for every MFI. Evidence on whether MFIs develop towards financial sustainability has remained on the low side as research has continued to shy away from addressing this worthy cause. In an effort to explain whether MFIs mature towards financial sustainability, this study employs data from selected Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) MFIs, a deviation from a prior study which considered MFIs from across the world with high disclosure tendencies and asset values. We selected SADC MFIs (small and large) on the pretext that, SADC MFIs are typically financially unsustainable as portrayed by an earlier survey – raising concerns on their ability in serving the persistently poverty stricken region. Getting to know whether the LCT can explain financial sustainability becomes obligatory in designing intervention mechanisms. Panel regression methods adjusted for various robustness checks show that, the LCT cannot fully explain MFI financial sustainability. We note the role of MFI financing structure and efficiency measures in defining financial sustainability. Low cost financing sources (equity) support financial sustainability. Donations limit financial sustainability as they nurture dependency and inefficiency. Regulatory costs linked with deposit collection also constrain financial sustainability. We suggest the usage of low cost internal financing sources if MFIs are to attain FS. In the same realm, MFIs ought to restrain costs, whether they come from the financing side or operational side for financial sustainability to be attained. We note the need to maintain a quality loan portfolio to endorse FS.

Health and economic growth: are there gendered effects?: Evidence from selected southern Africa development community region

Women’s economic participation has recently been at the centre of the debate on sustainable development. It is a widely held view that women have a strategic role in poverty reduction dynamics. The argument is that when women have equal access to education and full participation in business and economic decision-making, they are a significant driving force against poverty. Women economic empowerment increases earning power which in its turn raises household incomes while reducing fertility rates that triggers the population transition dynamics. This is eventually translated into well-being of children, reducing poverty of future generations. In fact currently World Bank Strategy to empower women among others includes the need to increase investment in women’s health. Recognising this issue, SADC region has developed a number of gender based health polices which are in line with regional and international commitments. As a result one of the key indicators of development in the region is now the state of women’s health. However overall health status has been an issue in SADC region, mostly due to HIV/AIDS infections and Tuberculosis. Globally SADC has the highest level of HIV prevalence and the most affected social group is women, between 15 and 24 years of age. Furthermore the review of literature indicates that much of what is known about the effects of health by gender in this region has been descriptive in nature. No previous study has empirically investigated the nature of these effects in this region. This chapter aims to fill this gap. This paper empirically investigates the link between improvements on health disaggregated by gender on productivity and hence economic growth in the SADC region between 1970 and 2010. Health improvement is measured by life expectancy and economic growth is measured by real GDP per capita at 2005 constant prices and data is taken from the WDI and PWT. Using Fixed Effect (FE) the findings presented in this analysis suggests that improvements in both female and male health can significantly improve economic growth in this region. However an increase in male health significantly raises economic growth greater than that of females. These effects are robust to changes in model specification. These findings may reflect women’s higher morbidity rates in the region compared to men in this region that might affect productivity. They also may reflect inequalities in accessing education or formal paid work that is required to trigger the population transition dynamics and eventually economic growth. These results imply the need of some policy adjustment in order to align all SADC gender policies particularly in education, employment and improvements in health in order to capitalize on the benefits of improvements on female health.

Financing structure and outreach of selected SADC microfinance institutions (MFIS)

This paper probes the link between financing structure and outreach noting the commercialization trend for selected Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) MFIs. Assuming MIX panel data on 60 MFIs, this study tackles outreach depth and breadth – a diversion from an outreach depth-centered study which employed Planet Rating data on 74 Sub-Saharan African MFIs. Robust panel methods show that, both outreach depth and breadth are affected by the same variables, though in a different way. Equity, deposits and ‘new’ MFIs significantly further depth whilst borrowings limit depth. Breadth is constrained by borrowings, equity and ‘new’ MFIs while deposits expand the breadth. We suggest that, permitting MFIs to collect deposits go a long way in spurring outreach depth and breadth.

Legal Status of International Law in South Africa's Municipal Law: Government of the Republic of Zimbabwe v Fick and Others (657/11) [2012] Zasca 122

The Southern Africa Development Community Tribunal (SADC Tribunal) was formed in terms of article 2 of the Protocol on Tribunal and Rules of Procedure thereof (SADC Protocol on the Tribunal) to ensure adherence to and proper interpretation of the Treaty of the Southern African Development Community (SADC Treaty) and its subsidiary instruments, and to adjudicate disputes referred to it? In terms of the provisions of article 16(5) of the SADC Treaty and article 32(3) of the SADC Protocol on the Tribunal, the decisions of the SADC Tribunal are final and binding to the parties in dispute. The SADC Tribunal has issued various judgments against the Republic of Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe); however, there has been no compliance with its decisions by Zimbabwe. Frustrated by unsuccessful efforts to register and enforce the rulings of the SADC Tribunal before the domestic courts of Zimbabwe, the applicants decided to approach the South African courts in an attempt to register and enforce the decisions of the Tribunal. This article discusses the legal status of international law in South Africa's municipal law in light of the decision of the Supreme Court of Appeal, South Africa (SCA) in the matter between the Government of the Republic of Zimbabwe v Fick and Others.

Deep Integration in Eastern and Southern Africa: What are the Stakes?

Evidence indicates that trade costs are a much more substantial barrier to trade than tariffs, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. We decompose trade costs into (a) trade facilitation; (b) non-tariff barriers and (c) the costs of business services. We develop a conceptually innovative model and new dataset to assess deep integration to reduce these three types of trade costs in the East African Community, the Common Market of East and Southern Africa and South African Development Community (EAC-COMESA-SADC) ‘Tripartite’ Free Trade Area (FTA), within the EAC alone and unilaterally by the EAC. We find that there are substantial gains for all six of our African regions from deep integration in the Tripartite FTA or comparable unilateral reforms by the EAC; but the estimated gains vary considerably across countries and depend on the reform. Thus, countries would have an interest in negotiating for different reforms in different agreements. Tariff removal in the Tripartite FTA would produce only small losses or gains, depending on the country. Interestingly, we estimate that Kenya gains less from comparable unilateral liberalisation by the EAC than from the Tripartite FTA, due in part to an umbrella of protection in services markets in the Tripartite region.

From scarcity to security: Water as a potential factor for conflict and cooperation in Southern Africa

We never miss the water until the well runs dry. (Scottish Proverb)Water scarcity has emerged as a compelling non-military security issue that justifies an expanded human security agenda. This article argues that a buttressed notion of mutual interdependence is critical to the prospects of enhanced hydropolitical cooperation over shared water resources in Southern Africa. The link between water and politics is inextricable and the impending water scarcity in the region, which can easily engender a whole host of economic and environmental insecurities, has the potential to lead to escalating tensions; it can also be a catalyst for cooperation. It is therefore imperative that basin-wide regimes redressing imbalances in the institutional and legal framework governing water rights and allocation be established at the regional level in order to promote equity in the utilisation of shared water resources, as envisaged in the Revised Southern Africa Development Community Water Protocol.

Social Protection Afforded to Irregular Migrant Workers: Thoughts on the Southern Africa Development Community (with Emphasis on Botswana and South Africa)

AbstractThe majority of migrant workers target those countries in southern Africa that have stronger economies. Irregular migrants are in a particularly vulnerable position, and this article discusses the protection that this category of persons may expect to experience in the southern African region. It traverses the international, continental and regional instruments providing protection to irregular migrants, and considers the constitutional and legislative frameworks in relation to social protection in Botswana and South Africa. The article concludes by recommending that the broader notion of “social protection”, rather than the narrower concept of “social security”, should be emphasized. Job creation programmes are essential. It suggests that the advantages of the free movement of people in the region should be explored and encouraged. The article also supports the notion that a regional policy that seeks to balance the flow of migrants in the Southern African Development Community should be adopted.