Although its main ambition of considerably reducing poverty in the region is decades away from fulfilment, the fact that SADC has set its plans of action on the road to implementation bodes well for its future.

The main outcome of the Council of ministers was its approval of SADC?s budget for the financial year 2005-2006. The organization will have over US$37,500 000 at its disposal, more than double last year?s budget. Prega Ramsamy attributes this increase to ?the initial work on the implementation of the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) and the Strategic Indicative Plan of the Organ on Politics (SIPO) and the increased number of staff following the adoption of the new structure to implement our development blueprints?.

The Council has also decided to change its organizational structure from a decentralized to a centralized one. The laying of the foundation stone of SADC headquarters in Gaborone, Botswana in August 2005 is part of this strategy as are the new recruitment procedures, which ?are aimed at ensuring fair and equitable representation of member states at the Secretariat?. Thus, no country shall occupy more than one top position and 50% of all candidates for vacant regional posts will be women.

Organisation of silver jubilee

The executive secretary also announced that SADC?s candidate for the position of general director of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Mauritian Foreign minister, Jayen Cuttaree, will soon be receiving the support of the League of Arab States. The candidate has also been endorsed by the African Union, the African-Caribbean-Pacific (ACP) and Asian countries. ?Despite adverse reports from Western media, the SADC region is confident that the candidate will emerge victorious, given the large body of support already declared and the candidate?s wide experience in WTO matters.?

SADC hopes to create a Free Trade Area by 2008, a Customs Union by 2010 and a Common Market shortly afterwards. It is also discussing the possibility of a UNIVISA to facilitate multi-destination tourism.

The energy problems that SADC countries may soon encounter, economic partnership agreements, the SADC-India Forum and the organization?s silver jubilee were amongst other issues discussed during the Council.

<b>Zimbabwe elections: a validity test</b>

SADC?s executive secretary, Prega Ramsamy, said during the post-Council press briefing that this meeting ?didn?t discuss any political issues?. However, one word was on everybody?s lips: Zimbabwe. The upcoming parliamentary elections in the East African country will be a major test for the organization?s credibility on the world stage and many believe that SADC is the only body capable of influencing its despotic president, Robert Mugabe. Prega Ramsamy explained that political issues were the prerogative of SADC?s Organ on Politics, Defence and Security. He did concede that the Zimbabwean ministry of Foreign affairs had invited SADC members to send observers to the elections scheduled for 31st March. Each member state will submit a shortlist of potential candidates. ?Let our people see for themselves and submit their report?, was his answer to questions on what was being done to ensure that SADC electoral guidelines were respected.

According to the deputy director of the Southern African Research and Documentation Centre (SARDC) and editor of SADC Today, Munetsi Madakufamba, there is reason to believe that the impending parliamentary elections in Zimbabwe will not be a repeat of the 2000 fiasco. ?In terms of political participation, the environment has much improved,? states Harare-based Munetsi Madakufamba. ?The opposition is holding rallies quite freely and without intimidation.? He also explains that government has recently approved a policy allowing all parties access to public media and government grants for their campaigns ?on the basis of certain requirements?. He attributes this improvement to the SADC electoral guidelines. ?The elections are definitely going to be much fairer than in 2000.? He says that the fact that many observer groups will be submitting pre-election reports ?is very important because they won?t be influenced by the results?.