PRESENT

• Bertha M. Ndebele Malawi (Chairperson)
• Luísa Francisco Pedro Damião Angola
• Hon Deputy Speaker Balamage DRC
• Jerónima Agostinho        Mozambique
• Lucien Rakotomalala Madagascar
• Desmond Lawrence South Africa
• Maria Langa-Phiri Zambia
• Joyce Makonya Zimbabwe
• Ashley Ittoo Mauritius
• Rosie Bistoquet        Seychelles
• Strydom Mpansa                           Eswatini

ABSENT  WITH APOLOGY

• Sebastian Karupu Namibia
• Jamal K Ali Tanzania
• Mokweledi Moswanne Botswana
• Mphosi Nkhase Lesotho

SECRETARY

• Mr Dennis Gondwe, Secretary SADC PF Secretariat

IN ATTENDANCE

• Boemo M. Sekgoma Secretary General
• Ms Jabulile Malaza Eswatini
• Ms Paulina Kanguatjivi          SADC PF Secretariat
• Ms Yapoka Mungandi SADC PF Secretariat
• Mr Raj Khooblall Project Accountant
• Mr Shauneni Kurasha SADC PF Secretariat

The meeting was called to order at 09:30 hours.

AGENDA

• Credentials of Delegates and Apologies.
• Welcome Remarks by the Chairperson.
• Adoption of Agenda.
• Consideration of Minutes from the previous Meeting held virtually on 16^th October 2020.
• Consideration of matters arising from the Minutes of the previous meeting
• Update on the implementation of the SRHR, HIV/AIDS Governance Project
• Briefing on the HSDSP Annual Workplan by the Committee Secretary
• Closing Remarks by the Chairperson

CREDENTIALS OF DELEGATES AND APOLOGIES

Apologies were recorded from the national Parliaments of South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, Botswana, and Tanzania. 9 out of the 15 Member Parliaments were present. Accordingly, the meeting was deemed to be properly constituted.

ADOPTION OF AGENDA

The draft Agenda was adopted without amendments on a motion by Seychelles and seconded by Zimbabwe.

WELCOME REMARKS BY THE CHAIRPERSON

In her welcome remarks, the Chairperson, Hon. Bertha Ndebele reminded the meeting that one of the guiding principles of the SADC Parliamentary Forum was to promote a culture of human rights and democratisation within SADC which included the enjoyment of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) for all without discrimination. On the strength of this mandate, the SADC PF in collaboration with national parliaments embarked on the implementation of a 3-year Project on SRHR, HIV/AIDS Governance. Hon Ndebele informed the meeting that the activity period for the Project was from 1^st July 2019 to 30^th June 2022, and 10 national parliaments were taking part in the implementation of the Project at domestic level. She emphasized that the HSDSP committee was vested with a statutory mandate to oversee and provide leadership in the implementation of the project, and it was against this background that the meeting had been organised so that the Members were updated on implementation processes and the way forward. In its leadership role, the HSDSP Committee is well poised to spearhead the SRHR Project both at regional and national level and ensure that pertinent SRHR related resolutions are tabled at the Plenary Assembly of the Forum.

CONSIDERATION OF MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING HELD VIRTUALLY ON 16^TH OCTOBER 2020.

The Committee considered the minutes of the previous meeting, and on the motion by Eswatini and seconded by Zambia, the minutes of the previous meeting held on 16^th October 2020 were adopted as a correct record of proceedings without amendments.

MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING, HELD VIRTUALLY ON 16^TH OCTOBER 2020

There were no Matters Arising from the Minutes of the previous meeting as previous matters were already actioned by the Secretariat in collaboration with Member Parliaments.

UPDATE ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SRHR, HIV/AIDS AND GOVERNANCE PROJECT BY THE PROJECT ACCOUNTANT AND THE COMMITTEE SECRETARY

The Committee Secretary Mr D. Gondwe presented a brief overview of the SRHR Project. He explained that the  vision of the Project was  universal access to integrated SRHR and HIV/AIDS services and related rights, including bringing forward social change, improved health and respect for human rights that are enjoyed by all in the SADC region, and consequently, the goal of the Project was  to work towards the achievement of this universal access to integrated SRHR and HIV/AIDS services and related rights through parliamentary action via the legislative, oversight, budgetary and representative roles of MPs.

In terms of implementation, he explained that processes were unique and contextualised to each National Parliament and that activities to be implemented were circulated by a Memorandum issued by the Secretariat at the beginning of the Project. Mitigation measures were also put in place in view of striving to attain the set targets amidst the challenges experienced due to COVID-19. Members of the HSDSP will recall that an adaptive strategy was mapped on the project outcomes of the SRHR Project in view of ensuring that remedial measures are taken to achieve the project objectives. The adaptive strategy was approved by members of the HSDSP at the last meeting on the 16^th October 2020 and was thereafter transmitted to all SADC national Parliaments through SRHR Researchers. Moreover, SRHR Researchers based in national Parliaments met with UNESCO’s representatives for deliberation on UNESCO-SADCF PF Support, which aimed at promoting awareness and acceptance of CSE in the SADC region, as well as securing the ESA Commitment beyond 2020. In February 2021, National Parliaments managed to review their work plans and implemented most of their scheduled project activities by the end of March 2021. Afterwards, National Parliaments are to compile their country level Annual Reports which will be sent for monitoring and evaluation.

The Project Accountant,  Mr Raj Khooblall, explained to the Committee that the SRHR Project was being funded by SIDA to the tune of 3 Million USD for a period of 3 years, and that due to the outbreak of COVID-19, the project encountered some challenges in the 2^nd year of implementation such as difficulties to hold physical meetings both at regional and national level as a result of lockdowns and in-country confinement restrictions. Additionally, most SADC countries had imposed flight restrictions and this was an impediment to the organisation of regional meetings, which as a consequence, resulted to a low utilisation of funding.

It was mentioned that there were some opportunities that arose during the course of the second year of implementation in the sense that the Project had managed to conduct zoom meetings and swiftly shift most of its meetings online. Additionally, the ICT framework under the Project was strengthened by procuring laptops and cell phones for SRHR Researchers, and by providing data allowance to Researchers and key Project staff. This complemented an initiative of the Forum to provide data allowance to recruited seconded staff to service the standing committees of the Forum.

The Project Accountant also explained that for year three the project has a budget of 1.2 million USD and the following activities would be implemented:

• Need to continue holding National Working Group (NWG) meetings at national parliament level;
• To continue holding capacity development for MPs and other stakeholders such as CSOs;
• To facilitate the formulation of the SADC Model Law on Public Financial Management;
• To hold public hearings and sensitisation campaigns where appropriate;
• To continue facilitating E-Communication and the development of e-briefs; and
• To facilitate the recruitment of legal expert at national parliament level to assist on bill analysis and processing.

The Project Accountant further mentioned that the expectation was that 2021 would be a better year for the project because there was high likelihood of conducting physical meetings both at national level and regional level.

The Committee enquired from the Secretariat as to why some countries like Madagascar were not part of the Project and it was explained that in the initial design of the project all countries in the region were included but for reasons beyond the control of the Secretariat, not all countries responded in relation to implementation at national level by the deadline set by the HSDSP of 31^st December 2019. However, it was mentioned that countries which still want to participate in the Project may do so by writing a formal request to the Secretariat, after which the Secretariat will take up the matter with the donor, Sweden.

BRIFING ON THE HSDSP ANNUAL WORKPLAN BY THE COMMITTEE SECRETARY

The Committee Secretary, Mr D. Gondwe explained to the Committee that the mandate of the Human and Social Development & Special Programmes (HSDSP) and its Standing Committee is derived from the Strategic Plan (2019 – 2023), the Forum’s Constitution, Rules of Procedure, Plenary Assembly Resolutions, as well as previous Committee Resolutions, and that the main goal of the programme is to deal with human and social development issues pertaining to health and combating illicit drug trafficking, HIV/AIDS, and education, among others. In addition, professional training, employment and labour, culture and sport, science and technology and humanitarian issues also constitute bedrock themes for the HSDSP Committee.

In this respect, under the objective of enhancing the role of the Forum in the fight against SRHR infringements, HIV/AIDS, and protection of key populations from a parliamentary perspective, the Committee is mandated to hold a dialogue on key issues pertaining to the protection of vulnerable groups, namely, the elderly, women and children, and key populations in the SADC region. In addition, a dialogue meeting will be held on emerging issues pertaining to human trafficking in the light of COVID-19 pandemic.

In accordance with the objective of enhancing cross-learning initiatives for HSDSP and other standing committees, and partners of the Forum, the Committee would conduct a joint session of HSDSP and RWPC on the SADC Model Law on Child Marriages, and hold a training in conjunction with partners on data capturing by reference to the data impact of the SRHR, HIV/AIDS Governance Project.

Additionally, the Committee will hold biannual meetings to discuss the progress in the implementation of the SRHR, HIV/AIDS Governance project and also conduct follow-up meetings to check on the implementation of regional commitments and resolutions e.g. CSE, the domestication of the SADC Model Law on Child Marriages, and Public Financial Management.

The Committee urged the committee secretariat to properly realign the activities with time frames for proper follow up in the implementation processes.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

In her concluding remarks, Hon Rosie Bistoquet, on behalf of the Chairperson thanked the Secretariat for arranging a successful meeting. She also reiterated the Committee’s appreciation to Mr Raj Khooblall, the SRHR Project Accountant for the elaborate explanation to the Committee on the current status of the Project’s finances. She mentioned that the information they had been given on the Project would allow the Committee Members to make evidence-based interventions during deliberations in their national Parliaments and at the Forum.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS

There being no further business to transact, the meeting adjourned at 13:00 hours.

Minutes of the Meeting of the SADC Parliamentary Forum Standing Committee on Human And Social Development and Special Programmes (HSDSP), Held Virtually On Friday 16th April 2021