Staff Writer

The SADC Parliamentary Forum has joined the Government, people of Namibia and the international community in expressing deepest condolences following the passing on of Dr. Theo-Ben Gurirab, the former Speaker of the National Assembly of Namibia and also former President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).

In a statement, the President of SADC PF, Fernando da Piedade Dais dos Santos, who is also Speaker of the National Assembly of Angola, said death had robbed the world of a “liberation hero, diplomat par excellence and an internationalist.”

Gurirab died on Saturday 14 July 2018. He served as Speaker of the National Assembly of Namibia after the late Dr. Mose Tjitendero, the founding Speaker of the National Assembly of the Parliament of Namibia who was also the founding Chairperson of the SADC PF.

President of SADC PF, Fernando da Piedade Dais dos Santos, who is also Speaker of the National Assembly of AngolaDos Santos said Namibia was not only instrumental in establishing the SADC PF, but continues to host the Forum’s Secretariat.

“As a result, the SADC PF has benefitted from the wise stewardship of three successive Speakers of the National Assembly. This bears testimony to Namibia’s commitment to the SADC Integration Agenda and to the Forum, which is the voice of SADC Parliamentarians,” he said.

Dos Santos recalled that in 2007, SADC Parliamentarians nominated Gurirab as their candidate for the coveted position of President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union.

“Subsequently the African continent unanimously endorsed his candidature. Hon. Dr. Gurirab was elected by more than 170 parliaments and served from 2008 to 2011,” he said.

He said Gurirab took Parliamentary diplomacy to new heights in that during his tenure, the IPU was granted observer status by the United Nations.

“By supporting the call for the transformation of the SADC PF into a SADC Regional Parliament, Hon. Dr. Gurirab advocated for the appreciation of Parliamentary diplomacy in the SADC Region.”

Dos Santos said the greatest honour that the SADC Region could bestow “on this gentle giant” is to heed the call for the establishment of a SADC Regional Parliament.

“The upcoming 38^th SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government which will be held on 17^th – 18^th August 2018 in Windhoek, presents a golden opportunity,” Dos Santos said.

He noted Gurirab’s commitment and role in shaping the international development agenda.

“The leadership he provided during his tenure as President of the United Nations General Assembly (1999-2000) led to the development of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs.) The MDGs laid the foundation for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): the current international blueprint,” he said.

Quoting the vision statement of the 17 SDGs which run from 2015 to 2030, dos Santos said: “We can be the first generation to end extreme poverty, the most determined generation in history to end injustice and inequality, and the last generation to be threatened by climate change.”

He encouraged the world to recommit to serving humanity in honour of Gurirab.

BLURB: As demands for land become more strident across SADC, the region's MPs say it is time to wake up, smell the coffee and ensure access to this inelastic resource for all citizens especially women, the majority of whom work it but do not own it.

Luanda, Angola - A veteran South African lawmaker has challenged SADC Member Parliament to support legislative frameworks that promote women's access to and ownership of land.

Morotua- Veteran South African Lawmaker Rosalia MorotuaLawmaker Rosalia Morotua made the call through a motion moved during the 43 ^rd Plenary Assembly Session of the SADC Parliamentary Forum which took place here last week.

In the motion, moved on her behalf by fellow South African Member of Parliament (MP), Siphosezwe Masango, Morotua enjoined SADC Member Parliaments to debate the gendered dimension of land ownership and agricultural industrialization in their respective countries.

Additionally, she encouraged the SADC PF to engage the SADC Secretariat to determine progress toward advancing women's access to land in the agricultural sector in keeping with the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development.

"The limited sex-disaggregated data for land ownership in the SADC Region shows that men own most of the region's land," she said.

Tanzanian MP Esther Masi seconded Morotua's motion.

"Women in most of the SADC Member States simply do not own land resources, yet are the ones that produce food and feed our nations," Masi said and added that in Tanzania, it was estimated that women produced about 80% of the food.

Malawi MP Patricia Kainga said the SADC Gender Protocol barometer of 2017 attributes the poor access to land by women to stringent trade facilities that most women are unable to qualify for and customary practices that prevent women from inheriting the land.

"This region has a task to protect our women in land ownership and credit facilities," she said.

Zambian lawmaker Professor Kandu Luo said many rural women were suffering due to lack of access to land. She called for mechanization of agriculture to ease the burden on women who work on the land.

"The whole issue of tilling the land with hoes is really something that we should be looking at and mechanization of agriculture activities is extremely important," Luo said.

An MP from Seychelles, Wavel Ramkalawan, said SADC Member States could learn something from his country about the land issue.

"As a Parliament and as a people, we have identified this issue and we have passed the necessary laws to do away with discrimination. Today, women and men in the Seychelles have equal access to land. Women can inherit land and there are no issues," he said.

He encouraged national parliaments to resolve the land question at national level.

"Bring those motions on; fight those injustices and through that, women will get their proper place in society," Ramkalawan said.

Zambian MP Elizabeth Phiri urged SADC Member States to protect the rights of mainly disadvantaged women and girls. She said many widows were getting a raw deal.

"When a man dies, relatives of this man come and get everything from the woman. Other tribes think giving birth to a girl-child is a curse; they would rather have boys through out," Phiri said.

She urged MPs to hold their governments accountable with respect to the domestication and implementation of relevant protocols such as the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development.

Botswana MP Duma Boko suggested that MPs use legislation to promote equitable access to land.

"Land is an inelastic resource. If someone holds tracts and tracts of land, rendering such land available only to himself and his family, is there a way we can free up some of that land?"

He warned that the writing was on the wall and enjoined his fellow lawmakers to wake up and smell the coffee.

"This is the question that bedevils South Africa, it bedeviled Zimbabwe with all the difficulty that it brought, and it now seems to bedevil the womenfolk," Boko said.

He cautioned against assuming that men were the only ones denying women access to land and called for a hard look at customary law and other factors.

"Under customary law, what are the rules that apply for the devolution and succession of land? In a lot of instances when you say the relatives of the man come and take the land, you may actually be talking about the mother of the man who has died. So, it is another woman grabbing land from a daughter-in-law. It must not appear as if all the time it is the men."

South African MP Shaik Emmam argued that land ownership bestows dignity on people and urged governments to help citizens acquire it.

"I want to encourage all SADC Member States to at least provide serviced land to every family, particularly women," he said.

Lesotho MP Tsepang Mosena said land was key in the quest for self-determination by nations and socio economic development of all people. She recalled land was at the top of the list of grievances when many SADC Member States waged liberation struggles.

"The guns have since fallen silent in many parts of Africa. However, demands for equitable access to land are growing more and more strident. Indeed, in many of our Member States, equitable land distribution remains an unfinished, emotive business," she said.

Mosena said she was aware that some SADC Member States had begun taking steps to "right this historical injustice" but challenged them to be more transparent about it.

"While I congratulate them, I would like to seize the opportunity to challenge (them) to generate and openly distribute disaggregated data showing how all citizens - regardless of gender or sex - are benefiting from land redistribution because I am fully persuaded that in many of our Member States, land ownership patterns remain skewed in favour of the male gender."

She said very little land was in the hands of women and girls "yet they make the majority in many our Member States and bear a disproportionate burden of providing care to the sick, broke and busted".

She attributed women's low access to land to their lower income earning capabilities due to a plethora of that include lower educational access and attainment, patriarchy and patriarchal lineage propped up by deeply entrenched beliefs about inheritance and succession.

"Strange as it might sound in the 21^st century, we still have Member States in which the girl child cannot inherit her father's land ahead of or alongside her male siblings."

Mosena argued that lack of access to land results in exclusion from life-changing opportunities and increases women and girls' vulnerability to exploitation, poverty, HIV infection and unmet sexual and reproductive sexual rights.

"A woman who cannot access land may be forced to become a subordinate appendage of the man who owns and controls land as well as what it produces. In such a relationship, this woman has little or no say in many issues including her own reproductive rights. As representatives of the people, we can surely change this situation," she said.

She said there was justification for legislative intervention to level up land redistribution in many SADC Member States.

"I support legislated affirmative action to address gender disparities in land ownership. Ideally, our local and traditional authorities should be required to allocate or reserve a certain minimum quota of land for our female citizens to change the prevailing embarrassing situation," she said.

… as SADC PF denounces attacks at rallies

Staff Writer in Luanda, Angola

The Speaker of the National Assembly of Zimbabwe, Adv. Jacob Mudenda has briefed the 43^rd Plenary Assembly Session of the SADC Parliamentary Forum on Zimbabwe's preparedness for harmonised elections scheduled for July 30 2018.

Mudenda spoke on Thursday immediately after the 14-member regional body issued a strongly-worded statement condemning a suspected grenade attack at a rally that President Emmerson Mnangagwa had addressed in Bulawayo on 23 June 2018. The statement, read out on behalf of the Forum by Mozambican Parliamentarian Jaine Bessa Augusto Neto, also condemned a grenade attack that appeared to have targeted Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Rt. Hon. Abiy Ahmed, on the same day.

"We strongly condemn these heinous and barbaric acts of terrorism which are an affront, to the peace and tranquillity prevailing both in Zimbabwe and Ethiopia and the African continent as a whole," the statement read.

The Plenary, which is the supreme decision-making of the SADC PF said the region's MPs could not remain silent while "criminals and violence perpetrators attempt to create instability, chaos and despondency in these two sovereign States, in the Region and in Africa in general, by subverting the will of the people to be governed democratically and peacefully".

The Plenary enjoined the people of Zimbabwe and Ethiopia to remain united in the face of "cowardly and desperate attacks" on their sovereignty and democracy.

Through the statement, the SADC Parliamentary Forum conveyed condolences to the families of people who died in the attacks and wished the many that were injured speedy recovery.

"The law must take its full course in pursuing and bringing to book the enemies of peace who committed these heinous acts of terrorism," the Plenary said.

The SADC PF statement followed a similar statement by the President of Angola Joao Lourencio.

Mudenda told the Plenary that Zimbabwe's election roadmap for the harmonised elections was formally set in motion by a Proclamation issued by President Mnangagwa, setting July 30 as the date for the Elections.

"Section 143 (1) of our Constitution clearly provides that the life of Parliament is five years beginning on the day the President-Elect was sworn in and that Parliament stands dissolved at midnight on the day before the first day of the elections which is 29 July 2018. Section 158 (1) of our Constitution states that a general election must be held not more than thirty days before the expiry of the five-year period specified in section 143 (3) of the national Constitution cited above. Accordingly, nomination courts sat on 14^th June 2018," Mudenda explained.

He said the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, is an independent Commission established in terms of section 238 of the Constitution to manage Presidential, Parliamentary and Local Authority elections, would prepare for, conduct and supervise elections "in such a manner that they are conducted efficiently, freely, fairly and transparently in accordance with the Electoral law as provided for in section 239(a) of our Constitution".

The Speaker said all election observers would be accredited by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission in terms of section 239(i) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe.

He revealed that pre-election observation missions from the United States, European Union, the United Nations and the Commonwealth had already visited Zimbabwe while the Electoral Commission had assured Zimbabwe and the international community that the elections would be conducted democratically in a peaceful political environment.

Mudenda said the "mushrooming" of 128 political Parties and a record 23 Presidential candidates set to participate in the elections was proof of the transparent democratic space unprecedented since Zimbabwe's independence in 1980.

"In the same vein, media coverage for the electoral process has been pervasive and inclusive of all political Parties."

He said the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission had since produced copies of the updated voters' roll for inspection by the public and political parties.

"It should also be noted that the current elections will be conducted using a biometric voters' roll similar to the Namibian experience. As at 29 ^th May 2018, a total of 5 524 188 people had registered to vote. In terms of our law, the registration for voters stopped 12 days after the close of the Nomination Courts."

Noting that the Zimbabwean Head of State had categorically stated on numerous occasions that the country would conduct free, transparent, fair and credible elections, Mudenda said all political parties had been campaigning freely in the country.

"A number of countries and international organisations such as the Commonwealth, the African Union, the European Union, the Swedish government, the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and Republican International Institute have sent teams to pre-assess the prevailing electoral environment before rolling out their observation teams."

He said the teams had concluded that the electoral environment was conducive to holding free, fair, transparent and possibly credible elections.

"To bolster this scenario … all the 23 Presidential candidates signed a PEACE PLEDGE on 26^th June 2018 to the effect that all these candidates must be advocates for peaceful elections before, during and after their conclusion."

Additionally, he said, electoral courts had been established in the country's ten provinces to deal with all electoral breaches expeditiously.

Meanwhile, the President of SADC PF will no longer have to hit the table with his or her clenched fist to call for order. This after Mozambique donated a hammer to the President on Thursday.

From Moses Magadza in Luanda, Angola

Luanda - Members of Parliament (MPs) from different SADC Member States attending the 43^rd Plenary Assembly Session of the SADC Parliamentary Forum were bracing for a busy time with important reports and motions set for consideration after the Plenary began in earnest on Wednesday.

The MPs were expected to receive and debate a number of key motions as they tackle common challenges affecting the SADC Region. The Plenary began with an official opening ceremony and a symposium on Monday. This Plenary, which is the ultimate decision-making body of SADC PF, will consider a report of the Forum’s Executive Committee.

The Executive Committee is the management board of the Forum which provides stewardship over management and financial matters of the institution, which brings together 14 National Parliaments and approximately 2 500 MPs throughout the SADC Region.

Acting SADC PF Secretary General Ms Boemo Sekgoma said early this week that the Executive Committee would present three reports: on general management of the institution, on financial matters and a one related to amendment to the rules and constitution of the Forum with a view to strengthen certain areas -  including establishment of a forum for chairpersons of Standing Committees and the Chairperson of the Regional Women’s Parliamentary Caucus (RWPC).

The Plenary was set to receive and consider reports from all Standing Committees of the SADC PF that met prior to the 43^rd Plenary Assembly Session. A joint session of some Standing Committees was also on the cards.

Sekgoma said in terms of motions, topical ones were expected to be moved. One of the motions would focus on strengthening developmental States in Southern Africa as an alternative model to the neo-liberal developmental framework. Honourable Siphosezwe Masango of South Africa was expected to move that motion.

Another motion would be on engagement with the Parliaments of Comoros and Madagascar to encourage them to join SADC PF. This after their governments have already joined SADC and have been formally admitted.

A motion calling for concerted efforts to combat sexual harassment in the workplace throughout the region is expected from Hon. Regina Esparon of Seychelles.

Botswana’s Hon. Polson Majaga, was set to move a motion calling on MPs to take concrete steps to address the negative impacts of climate change on agriculture and food security in the SADC Region, given the huge number of people who rely on agriculture.

South Africa’s Stevens Mokgalapa, MP, was expected to move a motion calling on SADC Parliaments to do more to sustain efforts to promote electoral integrity in the Region.

ATTENTION: SADC Members of Parliament stand at attention as the National anthem of Angola is played at the start of the 43rd Plenary Assembly Session of SADC PF in Lunda, Angola. Photo: Moses MagadzaThis motion follows a decision by the 39^th Plenary Assembly of SADC PF which met in the Kingdom of Eswatini in 2016 and resolved to develop a SADC Model Law on Elections against the backdrop of the adoption of the Revised SADC Guidelines and Principles Governing Democratic Elections.

This motion comes in the context of a very busy electoral calendar in the SADC Region between 2018 and 2019, during which 10 SADC Member States are expected to hold elections. In 2018 Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Madagascar and the Kingdom of Eswatini will hold elections. In 2019, Malawi, South Africa, Botswana, Mozambique Namibia and Mauritius will also go to the polls.

South Africa’s veteran politician Rosalia Morutoa is expected to move a motion on gender dimensions to land ownership and agricultural industrialization in Southern Africa.

In all, 12 of the 14 SADC PF Member Parliaments are represented at this Plenary and observers say the fact that many of the national delegations are being headed by Speakers shows the seriousness with with SADC Member States take the SADC PF and the work that it does.

In recent years the Forum has developed Model Laws to address common regional challenges that include child marriages, notably with financial support from Sweden and Norway who supported a four-year project to build the capacity of MPs to advocate for universal access to Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights, HIV and AIDS services. Plans are underway to develop a SADC Model Law on key populations as the region strives to ensure that no one is left behind or falls through the crack towards.

This is the third time that Angola is hosting the SADC PF Plenary. A delegation of 11 members led by Hon Professor Peter Katjavivi, Speaker of the National Assembly, is representing Namibia at the Plenary Session.