Important steps to deepen democratic practice in Southern Africa

A few years ago, during the last decade of the 20th Century, many in the world entertained the hope that Southern Africa would play a leading role in the recovery and renewal of the African continent as a whole.

The decade opened with the independence of Namibia in 1990. Not only did this bring about the long-delayed liberty of the sister people of that country, but it also signalled that freedom for our own people was not far away. Of great symbolic significance, Nelson Mandela attended Namibia's independence celebrations, joining Namibians who had also served time together with him on Robben Island as political prisoners.

The decade also opened with the unbanning of the ANC and other organisations, the release of Nelson Mandela and the beginning of formal negotiations with the Pretoria regime to end the system of apartheid.

We gained our own freedom in 1994. The relative peace of the transition from apartheid to a democratic society communicated the message that such was the maturity of our people that, as Africans, both black and white, we were perfectly capable of successfully managing the complex social and human relations that characterise our society.

In various countries of our region, free and fair democratic elections took place, in a number of instances ending the system of one-party states. The process of economic recovery began, with a country such as Mozambique receiving international acclaim for its efforts to develop its economy and therefore create conditions for the creation of a better life for the people of that country.

This forward movement culminated in the removal from power of Mobutu Sese Seko of the then Zaire, who personified much of what had gone wrong in Africa during the previous thirty to forty years. This included the seizure of power by the military, the imposition of military dictatorship, the denial of the rights of the people, the looting of public resources by the dominant elite, the destruction of the already fragile African economies and the entrenchment of instability within and among the African countries.

In recognition of the commitment of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to democracy and other values shared by the members of SADC, the Community accepted the DRC as one of its members. The Mobutu regime had applied for Zaire to join the Community a number of years earlier. This had been turned down because the member states did not want a military dictatorship to join the regional grouping.

What was happening in Southern Africa sent out a firm signal that our region was determined to overcome this past to ensure that ours became an area of democracy, peace, stability, economic growth, development and prosperity.

When some members of the security forces in Lesotho tried to remove the democratically elected government of that country in 1994 and again in 1999, the countries of the region acted firmly to defend democracy in that country.

Even as all these positive things were happening, the region was very conscious of the fact that peace and stability had not yet returned to the sister country of Angola. It sought to put pressure especially on UNITA to bring the war to an end and to ensure the implementation of the Lusaka Accords.

Nevertheless, the conviction remained firm that, acting together through SADC, we would succeed to make of our region what the masses of our people wanted it to be. The 1999 events in Lesotho put this conviction to the test. The SADC intervention ended the rebellion, costing us the valuable lives of some of our soldiers who had gone to Lesotho as peacemakers, at the request of the government of that country. However, democratic rule was successfully protected.

Thus we can say, firmly, that the region passed the test of acting to ensure that Southern Africa remains a region of democracy. However the challenge still faced the people of Lesotho to address all the matters that had led to the unrest. This they have done in a commendable manner.

Proceeding from the position that the political leadership of that country needed to act together to solve the outstanding problems, this leadership agreed to sit together in a body called the Interim Political Authority to thrash out their differences peacefully. They further agreed that to ensure that all significant political opinion was represented in parliament, the electoral system would be changed, introducing an element of proportional representation for a third of the seats in the next parliament.

They also agreed that a Judicial Commission of Inquiry should be constituted to investigate the matter of the causes of the unrest that had occurred in 1994 and 1999 to enable the people of Lesotho to avoid the danger of seizure of power in the future. The Commission has already been sitting for some time, hearing evidence from the citizens of Lesotho. The political leaders of Lesotho further agreed on who should constitute the Independent Electoral Commission, as well as other matters related to ensuring that the next elections are indeed free and fair.

When we were in Lesotho last month, we told the assembled leaders of the political parties that what they were doing to resolve the problems of their country might very well serve as an example to all of us in Africa as to how, as political leaders, we should approach situations of conflict that occasionally arise in all our countries.

The 1999 Lusaka Agreement on the DRC is consistent with the approach adopted by the people of Lesotho. That Agreement provides for the holding of an Inter-Congolese Dialogue, involving the government, political parties and organisations of civil society. As was agreed by the Congolese themselves, President Sir Ketumile Masire is the facilitator of this process.

The Dialogue will afford the Congolese leadership with the opportunity together to decide the constitutional, political and economic future of their country. Whatever the differences among themselves, these will have to be resolved through peaceful debate rather than the clash of arms. Democracy, peace and stability in the DRC will also have a major positive impact on other countries in the Great Lakes region, expanding the possibilities for the resolution of various challenges facing the nine countries that share borders with the DRC.

At the Extraordinary SADC Summit held in Windhoek, Namibia, earlier this year, decisions were taken to restructure this important regional body. The restructuring process will increase its effectiveness as an instrument for the promotion of balanced and sustained regional economic growth and development as well as an institution for the promotion of democracy, peace and stability in our region.

Despite all these positive developments, which define the direction in which our region will continue to evolve, in recent years there have also been worrying developments in the region. The war in Angola has continued unabated, resulting in yet more deaths and dislocations of and immense suffering for many people.

In both Zanzibar in Tanzania and Mozambique, there have been violent clashes with opposition forces when, according to the authorities in these countries, these have tried forcibly to take over government institutions. Certain levels of instability, controversy and various activities which nobody can approve of, have also affected Zimbabwe, in a situation also characterised by serious economic problems.

The process of the implementation of the Lusaka Agreement on the DRC is also still in its initial stages, raising fears and concerns among some people that the peace process in that country has not yet reached the stage when it can be described as irreversible.

It was with all these negative developments in the background, that the story burst into the open that the ruling party in Zambia would amend the country's Constitution to enable President Frederick Chiluba to serve a third term as Head of State. This was a most disturbing development indeed. Such proceeding in Zambia would communicate the message that, despite protestations of commitment to democracy, our region was, in fact, intent on acting in unconstitutional ways and was regressing to the situation when there were Presidents-for-life, as was the case under the late President Kamuzu Banda of Malawi.

Quite correctly, the people of Zambia responded to this threat, demanding that the Constitution had to be respected and the democratic system in that country protected. We had ourselves discussed this matter with President Chiluba when we paid a state visit to Zambia last year. We had agreed that he would not seek to have the Constitution amended and would not run for a third term.

When we spoke at the State Banquet during this visit, we publicly congratulated President Chiluba for this stand, to the acclaim of the Zambians who were present at this Banquet. We had occasion to discuss this matter again with President Chiluba when we met in Namibia during the SADC Summit meeting earlier this year, reiterating positions with which many among the political leaders in our region agreed.

African experience during the last few decades has demonstrated that the absence of democracy in our countries is both a cause of instability and a catalyst encouraging the further underdevelopment of our countries. Dictatorship and autocracy serve to suppress the creative energies of the people and to divert them to activities directed against social development, including corruption.

The masses of the people of our Continent are very interested to participate in the process of the development of our various countries and thus contribute to the struggle to pull themselves out of the painful and demeaning situation of poverty and underdevelopment. They value their freedom, respect their democratic institutions and understand their responsibility to use such freedoms and democratic space as they may enjoy, to act as patriots to change their countries for the better.

Whenever we have spoken to these peoples of our Continent about the challenges of the African Renaissance, they have responded with the greatest enthusiasm, convinced that if we can address the fundamental issues of democracy and peace, ours will become a Continent of hope. As the political leaders of these masses, we dare not disappoint their expectations.

It is in this context that we must congratulate President Chiluba and the people of Zambia for the firm action they have taken not to tamper with their Constitution to the detriment of the quest for democracy in Zambia and Southern Africa.

This important decision must serve to confirm that, whatever our current problems, Southern Africa remains a region truly committed to the fundamental values and practices that constitute the foundation on which is based Africa's effort to achieve its renewal.

Democratic Republic of Congo

ANC shares experiences of transition with DRC organisations

The African National Congress (ANC) has been meeting with parties and organisations from the Democratic Republic of Congo over the last three months to assist the peaceful resolution of the conflict in the country and encourage the development of democratic political activity.

The ANC has developed training sessions on negotiations, organisational development and political transition, which it has offered to all DRC parties or organisations interested in drawing on the ANC's experience.

Background

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), formerly known as Zaire, achieved independence from Belgium in 1960 under the respected leadership of Patrice Lumumba. A few months after independence however, Lubumba was assassinated under mysterious circumstances and the army, under Mobutu sese Seko, staged a coup.

Mobutu declared himself life President and Emperor and changed the name of the country from Congo to Zaire and for 40 years ruled the country with an iron fist. He banned all political parties, brutally eliminated his opponents and prevented democratic elections. Many members and leaders of the Lumumba party members fled the country and went into exile.

In the 1990s a new era of democracy was sweeping the world and military juntas, oppressive regimes and dictators were being removed from power. The regime of Mobutu was also beginning to crumble. In 1998, Mobutu fled Zaire as the fighting forces under Laurent Kabila were advancing and later took power in the country.

The understanding was that Kabila will start a process of rebuilding the country which included the democratisation of the DRC and the holding of elections. When Kabila was seen to depart from the principles of this broad mandate, some of the people who were part of his government started a new armed rebellion against him.

In 2000, the Organisation of African Unity took a resolution for the ending of the conflict in the DRC. This led to the signing of the Lusaka Agreement by all fighting groups with the government of Laurent Kabila.

The Lusaka agreement paved the way for the dialogue that would determine the future of a democratic, peaceful and stable DRC. It is hoped that the dialogue will finally take place in Kinshasa after the agreements are reached under the mediation of the former Botswana President, Ketumile Masire.

Role of the ANC

The ANC's commitment to peace, democracy and stability in Africa is the basis for its interaction with the various parties in the DRC leading to a political settlement. With the resumptions of talks to implement the Lusaka Agreement the ANC has been inundated with requests for meetings. Over the last three months, the ANC's headquarters in Johannesburg has hosted delegations from both the armed groups and the non-combative parties.

The ANC has always argued that the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) needed to be resolved through a political settlement, rather than a military option. The realisation of talks to implement the Lusaka Agreement is therefore a step in the right direction.

The ANC has met the representatives and leadership of the Rally for the Congolese Democracy (RCD) of Goma led by Dr Alphonse Onusumba, one of the biggest armed groups in the DRC. The ANC also engaged with representatives of the Front for the Liberation of Congo (FLC), a front composed by a splinter group from the RCD-Kissangani and the Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC), led by Jean Pierre Pemba; and the RCD-Kissangani of Prof Wamba di a Wamba.

Among the non-combative organisations, the ANC has met the Forum for the Democratic Congo (FDC) composed of academics, professionals and civil society groups; the Congo Renaissance Movement (CRM), a coalition of former army personnel, government officials and politicians formed by 25 organisations; and the Popular Movement for Revolution (MPR) which is the party of the late Mobutu.

The meetings focused on the situation in the DRC and the balance of forces after the death of Laurent Kabila. For the first time there was confidence among the DRC organisations that the peace process will be resumed. The meetings included requests to the ANC to share its experience of negotiations and transition in South Africa.

The ANC expressed its willingness to share its experience and agreed to develop training sessions for all interested DRC parties and organisations. The organisation has developed modules focusing on:

• Negotiations skills and strategies, covering the pre-negotiation era, agreements and frameworks for negotiations, and related issues such as venue, security arrangements, period and timeframes of negotiations, leveling of the playing field, and dead-lock breaking mechanisms.
• Constitution making, looking at constitutional development, including participation of the people through consultation and submissions.
• Design of Transitional Government Structures, focusing on the establishment of a government of national unity or transitional government with specific mandates as agreed by parties at the negotiations.
• Communication strategies during the negotiations, looking at the importance of informing the people through the media and regulating the media to fair coverage to all the parties.
• Integration of the Security Forces, looking mainly at negotiations processes, the ceasefire protocol, types of service (army, police and intelligence) for transition and the type of agreements possible for the establishment of a united single army.
• Integration and Transformation of state institutions, including the judiciary, civil administration, correctional services; and human resource development, recruitment and economic transformation and reform.
• Experience sharing, including sessions with ANC negotiators from the multi-party negotiations on individual experiences in various committees and in plenary.

The second area of the training focuses on party building, including organising structures of the party, political training, mass mobilisation strategies, cadre development, policy formulation, communication, and organising women and youth.

The session on party building is particularly important for the DRC where for over 40 years, since the assassination of Patrice Lubumba, all political organisation was banned. The current form of organisation is not mass based. The armed groups have even a tougher programme of demilitarising and converting themselves in to civilian parties.

The programme is designed to serve the organisational interests of all organisations in the DRC. The ANC has held the first training session with 19 members of the RCD-Goma led by their Secretary General Rubewa Azarias. He was accompanied by lawyers, party cadres and army officials to be prepared for negotiations and party building.

The training course lasted 15 days and included site visits to the Independent Electoral Commission, to study the running of elections, the South African Receiver of Revenue, the Truth and Reconciliation Committee and the Human Rights Commission.

MORE INFORMATION:

• News about the Democratic Republic of Congo, AllAfrica.Com
• Summary of Lusaka Accord, July 1999
• 'The Lusaka accord and prospects for peace in the DRC', Centre for Policy Studies, September 1999
• Background to the DRC conflict, Global Issues Website

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