SADC PEOPLE’S SUMMIT ROARS INTO LIFE

Bulawayo, 15 August- The 2014 People’s Summit opened  (14 August 2014) with over two hundred delegates from WoMin, La Via Campesina Africa, the Rural Women’s Assembly (RWA) and the People’s Dialogue demanding  renewed focus on issues affecting farmers, rural women and mining impacted communities.

The opening touched on wide ranging issues that SADC needs to focus on to ensure that the rights of communities are pushed ahead of those of corporates. Through song, poetry, dance and solidarity messages the delegates expressed concern on issues of forced relocations in Zimbabwe’s Marange diamond community,criminalization of political protests in Swaziland and the Palestine crises.

Women from Marange acted out a drama on forced relocations and rights abuses experienced in Marange following the discovery of diamonds, which resulted in the direct flouting of community rights to prior and informed consent. Since the relocations the community has had to endure food shortages and loss of their livelihoods, which included the rearing cattle.

Farai Maguwu in his speech on extractives industries addressed the plunder of Africa’s natural resources by the Global North and now the emerging economies like BRICS. He cautioned communities to closely monitor mining operations and transport systems that are involved in moving stolen resources out of the region. He further called for a stronger movement that challenges the power of our post-colonial governments that have lost interest in defending people’s rights: “it seems like our former liberators… fought not to replace the system but to rather replace the former oppressors and occupy the position of power to enrich themselves”.

Samantha Hargreaves from WoMin warned that the agenda of value addition and beneficiation of natural resources to retain greater wealth nationally – the major agenda of the Heads of State summit – is inadequate. The devastating environmental and social impacts will continue unchecked and exacerbated by the high levels of energy and water consumption (and pollution) that accompany the processing and value addition to raw materials. These costs are mainly borne by peasant women in the region who have the development solutions we must recognize and build on.

Mercia Andrews of the Rural Women’s Assembly asked why the Head of States have not asked the people of the region what issues concern them. Instead they have gone to the corporates and investment banks to shape their development priorities. She emphasized the importance of this gathering of activists from social movements and grassroots organisations across the region. This represents the sort ofalternative people-centred African community that is needed to advance development and ensure solidarity between peoples.

Brid Brennan from the Transnational Institute (TNI) in Amsterdam spoke about howgovernments are being captured by the interests of corporates and serving their interests. The Southern African Permanent People’s Tribunal which organisations in the region are building will establish a platform where we can expose corporate interests and collusions with our governments.

Issues of seed sovereignty were also touched upon at length with Elizabeth Mpofu, thegeneral secretary of La Via Campesina Africa noting that “Food sovereignty unlike food security is not just about whether we have food but rather it is about how food is produced, land ownership and having power to own our own seeds”. Food sovereignty is being threatened by the corporates that are grabbing our land and water – “why aren’t they using land and resources in their own countries?” delegates reminded us that land and seed represent life and hope for the peoples of the region.

The delegates were reminded to be at the forefront of movement-building and solidarity to so that we never suffer another Marange and Marikana.  A call to action was made with one delegate stating that “Now that we know what we know, what is important is to take appropriate action that betters the lives of the affected communities otherwise they will lose trust in us as a movement”