Botswana has been accused of delaying SADC regional integration. In the recently completed survey conducted by SADC-Council of Non Governmental Organizations, youth have blamed Botswana for lacking a deep-seated passion for SADC.
“The regional perspective of SADC is almost an alien additive to a situation that is complicated enough at national level. This is one of the reasons why there is no deep-seated ‘passionate’ plea for SADC in Botswana,” observed the youth.
Within SADC they say they have become the marginalised strata of the society judging from their staggering 41 percent unemployment rate.
The voices from the youth explained that Botswana’s lack of historical struggle fuels it’s reluctantly to regional integration as it has no shared values with liberation leaders in the Southern-African diaspora.
“Botswana has not fought a war of independence; it was always more aligned with the West and did not join in singing the anti-colonialist tunes. But this history has alienated Botswana from the liberation struggle leaders and their values,” says the study.
Youths in Botswana further ask, “Is there anything other than the value of land that unites Botswana with other SADC countries?”
The report says, “More to the youths, than their country’s leaders, SADC is perceived as an entry gate for an open African society without borders and a true pan-African arena of encounter and cultural exchange.”
Whereas all leaders and countries were collectively blamed for under-achievement of an honest regional integration in the study, sharp criticism was leveled against our own country and it’s President.
Voices within Botswana said, “Our President has no connection to SADC; he is hardly visible on the international stage.”
The study posits that, “Although Botswana hosts the SADC secretariat; there is a surprising distance to SADC policies and even administrative presence in the country.”
Still in the same survey, South-Africa, hegemony in the region got its damning share of blame with the youth of Zambia accusing it of exploiting fellow SADC states.
“The Zambian youth perceive South-Africa acting as the big brother in the region but question its commitment to the advancement of SADC objective. Dual subscription of South-Africa to SADC and BRICS is viewed to divide its attention to fulfill SADC goals but to use SADC as its market,” reveals the study.
According to the youth organisations, the premise of SADC was the decolonization of member states to ensure social and economic emancipation.
Ordinarily, the study says, after the achievement of political freedom, focus had to be channeled towards economic and social integration aimed at developing the region to a powerful economy.
The Youth’s vision of a future SADC hinges upon unity among member states and synchronization of regional blocks to develop a common agenda for Africans. The study named ‘The SADC we need’ conclude by saying, Empirical Evidence suggest that the most successful countries in the world owe their success to deeper regional integration based on shared values; hence SADC’s quest to deepen its regional integration agenda should be anchored on the common values of its citizens.
