On 14 and 15 June, a team from the Commission for Africa returned to southern Africa to report back on the Commission for Africa report and its findings to a group of key regional civil society organisations. This group was originally engaged at an event in Lusaka in December 2004, when their inputs were sought into the preparation of the Commission’s report. (The communiqué released after that meeting is available here).

The main findings of the Commission’s report were presented at the follow-up event in June, which took place in Johannesburg, South Africa. The aim of the meeting was to facilitate discussion of the report with civil society representatives, and to provide an opportunity for key stakeholders to consider how to take recommendations forward.

10 countries in the southern African region were represented at the meeting: Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The event benefited from the presence and active participation of Ambassador Susan Sikaneta, Executive Secretary of the Africa Union Southern Africa Regional Office, and the High Commissioner designate and former Chief Secretary of the Treasury of the United Kingdom, Mr Paul Boateng.

During plenary and break-out sessions, a number of participants commented on the positive role that the report could play in providing a benchmark for advocacy, and a platform for solidarity between civil society in the south and in the north. However, serious concerns were voiced about the lack of provision in the report for implementation mechanisms and for ongoing monitoring and evaluation. The expert groups also used the opportunity to highlight a number of areas which they believed were not adequately covered in the report.

» Read the Communique []
» Read the final report []

» Read more about presenting the report to Africa

Back to Timeline