South African Development Conference

South African Development Coordination Conference
Flag of the South African Development Conference
Member States of the South African Development Conference
Members	Angola , Botswana , Lesotho , Malawi , Mozambique , Zambia , Zimbabwe , Swaziland , Tanzania
Official language	English

The Development Conference of Southern Africa (Engl. Southern African Development Coordination Conference , abbreviation SADCC ) was a regional organization for economic and political integration in southern Africa and progenitor of the Development Community of Southern Africa (SADC).

history

The SADCC was founded in 1980 by the states of Angola , Botswana , Lesotho , Malawi , Mozambique , Zambia , Zimbabwe , Swaziland and Tanzania , the so-called " frontline states " towards apartheid - South Africa . It can be understood as a reaction to the founding of the Constellation of Southern African States (CONSAS) by the South African Prime Minister Botha as part of the total national strategy . This was intended as an institution of economic integration and regional security community, which built on the supremacy of South Africa. The founding of the SADCC made it clear, however, that no state in southern Africa was prepared to get involved with the apartheid regime on a political level.

Goals and structure

The main objective was to reduce economic dependency, in particular, but not exclusively, on South Africa, but also to promote regional development. The SADCC opted for loose intergovernmental cooperation and worked on the basis of sectoral areas of action, each of which was coordinated by a member state.

The highest decision-making body was the annual summit conference of heads of state and government, in which the principle of unanimity prevailed. This was followed in the organizational structure by the Council of Ministers with its affiliated committees. He was responsible for coordinating the policy and can therefore be seen as the real engine of cooperation.

successes

The SADCC was particularly successful in terms of project cooperation in the areas of food security and transport. Other goals, such as reducing economic dependency on South Africa or regional economic development, were only partially or not at all achieved. The functional cooperation, which was initially rated positively, also increasingly turned out to be incapable of fulfilling the growing tasks. Above all, contradictions between national interests and regional expectations paralyzed the organization.