Many Batswana must have been watching anxiously whether the country would sign the protocol.
It is not that the people do not want it. But many share the sentiments of Foreign Affairs Minister, Mompati Merafhe, that the protocol has far reaching implications to be left to the wisdom of government alone. This is a matter on which the people of Botswana need to have their say and make a very unambiguous pronouncement.
The intentions of the framers of the protocol is to have a region that is integrated from the market to labour. Of course, one of the best ways to integrate the SADC region is free movement of labour and a common market.
There is no denying that the colonial borders erected around modern states are an impediment to the realisation of integration and free movement of people. SADC’s small economies and small populations make it hard to for the region to get a fair share from the global markets. The prospect of a well functioning SADC region is a mouth watering one.
Much as this is an ideal that holds all the promise of delivering the region from social and economic problems, it is also an initiative that needs to be seriously scrutinised.
As things are, the economies of the region are at an unequal level and there is very little political stability in some of the countries. Some countries have been run down and good economies ruined by leaders who believe they have an inalienable right to govern. With these disparities, it is difficult and not too wise to talk of free movement of people. It is quite obvious that the human traffic run in one direction to the better run and successful economies. It would perhaps be a good idea for SADC to start by seriously addressing political problems in Zimbabwe and to some extent Swaziland. SADC leaders should actively engage President Robert Mugabe. Until normalcy and stability is attained in Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo, some of the SADC ideals may not be realised.
