The Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa has issued an open letter on behalf of “the many people within SADC [the Southern African Development Community] increasingly alarmed at unfolding events in Zimbabwe” to heads of state and government, members of parliament in the respective countries and senior leaders with the SADC and African Union Secretariats, asking them to take urgent action to ensure that the Zimbabwean people, who on the 29 March exercised their right to vote, now have the results of that vote recognised and respected. Although initiated by OSISA, signatures from individuals and organizations within the region and globally have been collected - the deadline for signing on is on Friday, 11 April. AU Monitor subscribers wishing to sign on should forward their name and contact details to [email][email protected]

While the presidential election results are still pending in Zimbabwe, the SADC Electoral Observer Mission was the first to issue a preliminary statement on the day after the elections, stating that these were "peaceful and credible" and calling on all parties to accept the results. Legislators from East Africa joined other observers in praising the elections as democratic and fair. Clarkson Otieno Kalan, head of the observer mission from the East African Community (EAC) and a Kenyan member of the East African Legislative Assembly, said his country and region have much to learn from the conduct of the polls in Zimbabwe. However, concerns have mounted given the delay in issuing presidential results, prompting civil society observers to draw parallels between the contested election process in Kenya and Zimbabwe. Muthoni Wanyeki of the Kenya Human Rights Commission notes that “the unfolding of events in Zimbabwe for the last week, following polling the previous weekend, provoked an alarming sense of déjà vu. The familiarity of being forced to wait for official results to be released - for a week and counting. The out-of-sequence release of results, with presidential results being retained instead of being released first. The rise in public expectations of change as parliamentary results showed a majority of seats being won, finally, by the opposition Movement for Democratic Change. The claims of victory by the MDC. And then the signs of intimidation.”

Further, despite a high-profile campaign for election of women candidates, only 28 were elected to the lower house, representing 13 percent of the total, a decrease from the previous 15.8 percent. These figures fall short of the 1997 SADC Declaration on Gender and Development which “proposes that by 2005 at least 30 percent of positions in political and decision-making structures in the public and private sector should be held by women. At the 2005 SADC Summit in Gaborone, Heads of State and Government endorsed the African Union position which provides for 50 percent target of women in all political and decision-making positions by 2015.”

In economic news, the Indian Prime Minister, Dr. Manmahon Singh has announced, during the India-Africa summit, that India has established a duty free tariff preference scheme for Least Developed Countries (LDCs) under which India will provide preferential market access for exports from LDCs. Meanwhile, Alex Vines and Elizabeth Sidiropolous provide analysis of India’s policies and interests in Africa noting that “its Africa policy is driven by economic interests. But competition, particularly with China, is also pushing New Delhi to deepen its presence on the continent”. Considering India’s view of Africa merely as a source of natural resources, the authors underscore the need for investment in Africa’s human capital and capacity building, exemplified by India’s funding of the Pan-African e-Network Project in partnership with the AU. Also entrenching ties with the continent, Russia has pledged 500 million US dollars in development assistance to Africa. According to Ambassador M. Afanasiev, who was speaking at the first session of the joint annual meeting of the AU and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), Russia also plans to write off half a billion US dollars of African debt this year, having already forgiven US$ 16 billion.

Further, according to the Economic Report on Africa launched this week by UNECA and the AU, forecast growth for African economies will be an average 6.2 percent in 2008, however, the report “also notes that economic growth has not yet translated into meaningful social development and has not benefited vulnerable groups”. Indeed, the price of basic commodities has risen by as much as 30 percent in some countries, prompting strikes and protests. Hamadou Tidiane Sy reports that these “protests against high fuel and food prices have forced governments in West Africa to use repressive methods of yesteryears, hence reversing the gains made in the democratic arena over the past two decades”.

In peace and security news, the United Nations Security Council will hold an unprecedented meeting with the AU Peace and Security Council at which the proposal of UN Secretary General, Mr. Ban Ki-Moon, for the formation of an AU-UN panel to consider how to support peacekeeping operations undertaken by regional organisations will be discussed. African heads of state have been invited to attend the joint meeting and open debate which will be chaired by South African President Thabo Mbeki.

As the World Health Organisation marked the global day for health on April 7th, the African Development Bank’s (AfDB) Thomas Hurley talks of the “ever growing threats to global public health security” and the need “to place health at the centre of the global dialogue about climate change” pledging that the AfDB will strengthen key features of member countries’ “public health systems such as the control of neglected tropical diseases, primary health care (including clean water, environment and sanitation) and enhance women’s and vulnerable groups’ welfare”. It is under the theme of water and sanitation that the upcoming AU summit is expected to take place in June/July in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. The Executive Council session of the summit will decide on the election of new members of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, members of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights and members of the Advisory Board on Corruption. State parties are expected to submit their proposed candidates to the AU Commission before April 30.