Press statement on the WSSD Civil Society mediation

Issued by

Dr Molefe Tsele, South African Council of Churches:
General Secretary
Khulu Mbongo, Nedlac Community Constituency
Bheki Ntshalintshali, COSATU Deputy General Secretary

About 20 representatives from major civil society groups
met at NEDLAC on Thursday 14th February 2002 at an
extraordinary meeting convened and chaired by the South
African Council of Churches. The meeting was convened to
seek a resolution to disagreements and concerns raised
around the Civil Society Indaba of the coming WSSD
Summit. The fully representative meeting lasted more than
five hours.

Matters tabled for mediation and resolution were noted as
the following:

· Questions around constituency representations in
the forum
· Questions around the make up, terms of reference,
powers and functions of the management structure,
and
· Questions around the secretariat and its relations to
forum.

The following were agreed as the way forward:

1. On the issue of constituency representation, a
sector representative Broad Political Forum was
established. The Broad Forum will be representative
of major sectors as provided by United Nations,
taking into account our national dynamics. The
Forum will seek not to exclude any significant sector
with regard to broad mobilization, but in its function
as a policy maker, it will seek primary representation
from core sectors of civil society in our country

Seven major groups identified and agreed upon were:

· Women
· Youth
· Civics
· Communities of Faith
· Labour
· Non-Governmental Organizations
· People with Disability

Each major group will be represented by not more than five
(5) representatives who will constitute the Civil Society
Broad Political Forum and this will be the highest decision
making body of the process. Any other group or sector not
listed above will be accommodated within one of these
seven groups and through a mechanism agreed to by the
major groups.

2. Regarding the matter of management structure, the
groups agreed to set up a Management Committee
of Seven (7) that will be constituted by one (1)
person per major group. The primary responsibility
of the Management Committee will be to interface
with the Secretariat on daily basis, design and
supervise the programme of action, form task
groups to deal with broad content and substance
issues of the Summit, guide the process towards
the Summit, become the custodian of funds raised,
be responsible of the work of the Secretariat.

3. The meeting agreed to delegate to the Management
Committee the responsibility to finalise
administrative machinery and secretariat functions
necessary to drive this process. This may include
looking at engagements with already existing
capacity and their service and exploring technical
and legal implications.

All the Stakeholders have agreed to move forward as
speedily as possible to prepare South African civil society
towards the Summit and very strict timelines have been
adopted for all major groups to submit names of
participants to various structures.

The facilitator of this process, through the SACC will inform
all stakeholders and the broader public about the outcome
of this new process, the status of civil society process and
way forward.

The groups wish to place on record the leadership role
provided by SANGOCO in the resolution of this impasse.

The groups wish to place on record their view that the
impasse is over. All of us in civil society must focus our
energies on working to prepare our specific sectors for
meaningful participation in this historic Summit which we
believe will be another milestone in our struggle to eradicate
poverty and foster sustainable development for the benefit
of our communities.

Enquiries: Dr Tsele 082 458 2037

Patrick Craven and Moloto Mothapo
Acting COSATU Spokespersons

[email protected]
082-821-7456
339-4911

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Contact 082-821-7456 Patrick Craven or Moloto Mothapo for further comment.

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