Armed conflicts in Sadc: A grotesque insignia of political misgovernance

THE blitzkrieg of militarised insurgencies, social cleavages and general deficiency of good governance in relation to authoritarian rule and the wanton abuse of State resources, are a vile concoction that has jeopardised peace and stability in southern Africa. The Southern African Development Community (Sadc)’s institutional framework for regional peace and security is proving ineffective because its leaders lack genuine political will, or to put it blatantly, are unwilling to submit and enforce democratic principles that are necessary for sustainable peace-building and economic development.

Over the past two decades, a majority of the countries in Sadc have been relatively peaceful and stable.

Though it must be taken into good account that peace and stability transcend beyond the usual absence of violent conflict and despite a modicum of peace and stability in their superficial form, the region is still burdened by a curse of armed insurgency, political (mis)leadership and lack of socio-economic development.

Sadc appears perpetually disoriented and clueless on how to manage such issues effectively.

As the southern African region continues to endure isolated armed insurgencies and conflicts and, while lack of development poses a major long-term risk to regional peace and security, deficiencies in governance are currently the most acute source of instability.

Over the past decade, this has led to crises in various Sadc States.

In spite of the efforts by Sadc, which have seen the establishment of a peace and security infrastructure as envisioned within the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) framework, its institutions are starved of both material and political support, with member States reluctant to cede authority to supranational structures and to enforce Sadc principles.

The liberal-democratic principles enshrined in the organisation’s peace and security policies tend, in practice, to play second fiddle to the imperatives of anti-imperialism, stability and regime solidarity and Sadc has been unable to respond effectively to intra-State crises.

Persistent governance deficits and the organisation’s insipid and lethargic record of conflict management may in the long run arrest the development of the southern African region. Although southern Africa has gradually emerged from large-scale wars whose genesis dates back to the Cold War and the apartheid era, the region continues to be plagued by isolated armed conflicts that have their roots in colonial and postcolonial violence.

Unlike the intertwined anticolonial wars against white minority regimes during the Cold War era and the Congo wars that involved external belligerents, contemporary conflicts in southern Africa are predominantly national rather than international.

In addition to the protracted war against armed groups in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, smaller armed conflicts have re-emerged in recent years, more specifically in Mozambique and Angola.

Mozambican Renamo rebels took up arms in 2012 and although they lacked the military capacity to spark civil war, they attacked government forces and logistical conduits, causing economic disruption and insecurity.

Compelled by the rebel leader’s political ambition and the social grievances of marginalised fighters, the rebellion forced the country’s government to grant it regional autonomy and political privileges and economic benefits.

The armistice ended the violence, and somehow unbeknownst to the Mozambican government, the death of former Renamo leader Afonso Dhlakama provided a rare opportunity for a meaningful peace process in Mozambique.

Unfortunately, peace and security remained fragile as grievances about central government, authoritarianism, economic marginalisation, and the demobilisation of Renamo fighters are yet to be resolved.

Unresolved conflicts beget more conflicts of the same nature and stature. Sadc and Mozambique in particular, continue to be mocked by terroristic insurgencies due to the region’s failure to plug off the roots of conflict.

The ongoing armed insurgency in Cabo Delgado region in the northern district of Mozambique has the potential to destabilise the whole Sadc region if not properly handled.

The lacklustre approach by the region, and the conspicuous lack of political will to quench the inferno in Mozambique degrades peace and stability in the region and condemns its peoples to abject poverty.

It is elementary knowledge that the causes of armed conflicts in Africa, and specifically in southern Africa are the same, and can be perfectly situated within the frame of political (mis)leadership, particularly in the management of the copious natural resources that the region is naturally endowed with.

Resources are not a curse on us, but a blessing from God whose benefit can only be realised through strong and transparent leadership. A leadership with a genuine call and a fiduciary commitment to serve its people first. For as long there continues to be social cleavages and economic exclusion of local people in the enjoyment of the value of natural resources that their regions and communities give, peace and security in the southern African region will forever be threatened.