News Release For immediate release 24 October 2008

The Drivers of Change to overcome poverty in southern Africa were announced on Thursday, 23 October 2008 at a “symphony of winners” dinner held in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The prestigious non-monetary awards recognise outstanding new ways of working to overcome poverty. They recognise individuals and organisations from the business, government, and civil society sectors. This year, 60 nominations were received from 11 southern African countries.

By identifying remarkable examples of fresh approaches in the region that work, the awards aim to promote change in attitudes, policies, and practices so that efforts to overcome poverty are more effective.

This years’ Drivers of Change winners are:

In the individual category, the visionary Richard Mkandawire for his outstanding leadership in convincing African leaders and the international community that Africa can muster the ability and political will to overcome hunger and poverty through a green revolution for food security. His efforts are already producing good results in a few countries.

In the business category, the Apparel Lesotho Alliance to Fight AIDS (ALAFA) for its innovative sector wide public-private-community partnership that is showing how possible it is to protect key productive economic sectors in poor countries from the ravages of HIV and AIDS. ALAFA is a coalition of apparel manufacturers, retailers, workers, international clothing brands, international organizations, and the Lesotho government, coordinated through the apparel industry.

In the civil society category, the Lusaka based Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection for its simply powerful basic needs basket survey.   The basic needs basket compares essential food and other essential costs of a regular family of four against the income of an average household. It is having a visible impact on Zambia’s poverty reduction efforts.

A joint special award went to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development of Mauritius and the Mauritius Council of Social Service (MACOSS) for driving a major change to how regional priorities to overcome poverty are set in the region, by involving business, civic groups, and governments together. The ministry was instrumental in convening heads of states and governments from all Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries, together with business associations and a wide range of civil society groups as real partners in development planning to overcome poverty in the region.

The Drivers of Change awards are presented in partnership with the Mail & Guardian newspaper’s annual Investing in the Future awards.

Addressing the gathering of about 300 guests, the former president of Mauritius, Mr Cassam Uteem, called for a war against poverty to be waged with the same seriousness that military wars are being fought – with a deliberate effort by governments to include opposition parties in such a war cabinet.

 “The fight against poverty should not be treated as a partisan issue but instead as an above-political-parties’ issue. I would therefore renew my plea here that the opposition be invited to co-operate with the government in the war against poverty, the only war worth waging in the 21st century,” he said.

Mr Uteem called for an all inclusive war cabinet to “come up with appropriate strategies and programmes drawing on the contribution of the whole population and involving the poor themselves, united in the war against poverty and its dire consequences.”

 “This is how we shall succeed in building sustainable democracies that work to overcome poverty forever,” he said.

Uteem was elected president of Mauritius in 1992, an office he held for ten years.

He now plays an active part in social development campaigns in Mauritius while at the same time being a member of the board of directors of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) in Stockholm, a member of the Africa Forum of former African Heads of State, a member of the international jury for the UNESCO Education for Peace prize, a founder-member of the Global Leadership Foundation (GLF) and a member of the Club de Madrid.

With legendary television personality Doreen Morris as the host, musical entertainment was performed by the Johannesburg Youth Orchestra and the Southern Africa Trust’s change4ever campaign ambassador, Lira.

The Southern Africa Trust is an independent, regional, non-profit agency that supports deeper and wider engagement in regional policy dialogue to overcome poverty.

For more information, please contact:
Mpho Kgosidintsi
Tel: +27 11 318 1012
Mobile: +27 78 459 0152
Email: communications@southernafricatrust.org

For more information on the Drivers of Change awards, see www.southernafricatrust.org