Remarks by Honourable Monyane Moleleki
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Lesotho
on the occasion of the reception in honour of the SADC Executive Council
and the Civil Society Forum
Honourable Ministers
Distinguished Representatives of the Civil Society
Ladies and Gentlemen
I am delighted and honoured to welcome you to our beautiful Mountain Kingdom and particularly to tonight’s occasion which is the first of its kind in the History of our Organization. The purpose of this occasion is to bring together Government Leaders and Leaders of the Civil Society to meet in a social occasion and to get to know each other at a personal level.
I wish to pay a special tribute to the Lesotho Councils of NGO’s who are the brainchild of this initiative and to the Southern Africa Trust (SAT) who have graciously sponsored this event. The Southern Africa Trust is a regional institution that supports processes to deepen and widen engagements in policy dialogue with a regional impact on poverty eradication. It is worth mentioning that SAT have also offered to sponsor the SADC Secondary School Essays Competition for the 2007/2008 period. This is a commendable civil society initiative that should be applauded and emulated.
During the next two days the SADC Executive Council will be meeting to deliberate on issues related to the development and integration of our Region. Parallel to that Session the Civil Society Forum will be meeting to discuss pertinent issues related to the development of the SADC region. Our gathering here tonight is in recognition of our mutual aspirations and unity of purpose in the desire for the betterment of the lives of our peoples.
It is the first time that Honourable Ministers and Leaders of the Civil Society meet in this manner and we hope this will be only the beginning of a lifelong partnership and not the end. Let this be an enduring partnership which will be the rule rather than an exception. Regional integration is a challenging task the results of which will help create a better life for all the peoples of SADC Member States.
The development of our countries and enhanced regional integration cannot be achieved by Governments alone. There is therefore a need to support a strengthened Civil Society which can engage constructively and maturely with Governments. Occasions like this one help to bridge the confidence gap between the Civil Society and Governments and help to build the necessary trust between the two sides which is pivotal for a strong partnership.
Our Region is faced with many daunting challenges including HIV and AIDS, Gender Equality, Poverty Eradication, protection of the environment and peace and stability among others. The enormity of these challenges demands that we marshal all our resources and energies in a strong coalition. The time has come to put behind us the animus (confrontation) relationship that has characterized our interaction in the past years. At the end of the day we have a common agenda and a common destiny.
Here in Lesotho we have begun a process of initiating collective solutions to our development programme. We are jointly engaged in the planning and implementation of the development programmes starting with the National Vision 2020, the Poverty Reeducation Strategy and actual identification of projects. We cannot win the war on poverty and Government alone. There is therefore a need for our civil society to acquire the necessary capacity to play their crucial part in the development of the country both as a watchdogs and as partners.
Allow me to conclude by quoting the UN Secretary Kofi Annan who said “by now we know that peace and prosperity cannot be achieved without partnerships involving Governments, International Organizations, the business community and Civil Society. In today’s world we depend on each other”.
I thank you.
