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Rex Brown addressing civil society participants

"Where are the masses?" quirked Mr. Rex Brown, a local environmental consultant as he approached the entrance to the civil society forum hosted by Yonge Nawe on the 8th of August 2002 at the Royal Swazi Sun. "The masses" are a major feature of Agenda 21, a blue print for action adopted at the Earth Summit in 1992.

The Yonge Nawe Civil Society forum brought together representatives of the "masses" and discussed sustainable development in the context of Swaziland. The forum was convened as part of the civil society preparations for the World Summit on Sustainable Development held in Johannesburg from 26 August to 4 September 2002. The objectives of the forum were:

a. To raise awareness on the upcoming Summit and the role of civil society.
b. To discuss and identify sustainable development challenges facing the country.
c. To prepare a strategy for participation in sustainable development issues beyond the summit.

The forum was lively with three panel presentations. The presentations were focused on topics such as the role of civil society from an NGO perspective vis-à-vis Swaziland’s progress towards achieving sustainable development, socio- economic perspective on sustainable development and the government’s national preparatory consultative process towards the WSSD. 

Civil society representatives

Yonge Nawe director opened the forum highlighting the importance of the forum. In her remarks, she stated that incorporation of social, environmental and equity issues into economic development were critical if Swaziland is to ensure that all the people of Swaziland are

  be able to enjoy a comfortable standard of living and improved quality of life without causing irreversible damage to the environment. She said that civil society has been meeting at a global, regional and national level to assess progress against the commitments that were agreed at the first Earth Summit in 1992 and also to try to determine and influence the outcome of the Johannesburg summit to ensure that ordinary people enjoy a good quality life.  This forum was an opportunity for the civil society of Swaziland to assess commitments the government has made since 1992 versus the reality on the ground. The purpose of these assessments was to determine key issues and also formulate a framework from which they would work on the issues before and after the Johannesburg summit, she added.

Not all is well on the ground," Mr. Ndlangamandla, a representative from CANGO said. "Whilst some successes has been realised, a lot still remains to be done in all the various aspects of seeking to bring about sustainable development," he added. Mr. Ndlangamandla spoke about the role of civil society and progress civil society has achieved vis-à-vis sustainable development from an NGO perspective. He attributed Swaziland’s growing poverty levels to unequal access, ownership and distribution of resources. Mr. Ndlangamandla said "Swaziland would not be able to eradicate poverty without considering equity issues, where about 10% of Swaziland’s population occupies and control 60% of the country’s natural resources. This effectively means that 90% of the population share among themselves 40% of the resources." 

Poverty and social inequity took centre stage. The forum said that people living in poverty often have no other choice but to engage in activities that could be harmful to the environment. Participants noted that poor people would not about the environment as they mainly preoccupied by feeding their families. The forum recommended for policy reforms that would enable the poor to improve their lives.

"Many economists believe that much of the current environmental crisis can be attributed to an undervaluing of the earth’s natural resources in the global marketplace. On a more personal level, we of course value the air, the water, the trees and our land. Markets, however, with their emphasis on supply and demand, do not incorporate this value into the prices of goods," Ms Winnie Madonsela- Kamalandua one of the panel presenters said. Participants at this forum highlighted the unproportionate emphasise on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) was compromising people’s health and the environment as foreign investors were preoccupied with profit at the expense of sustainable development. In addition, it was noted that FDI has not lived according to set objectives of poverty alleviation, as working conditions especially among textile industries were appalling. Further investment on sugar and forestry businesses was compromising food security in the country. 

Agenda 21 recognises that one of the fundamental prerequisites for the achievement of sustainable development is broad public participation in decision making. The forum recommended that people with disabilities should be mainstreamed into the national economy through provision of the necessary infrastructure and support that encourage their participation. 

A list of Civil Society issues for the WSSD and after the summit was drawn up. These were broad issues civil society committed to focus their projects and programmes after the Johannesburg summit. The list include the following:

• Health (e.g. HIV/AIDS, TB, Malaria and other communicable diseases)
• Poverty
• Gender
• Governance 
• Environment and natural resources management
• Information, education and communication
• People with disabilities
• NEPAD and African Union
• Trade and globalisation
• Marginalised groups (youth, children, orphans, elderly, women)

Part of the issues drawn up by Swaziland civil society

• Health (e.g. HIV/AIDS, TB, Malaria and other communicable diseases)
• Poverty
• Peace, Security and justice 
• Environment and natural resources management
• NEPAD and African Union
• Trade and globalisation

The forum was informative with meaningful contributions. Sustainable development is a responsibility for everyone. Sustainable development should start with the individual, family, household, community, national level and so on. This means understanding and accepting the consequences of being a part of a greater community and becoming conscious that our actions affects future generations and the species with whom we share this planet.