Minister of Foreign Affairs, Honourable Dr I S G Mudenge

SPEECH BY THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, HON DR I S G MUDENGE (MP) AT THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE 2002 EDITION OF THE SADC EMPLOYMENT AND LABOUR SECTOR MEETING OF MINISTERS AND SOCIAL PARTNERS : 21 FEBRUARY 2002 : 09:30 HOURS AT THE KINGDOM HOTEL, VICTORIA FALLS : ZIMBABWE

The Chairperson of SADC-Employment and Labour Sector and Minister of Labour and Social Security of Zambia, Hon Mrs Mutale Nalumengo;
Our Host, Hon July Moyo, Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare;
Honourable Ministers here present;
Representatives of International Organisations and Development Agencies;
Distinguished delegates;
Ladies and Gentlemen;

On behalf of the Government and people of Zimbabwe, I wish to welcome you to Zimbabwe and to this beautiful hub of our tourist industry, the Victoria Falls. However, from my recent experience I hasten to clarify that I am not saying that you are here as tourists! You see last week a gentleman entered Zimbabwe on a tourist visa and I publicly welcomed him to our country as such only to find out that two days ago I was banned from entering the European Union countries for having described the gentleman in question as a tourist. Now I hope I will not find myself banned from visiting SADC for welcoming you to our tourist resort.

Your presence here is testimony to SADC governments' joint commitment to the alleviation and ultimate eradication of poverty in our region and to the improvement of the standard and quality of the lives of our people.

I have noted that your Sector has been the trendsetter in implementing the principles of smart partnership by adopting the tripartite approach to addressing key challenges confronting the sector. This approach reflects the letter and spirit embodied in the SADC National Committees which we are in the process of launching in our various countries. I want to extend a warm welcome to employers' and labour's representatives who will continue to be key stakeholders in formulating our future programmes in all sectors.

The region attaches great importance to the issues under the purview of the Employment and Labour Sector. Regional integration cannot be realized if labour and employment issues are not attended to and harmonised. This is a desired state, considering the central role of labour to economic growth and development.

I note with appreciation the sector's efforts to have a common approach to labour matters of the region, including the standardising of certain processes as well as the discussions on the possibility of harmonising some labour laws. This clearly indicates that the sector is keeping pace with the region's efforts to adopt common policies and strategies.

Honourable Ministers,
The HIV/AIDS scourge is threatening to reverse all the gains that we have made in our Human Resources and other development processes. Its effects have cut across national boundaries, gender, race, colour, creed and indeed across all sectors. It is imperative that we adopt a multi-sectoral approach if we are to combat this devastating pandemic. In this regard, I welcome the formulation and adoption of a Code of Conduct on HIV/AIDS and Employment by your Sector. This Code, in the main, outlaws discrimination and victimization of workers suffering from HIV/AIDS. I also applaud the fact that your sector has, in the interest of safety of the workers, adopted a code of conduct on the Safe Use of Chemicals.

In terms of enhancing productivity in the region, SADC Heads of State and Government adopted the Declaration on Productivity. This Declaration appropriately captured the joint commitment of Government, employers and labour to enhance productivity in the region and to achieve sustained growth in our economies.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have observed that at this meeting you are to deliberate on draft Codes covering Child Labour and Social Security and revisit the proposed Charter of Fundamental Rights in SADC. In this respect, I would like to urge this august gathering to ensure that the Codes reflect the interests, desires and concerns of the citizens of the SADC member states.

I also want to urge this committee of Ministers and Social Partners to start seriously looking into the issue of labour migration in the region. Inter-state labour mobility has been associated with our economies since the colonial days but there are some dimensions which are now viewed as problematic in the labour markets of some member states. Admittedly, there are problems associated with labour migration, but it is your challenge as the region's labour experts to come up with proposals to address this issue for our mutual benefit and understanding.

Honourable Ministers,
As we talk about the regional integration of our economies, a process which as a sector you are linked into, I want to emphasize that underpinning this process is the need to economically empower our citizens. There can be no sustainable peace and stability if our people remain marginalized from the mainstream of our economies. Only economic justice can be expected to guarantee peace. It is in this context that the Government of Zimbabwe has embarked on the long overdue process of land redistribution to empower the indigenous Zimbabweans, by correcting historical, social and economic injustices as well as to enhance agricultural production.

Agriculture is the backbone of most of the SADC economies. It is therefore no wonder that Zimbabwe's war of liberation was primarily about land which had been taken from the blacks by the white colonial masters.

The reform is not unique to Zimbabwe. It is a colonial legacy that is common to all of us in the region. It is in recognition of this fact that SADC Ministers of Agriculture who met in Windhoek in October, 2001 resolved that the issue of land and the agrarian reform should become one of the core activities of the newly established Directorate on Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources at the SADC Secretariat. It is this shared understanding of the background of the land problem in Zimbabwe which has motivated our brothers and sisters in the region and beyond to remain steadfast in their support for the land reform in Zimbabwe notwithstanding the pressure from powerful external forces. The government and people of Zimbabwe are indeed grateful for this support and solidarity.

With a view to assessing the position and plight of farm workers during the land reform programme, the Government of Zimbabwe, with the assistance of technical partners, has so far carried out two study surveys. The first survey was carried out in 1998 underpinned by the Second Phase of the Land Reform Programme (1998-2000) just before the Land Donors' Conference of September, 1998. The findings were factored into the conference discussions.

A second survey was undertaken in light of the Government's Fast Track Resettlement Programme of July 2000. The Government of Zimbabwe shall continually monitor the situation of farm workers and investigate any pockets of farm worker displacement and to better understand the "social dimensions" of land reform - such as resettlement, re-deployment, displacement, employment creation, productivity, poverty and food security, migration and squatters and the relevant demographics.

The Land Reform Programme is non-discriminatory. People who were originally from Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique and other SADC states have provided labour and technical skills that have made our agricultural sector the economic engine, employment creator and foreign currency earner that it is today. These farm workers are quite rightly claiming a share in the land reform programme and are, therefore, being resettled upon their wish. The lack of proximity to communal areas and communal structures has distinguished some of these workers from their counterparts in the rural Zimbabwe.

From a policy point of view, nothing in the Land Reform Programme discriminates against farm workers as a group. To cushion those farm workers retrenched through land acquisition, the Government has since promulgated legislation in terms of Section 17 of our Labour Relations Act which prescribes the requirement and mode of compensation to all the affected farm workers. This legislation entitles all the affected farm workers to receive severance packages calculated on the basis of their current salaries and their period of service. The package applies to both citizens and those who have opted to retain their foreign citizenship. The bottom line is that no worker will walk away empty handed. The Labour authorities have also carried out a survey to establish whether they prefer to remain in employment, to get resettled or to be repatriated to their countries of origin. The overwhelming majority has indeed elected to be resettled and will be given or have already received land on which they can use all the experience they gained to produce for themselves and for the country.

Honourable Ministers,
In the long run, we believe the Land Reform Programme will result in increased crop and livestock production; improved welfare of the people and quality of life; reduced unemployment and crime and a broadened base of land ownership while tackling the issue of congestion in the rural areas.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
The Government of Zimbabwe has been abiding by the spirit of the Abuja Agreement to the extent that it has given the people of Zimbabwe added hope on the land issue. Tensions have markedly decreased and a more conducive atmosphere for the orderly implementation of government programmes has been promoted. Unfortunately the United Kingdom, as a partner in the Abuja Agreement, has been acting contrary to the Abuja spirit. Instead of mobilizing resources for the land reform programme it has been mobilizing resources for political interference in the internal affairs of Zimbabwe by sponsoring the MDC, and, it now appears, by having some of its nationals provide resources to facilitate a plot to assassinate President Mugabe. The United Kingdom has been involved in a concerted effort to mobilize countries to impose sanctions on and withdraw resources from Zimbabwe. It has so far succeeded in bringing the United States Congress and the European Union aboard this nefarious enterprise. It has, however, so far failed to do the same in the Commonwealth. But the old white ruled dominions in the Commonwealth, in line with the rest of the white world, has joined the British neo-colonial racist vendetta against Zimbabwe's resolute determination to undo the colonial pillage of its land which resulted in 70% of the best arable land being shared by about 4000 white settlers mostly of British extraction in a country of nearly 14 million people.

We shall not be detracted from our chosen path by any forces and as such we will not bow down to the machinations of certain EU member states, and the white dominions of Canada, Australia and New Zealand and their unashamed zeal to meddle in the internal affairs of a sovereign state. We salute the position taken by SADC not to be intimidated on such issues of principle. We will not let go the gains of our hard won independence. Land was the key and central issue in the liberation struggle of our country. To us land reform is a political and socio-economic imperative necessary to enhance both the social and political stability of the country. We look for partners and forge partnerships, which should express themselves through mutual respect, equality and co-operation. We find this in SADC.

Ladies and gentlemen,
It is you who are gathered here today, who have the competence to shape or reshape the Labour Market of an integrated economy, therefore, I urge you to continue with the good work you have been doing as a sector this time within the Integrated Committee of Ministers. The restructuring of SADC institutions and structures was necessitated by the need to have the organisation more focussed, effective and responsive to the needs of the Member States. I also want to assure you that the SADC Council of Ministers has high regard of your work particularly the standard of your outputs in the form of regional Codes and Declarations covering specific issues within the realm of Employment and Labour.

Honourable Ministers and distinguished delegates,
You have never doubted Zimbabwe despite all the negative publicity generated by our detractors. We are happy that you are here to witness first hand the situation in the country. Shortly we will be holding our presidential elections. As a mark of the confidence we have in our regional and sub-regional institutions we have placed SADC, COMESA, ECOWAS and the OAU at the forefront of observers who will witness our elections. I hope some of you will be able to observe part of the process. We have also invited hundreds of foreign observers to come and witness our elections. Many are pouring into Harare. Besides the above mentioned African institutions, we have also invited the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (USA), the International Foundation for Education and Self-Help (USA), the Commonwealth (minus Britain), and ACP-EU delegation to have been made up of the following invited countries: Nigeria, Mali, Fiji, Western Samoa, Gabon, Cameroon, Jamaica, Guyana, Namibia, Zambia, Tanzania, Sudan, Austria, Belgium, Greece, France, Luxembourg, Italy, Ireland, Portugal and Spain. Regrettably the nine (9) EU countries have now pulled out in solidarity with the other six (6) EU countries we did not invite. We should all take note of this display of European solidarity. There is much to learn from it.

In addition all the 14 SADC countries have been individually invited to send national delegations, so have China, India, Japan, Malaysia, Iran, Russia, Belarus, Brazil, Cuba, Venezuela (Chairman of G15), Egypt, Libya, Senegal, Ghana, South Africa and Algeria. There is going to be a wedding party! The people of Zimbabwe are choosing a President they want as a partner for the next six years. And that is why they have invited those they considered their Friends to the wedding party. The EU has not been invited and is now sulking. I can assure you that their absence will not invalidate the wedding vows which are between the Zimbabwean people and their new President and which will be witnessed by hundreds of our friends from all over the world. Our Presidential elections will fully and truly reflect the will of the people of Zimbabwe, as has been the case in the last 21 years of our independence. Incidentally the so-called EU sanctions against Zimbabwe have no basis in international law and are contrary to the spirit and letter of the Cotonou Agreement. They are a desperate and vengeful action inspired by a frustrated racist colonial power seeking to protect its kith and kin.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have no doubt that this tripartite Forum will contribute immensely to the improvement of our labour relations, occupational health and safety, productivity and ultimately to the development of our economies. I wish you productive deliberations.
It is now my honour and pleasure to declare the 2002 Annual Sector Meeting of the SADC Employment and Labour Sector officially open.

I THANK YOU