Trade and agriculture are important priorities for reducing poverty and facilitating regional integration. Although solutions to address the problems of women cross border traders and farmers in the SADC region have been articulated in national and regional policies, they are not yet having significant impact. A substantial number of women play key roles in trade and agriculture in the region yet remain the most disadvantaged participants within these sectors.
In an article published by The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), it was estimated that the value of trade conducted by women in the region amounts to approximately $20 billion USD annually. The SADC Food and Nutrition Security Strategy estimated that women contribute to at least 60% of total food production and provide the largest labor force within the agricultural sector.
Economic policies remain gender blind, due to the lack of meaningful participation of women in policy making.
Women traders face key challenges: they are subject to gender-based discrimination, as societies remain patriarchal, with men dominating indecision-making on behalf of their families. Another issue is the distinct lack of land ownership – the land reform programme in Malawi, by example, continues to exclude women, with only 10% of land acquired through the programme allocated to women. Women rarely identify and comprehend the very policies set to govern their fields of expertise, as a result of lateral dissemination of communication that is very often not culturally contextualized. There is also a lack of initiative and political will by government and non-state actors to develop policies and create open dialogue.
Limited access to finance poses further challenges
Financial institutions are focused on commercial lending and low-risk entities. Women often lack surety and maintain fluctuating incomes, making loans from institutions that require regular payment difficult to obtain. The Zimbabwe Cross Border Traders Association, COMESA and SADC Secretariat provide that at least 70-80% of cross border traders are women, making a living through buying goods from neighboring countries and trading them in their region. However, high tax rates at borders – at least 90% of women cross border traders’ revenue is a contribution to government taxes – continue to reduce the potential of women operating profitable businesses.
Other challenges faced by women cross border traders include corruption, sexual harassment and abuse from customs officials and inconsistent and lengthy border procedures. A study into trade at a Harare flea market showed that it is more expensive to be a female trader: toilet facilities are charged for (therefore not used by men); storage fees are high (men opt to take their goods home); and market fees, while the same for men and women, trading represents a large portion of women’s income, as they earn less than men.
How the Southern Africa Trust is addressing these challenges
The Trust has partnered with cross border traders’ associations and facilitated dialogue between women traders and relevant policy institutions. They have also produced culturally contextual and translated information booklets on Simplified Trade Regime and the non-tariff barrier scheme. The Trust has and will continue to organize awareness campaigns, with the participation of customs authorities, immigration, police and ministries of trade. They also plan to:
Provide access to capital and funding by sourcing alternative lending streams
Expand the customer base for women traders, offering a wider market – with an ultimate goal of supplying larger retail stores
Improve supportive public services, including border/custom controls, healthcare, home affairs and policing
Assist with general trade issues, like the current COVID-19 restrictions, which affect the livelihood of traders
The Southern Africa Trust is excited to have Chief Executive Officer Masego Madzwamuse accepted as a fellow on the ground-breaking Aspen Institute New Voices Fellowship for 2020. This is a select gathering of experts from across the landscape of developing countries who are seeking to fulfill a role as advocates and policy makers in the context of global development.
This fellowship is a one year non-resident programme which will see Masego form part of a diverse cohort of 25 development experts from 16 African, Asian and Latin American countries. The Aspen New Voices Fellowship is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Open Societies Foundations and was established to bring the essential perspectives of development experts from the developed world into the global development conversation. The Aspen Institute is a nonpartisan forum for values-based leadership and the exchange of ideas.
“I’m very much looking forward to the journey that lies ahead as I begin this once in a lifetime fellowship with the Aspen Institute. Having worked heavily on intersection of poverty and inequality with climate change, I am ready to strengthen my capability and capacity in advocating for social and economic justice across Southern Africa.That said, I am most excited that this supports the mandate of the Southern Africa Trust which is to represent and empower the agency of the poor in regional policy processes.”says Masego Madzwamuse.
Masego seeks to engage diverse audiences across Africa on discussions about the world’s impending environmental crisis and climate emergencies and wants to amplify the voices of those who are most affected. She is available to engage on panels, requests for comment and dialogues focused on this burning topic.
Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) will be adopting new measures and taking steps that will help the region to contain the spread of COVID-19 as well as pursue its regional integration agenda. The COVID-19 crisis has called for a joint response and call to action among key stakeholders including policymakers, civil society and private sector groups. This coordination will support the efforts to contain the spread of the virus, while still achieving regional aspirations in key priority areas for the region, including trade, agriculture and industrialisation.
The Southern Africa Trust has produced the SADC Regional Integration Toolkit to provide information and knowledge that will contribute towards increasing citizens’ participation and involvement in the implementation of the region’s integration agenda. The role of civil society is both important and critical in policy processes because of its interface and proximity with citizens and communities affected by poverty and inequality.
The rapid spread of COVID19 is an enormous cause for concern, particularly for the well-being of people who have limited access to key public services (health facilities, water and shelter) that are crucial for managing the spread of the virus.
We are highly concerned about the capacity of public health care facilities to cater to the needs of people in the event of increased infections, from testing and diagnosis right through to treatment. We call upon leaders of the 16 SADC nations to prioritize the well-being of the public & implement the necessary decisions that will better contain viral spread and minimize its impact. We commend SADC for suspending all meetings in the interest of public health and the leadership of Namibia, Botswana, Angola and South Africa on their responses to COVID19. We call on all SADC member states to implement necessary travel bans, public gathering control steps, public education and awareness campaigns and other measures required to contain its potential spread.
To our civil society partners, we ask that you continue your important work while sharing awareness of COVID19 to your respective groups. Your voices will minimize the spread of false information. We refer all our partners and beneficiaries to the World Health Organisation for all latest updates on COVID19. Now is the time to communicate true and life-saving information, especially to citizens who may not have access to internet services.
Our organisation has heeded the declaration of the state of national disaster in South Africa. As of today, 16 March 2020 all employees of the Trust will work remotely until 14 April. Thanks to technology, our work will continue – we remain online and can be contacted via email. All travel by our staff members has been cancelled & planned events will either be postponed or hosted via webinar.
It is through precaution, correct communication and caring for each other’s well-being that our region will overcome this pandemic. Southern Africa Trust stands with nations and the world by playing our part ending COVID19.
Listen as our Mobilisation and Engagement Manager Christabel Phiri unpacks the possibilities that farmers in Botswana have available to them in addressing food access, especially in relation to the countries’ recent State of the Nation review from their minister of Agricultural Development and Food Security.
