Unions and other civil society bodies want wider representation Glenda Daniels and David Macfarlane The two-million-strong Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) this week walked out of the body organising civil society participation in next years massive World Summit on Sustainable Development. Civil societys preparations for the summit have been further damaged by the withdrawal of the South African National Civic Organisation (Sanco). And the African National Congress Youth League, the South African Council of Churches, womens groups and environmental organisations have expressed concern about what they say is a lack of adequate representation at the summit.
About 60 000 delegates from all over the world will descend on Johannesburg in September next year, including more than 100 heads of state. Key issues to be debated include land access, energy resources, climate change, poverty eradication, water access and preservation of the environment. South Africas ability to host one of the worlds biggest conferences yet is in the spotlight, and on its success rides Johannesburgs reputation as a conference venue. This week Moss Mashishi, CEO of the Johannesburg World Summit Company, which is handling the summits logistics, said that R551-million was needed to host the summit, 60% of which had already been secured.
He said research has shown that overseas delegates will spend R1-billion in the country during the summit; gross domestic product will receive an injection of R1,3-billion; and 14 000 temporary jobs will be created. This weeks walkout by Cosatu and others comes after months of infighting over an alleged lack of inclusiveness and representivity on the part of the secretariat organising the summits civil society participation, which is being facilitated by the South African National NGO Coalition (Sangoco). ”The secretariat does not represent the main organisations of civil society,” says a Cosatu leader. ”This weeks secretariat meeting was the first we were invited to. The secretariat repeatedly failed to contact labour about earlier meetings.” Sanco, the largest community-based organisation in the country, has been ”completely alienated from the process since its inception”, says Donovan Williams, Sancos national head of policy research. ”We had to approach the secretariat to invite us to planning meetings for the summit. The secretariat was claiming to represent us but it wasnt. We had a total lack of response, and were not invited to meetings before this week.”
A further source of dissent, Sanco and Cosatu say, is remuneration for the secretariat. ”Salaries range up to R35 000 a month, which is more than twice what our general secretaries earn,” says a well-placed Cosatu source. Both Sanco and Cosatu now intend to call upon the Johannesburg World Summit Company to help set up and coordinate a structure far more representative of major civil society bodies. ”We want the United Nations [which is facilitating worldwide government participation in the summit] to recognise that the current secretariat does not represent South African civil society,” Williams says, ”and to acknowledge the legitimacy of the new structure.” President of Sangoco Zakes Hlatshwayo acknowledged this week that there are problems with proper participation and representation of all the sectors of society. He said it was not just a problem for Cosatu but that indigenous groups, black business, the disabled sector, women and faith-based organisations are not yet adequately represented. ”This will be attended to with immediate effect. There has been no malice on the part of the secretariat in excluding anyone. This is a difficult process with no proper audit to give us a clear idea of how many organisations there are out there.” He said that because Sangoco acknowledges criticisms so far levelled at the process and is committed to rectifying weaknesses, ”there is no reason for the UN to delegitimise the civil secretariat”. lArgwings Odera reports that, adding a spanner to the works, the United States is putting pressure on South Africa to change the closing date of the summit, currently scheduled for September 11 the first anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Centre. To the anger of some delegates who have been involved in the two-year preparations, the US is proposing the summit be brought forward by a week. The South African government is expected to back the US proposals and put them before Parliament early next year before being passed on to the UN for final approval.