•  Advocate for enabling environments for NGOs at national and regional levels
• Coordinate and promote collaboration with the other partners, especially continental and international
• Collate and disseminate information and share best practices to influence national and regional development initiatives
• Represent NGO interests and perspectives on SADC institutions, processes and other bi-lateral arrangements with international and cooperating partners
• Develop common positions on areas of regional interests for purposes of lobby and advocacy to petition governments

We asked whether this kind of coalition is just a talking shop or whether this sort of networking can truly work. Mr Abie Ditlhake, of SADC-CNGOs said “ For this to be effective, it is important that the National Coalitions solicit local and national NGO opinions to inform regional processes.” Mr Motsamai, agreed on this and said “ We need to utilise our space in the SADC-CNGOs. Our commissions have to be active and tell us what is happening on the ground and how we should influence this forum. NGOs need to attend meetings and forums at LCN, such as our AGM to insure that Lesotho NGOs views are represented fully at a regional level’.

Of course it is not just regional forums that advise and put pressure on the Government to implement decisions. There is a whole wealth of international forums, most importantly the United Nations that influence government decisions. Should SADC-CNGOs be involved at this level. Mr Ditlhake said “ We have been engaging European NGOs and connecting with Southern NGOs. However our immediate priority is the establishment of African NGO movement that will collectively, as a unit, engage in these global networks, lobbying the South as our natural allies, and the North for solidarity in action’. He said “ This will happen through an approach that involves systematically choosing our partners and defining strategic relations based on principles, purposeful partnerships in engaging international processes, especially as they effect Africa.’

However not all is rosy in International NGO relations. There are some who feel that many of the Northern NGOs are not truly representing the views of the South despite there presence in Southern African countries. There is a growing feeling that some of the Northern based NGOs with programmes in the South are using resources that could well have been used better here in the South. For example in Lesotho, many of the young qualified people can not find work in the NGO sector in Lesotho as there is simply not enough financial resources to facilitate their engagement. Indeed unless they want jobs in the government, the young graduates leave for South Africa or beyond. There is a belief that NGOs in the North need to scale down their administration and funnel more finances into the South where it was originally intended to be used. Mr Motsamai said; “International NGOs often send us human resource capital, thus transferring skills to the South. I disagree that there is not the human resource capital here in Lesotho. We need financial resources we can work with and then we can employ our qualified individuals here”. Indeed a recent survey by LCN has found that many employees of the NGOs in Lesotho have poor educational backgrounds, this is because there simply is not the financial resources to employ more qualified individuals. Thus currently NGOs are not always able to engage the Government on issues on a flat playing field.

Therefore SADC-CNGOs gives NGOs the opportunity to influence regional and international networks and forums and provides us with a starting point to consider both internal NGO positioning on key issues and regional and international advocacy and networking. The adoption by SADC member state NGOs of the ‘Communique of the SADC Heads of State and Government Summit Civil Society Forum’, provides position statements of SADC NGOs on gender, sexual and reproductive health and HIV/AIDS, food security, media and access to information, elections and governance. It begins to show us potential regional stand-points we can advocate and lobby for to show the strength of purpose of regional NGOs and have an impact on our governments and the international community.

However, there are still some doors that need to be opened. Entry points into the SADC Heads of State summits need to be provided for the SADC-CNGOs. Currently the programmes and agendas that the SADC Heads of State are committed to are not clear. Agendas are set eight months before but are not made public. This is also the same for the African Union and the UN. Mr Motsamai from LCN said “We need to unlock the agendas and ask them to consider our agendas. Once we know what is under discussion we can position ourselves’.

To enable your NGO to influence, understand and lobby for regional advocacy, a copy of the ‘Communique of the SADC Heads of State Civil Society Forum Meeting 14th and 15th August, 2005’ can be found on www.lecongo.org.ls. LCN want your views.