ECA-Lusaka 21 Oct, 2015 - Xenophobia and regional economic integration are contradictory. Without the free flow of people, goods and services, there can never be regional integration or building a community of regional citizens.
These observations were made at the southern Africa inaugural seminar series hosted by ECA Southern Africa office in partnership with the African Peace-building Network (APN) of the Social Science Research Council in Livingstone, Zambia from 7-8 October 2015.
The two day-seminar held under the theme of Conflict, Peace and Regional Economic Integration in Southern Africa: Bridging the Knowledge Gaps and Addressing the Policy Challenges.
According to the Livingstone declaration, a communiqué from the seminar; poverty, inequality and unemployment were among the major drivers of conflict and xenophobia in the region and called for “progressive social policy, skills and capacity development and promoting qualitative and inclusive economic growth” as key in addressing the problem.
Further, the seminar called for a Pan-African and visionary leadership as essential for promoting regional economic integration and called for a people-to-people-centred integration as foundation for regional integration in which people are able to move freely without any discrimination or negative profiling.
The Southern Africa seminar series aims to promote debate, discussion and policy options on topical socio-economic issues affecting the region. The series will be held annually on a revolving basis throughout southern Africa.
Participants consisted of scholars, policy-makers and government officials, and representatives from civil society, regional institutions, UN agencies and regional economic commissions. Participants came from across Southern and Eastern Africa and also the United States of America.
Editor's note : Also read policy breifing (no 5 2016) published by APN (July 2016) Conflict, Peace and Regional Economic Integration in Southern Africa: Addressing the Policy Challenges.