Dilemmas of Poverty and Development

From 2006 to 2008, the Institute for Global Dialogue (IGD) and the Africa Institute for South Africa (AISA) participated in the Helsinki Process on Globalisation and Democracy, aimed at evolving new solutions to global problems. Their contribution took the form of exploring the nexus between poverty and development in the Southern African Development Community (SADC). More specifically, they have evolved a proposed new policy framework for achieving sustainable development in the region, among others by achieving the first Millennium Development Goal of halving the number of people in the region living in poverty by 2015. In doing so, they have sought to add an empowered African voice to the debates on poverty in SADC and Africa; provide an Afro-centric analysis of issues related to poverty and development; and provide Africa-generated policy options for addressing poverty on the continent, and specifically in SADC. The study finds that current regional initiatives to address poverty will not result in the MDGs being met by 2015. It calls for a change of paradigm in order to achieve people-centred development that will strengthen the political influence of the poor, with the state playing a central role in shaping social and economic policy, and pursuing an active developmental agenda. This volume is an important record of current thinking by African analysts about development on their own continent. It is hoped that it will enhance the understanding of poverty and development of policy-makers in the region, and help them to address the region's massive developmental challenges.