The group Ladysmith Black Mambazo represents the traditional culture of South Africa. In a short interview conducted with the RCS as part of the Commonwealth Conversation, Albert Mazibuko told us what the Commonwealth means to him.

Transcript:

Bringing people together through music is an important way of breaking down barriers and uniting people, and I wonder whether you can just expand a little bit on that on the musical side- why you think that’s an important thing to do?

That is very important, because when people come together they can accomplish many things, they can share ideas, improve things, and make this world we are living in a peaceful world. It’s what we believe, because through music we encourage people to stay in peace with one another.

Today we live in a fast-paced world, yet Ladysmith Black Mambazo are strongly focused on Zulu history- just recently celebrating Shaka Zulu in your most recent album. Why do you think it’s important to preserve these local traditions?

I think it’s very important, because it makes people know who they are. If you cherish your culture and all that is surrounding you, you become a better person. When you mention Shaka- Shaka was the person who was uniting people. We were always inspired by his story.

Your music has a strong moral message; you have been outspoken on subjects like fair-trade. Why do you think that’s an important thing that the world, and perhaps even the Commonwealth nations, should be focusing on?

I think they should focus on something like that, as you say; people should not be cruel with one another, and when it comes to trade, they should trade fairly, and this would improve everybody’s lives.

Commonwealth leaders are meeting in a month’s time in Trinidad. If you could say one thing to world and Commonwealth leaders, what would you say?

I would tell them that they should do their best to improve people’s lives.

This article was written by Brendan Barber, Trades Union Congress General Secretary.

The Commonwealth is a special institution for the trade union movement: 30 million trade unionists in 51 of the 53 Commonwealth countries share common traditions, common experience of solidarity and even common employment law traditions. Many trade unions around the Commonwealth started by looking at the TUC as an example. And we all learn from each other as we deal with common problems like HIV/AIDS, global trade, climate change and informalisation of the labour market.

In November there will be a trade union delegation at the Commonwealth People’s Forum in Port of Spain with participants from countries like Barbados, Canada, Swaziland and the UK. We will be releasing a report detailing abuses of workers’ rights around the Commonwealth, and we will be handing a formal submission to every Commonwealth government on 26 October – a month before CHOGM opens.

Our submission calls for action by the Commonwealth to live up to common values in the field of jobs, global poverty and climate change. In particular, I want the Commonwealth I’m a member of to:

1) endorse the ILO Global Jobs Pact, to put decent work and social protection at the heart of economic recovery efforts, establish a target for all Commonwealth governments to ratify all eight core ILO conventions, with biennial reviews of progress, and establish an annual forum of Commonwealth Labour Ministers;

2)publish a biennial stock-taking of progress towards attaining the MDGs for each developing country in the Commonwealth and to encourage all industrialised countries in the Commonwealth to adopt binding timetables to meet the UN aid target, reviewing progress biennially; and

3) take steps towards a fair and ambitious agreement in Copenhagen that will limit global temperature rise to no more than 2°C, based on ‘just transition’ – protecting the most vulnerable from climate change risks and from the consequences of adaptation or mitigation measures – and with green jobs at its heart.

I want the Commonwealth to recognise the experience of trade unions in fighting for democracy and freedom in countries like Nigeria and South Africa, and take up the call for democracy in Fiji, the Gambia and Swaziland.

As part of the Commonwealth Conversation, the RCS has interviewed Vince Cable. Dr Cable is a popular British MP and former Special Advisor on Economic Affairs to Sir Sonny Ramphal at the Commonwealth Secretariat.

RCS: Who are you and what are you here for today?

We are a non-partisan and non-political group called Enough is Enough. It?s a campaign group that came together to say Nigerians should take action, not against our government, but with our own people to say Enough is Enough.

When 4 or 5 Nigerians get together they always talk about the problems in our country. ‘But we feel it’s time to come together and say in one voice we have had enough. It’s time for us to take positive action.

RCS: What issues need addressing?

There are a number of issues, but pivotal is corruption. It’s endemic and it has become institutionalised. It is the route cause of all our problems.

We produce so much oil, we have so many resources in our country - but this is not impacting upon the lives of our people.

This is down to a lack of will to tackle this corruption.

RCS: How can this be addressed?

It’s down to a number of things, not just the government alone. The people have to show leadership. And we need the international community to help.

RCS: Which brings us on to the Commonwealth?

The Commonwealth has a role to play. We have had enough of this and we need a uniform standard amongst the member countries of the Commonwealth.

RCS: How do Nigerians view the Commonwealth?

I do not speak for all 140 million Nigerians.

I think the Commonwealth is a very relevant institution, but it needs to define its role to reflect the 21^st century. Some things need to be done.

It is a union of equal nations but the countries and leadership need to share good practice between its members. It needs to be top of the agenda. This is not happening at the moment.

The Commonwealth does not address the issues that concern me in Nigeria.

If you look at it from the point of view of the developed nations, like the UK, Canada and Australia- they need to lead by example and share good practice and say there are certain things we need to take a stand on. But they are not doing this at the moment. To attend Commonwealth gatherings you should have to meet minimum standards of governance embedded within the body politic.

The Commonwealth needs to support grassroots organisations – those fighting for social justice. The Commonwealth should be pro-active- not just an inter-governmental organisation. In Nigeria enough is enough.

A study commissioned for the CHOGM in 1997 found that Commonwealth economies experienced an average of ten to fifteen percent lower costs in doing business with another Commonwealth nation than with a non-member state. The various shared attributes created what the study’s authors named the ‘Commonwealth Effect.’

If the Commonwealth today were an economic bloc, it would be equal in size to the United States; it would have thirteen of the worlds fastest growing economies; it would possess most of the world’s leading knowledge economies outside of the US; it would have one third of the world’s population; and would represent forty percent of the membership of the World Trade Organisation.

If an agreement were achieved and it could bring per capita incomes up to a level comparable with the developed world, the Commonwealth would have an economy valued at over US$45 trillion - the equivalent of adding the combined GDP’s of the European Union with that of NAFTA - then doubling it.

For small and developing nations of the Commonwealth, such an initiative is a positive reaction to their calls for ‘trade, not aid’ and a genuine response to such programmes as NEPAD and individual national targets for UN Millennium development goals.

Already, Australia has negotiated, or is negotiating, FTA’s with New Zealand, Singapore, and Malaysia. New Zealand is doing likewise. Canada, at present, is pursuing similar arrangements with Singapore and the members of CARICOM.

In November of 2005, at the Commonwealth Business Summit in Malta, the final communique stated that countries should consider ‘the possibility of establishing a Commonwealth preferential, or free trade area’ should the WTO’s Doha Round prove fruitless. Four years on, the success of that round has been as elusive as the action to make good on that statement.

We may not see a Commonwealth Free Trade Agreement, with full participation, any time in the immediate future. On the other hand, the promotion of a CFTA pushes the debate for freer trade among Commonwealth countries. That, in itself, is worth some discussion.

This article was written by Brent Cameron, a former assistant to a member of the legislature in the Canadian province of Ontario. He is the author of ‘The Case for Commonwealth Free Trade’, published in 2005.

The Commonwealth should take a more active role in supporting and promoting local government. As an organisation it should return to what it does best: fostering partnerships and positive links. It is on a local level that the future success of the Commonwealth will be seen.

Local government is often viewed as the poor relation to its glamorous national associates, but it is through us that thriving, safer communities are developed, and the Millennium Development Goals will be delivered. It is best placed to provide basic services such as water, sanitation and primary health care for its people. It is closest to them and knows their needs and concerns. It is where involvement and consultation can be focused and effective channels for the engagement of local people and other stakeholders in the wider work the Commonwealth does can be built.

Why then is this crucial element of modern democracy all too often ignored by heads of Government in important international discussions?

Several things need to change for the Commonwealth to fully utilise the power of local government.

It must show genuine respect for the Commonwealth Aberdeen Agenda which set out the principles for good governance in local government. Better partnerships between different levels of government need to be encouraged and we must not be ignored in the big decisions made about sustainable development. On issues such as climate change and disaster management, local authorities are on the front line. But to have a big impact they must have adequate resources.

The CLGF links local authorities when they are trying to tackle common problems, and can learn from each other. We bring cities and towns together in a network which fosters collaboration, and have spearheaded a project to develop an international peer review mechanism to measure and evaluate success in local democracy and good governance. But for this to continue and develop we need more support.

The strengths of the Commonwealth, its diversity and common values and solidarity, means it is well placed to make a difference and share good practice and knowledge whatever the field. Local government must be central to this. With its network of central ministries responsible for local government, local government associations, individual provinces, town and rural councils, the Commonwealth has the potential to make real and noticeable difference to the two billion people it represents. It needs to wake up to its own potential.

Lord Howell, former chairman of the Select Committee on Foreign Affairs in the UK Parliament discusses the continued relevance of the Commonwealth to British Foreign Policy.

What do you think are the Commonwealth’s core strengths?

In a word the Commonwealth is a network. We live in an age of global information networks of a fantastic kind. The world is no longer organised in empires and blocs. And we are part of this network  and so are the other 53 Commonwealth members.

It is multi-faith and trans-continental, unlike many other blocs. It embraces rich and poor in an equal relationship and of course there is a fantastic cement of common culture and common understanding and values. All of these things make the Commonwealth the ideal model for the 21st century.

How would you like to see the Commonwealth evolve in the 21st century?

It has to grow wings. It’s under funded. It’s underappreciated by many of its members, including the UK. It has got to be a much bolder organisation that recognises its innate strengths. When I say grow wings I don’t see why it shouldn’t have a more vigorous foreign policy aspect, the EU after all has a foreign minister, and an active foreign policy. The Commonwealth could have a similar kind of involvement. The Commonwealth could take a far stronger role in the whole development pattern of the globe. The Commonwealth is basically ready to take off  it’s just not being supported the way it should at present. It’s got to raise its game.

I think it could have associate members as well as new ordinary members. Some of the giants of the world are waiting on the sidelines, not to join, I am thinking of Japan for instance (14% of the World’s GNP) but they would be very happy to be observers and associate with the Commonwealth. It’s an enormous opportunity which we have to exploit.

What role do you think the commonwealth should play in British foreign policy?

A much more central role. The British foreign policy system has been paralysed for the last 30 or 40 years by the belief that somehow we are being squeezed out of Europe the wonderful continentals are doing things and we have to get in on their game?. This is a complete misunderstanding of the way the world is working. Power has shifted to Asia, to the booming Asian economies and may soon shift to Africa as well. That is where our commonwealth links take us and therefore while we remain very active members of the European union we should strengthen our foreign policy links with the Commonwealth because together we can do great things- not only economically but in terms of peace and stability, peacekeeping, and international global stability.

In his article, printed in the October 2007 issue of The Round Table, The Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs, Mohan Kaul sees for the Commonwealth a ‘future leadership role in a globalized society, helping its members meet the challenges of the twenty-first century, building competitive capability. This role should be anchored on the Commonwealths fundamental strengths of good governance, economic empowerment and respect for diversity.’

He asserts that the Commonwealth should choose its battles carefully – for example in trade negotiations, support for small states, climate change, and economic empowerment.

Why not read a full, free version of Mohan Kaul’s article here on The Round Table website. And then let us know what you think by commenting below . . .

THE FUTURE OF THE COMMONWEALTH: GOOD GOVERNANCE, ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT AND RESPECT FOR DIVERSITY, THE ROUND TABLE, VOL 96, NO 392, 551-553, OCTOBER 2007