This week’s elections for the African Development Bank (AfDB) presidency shed light on the frailties of cooperation in southern Africa as South Africa’s decision to field its own candidate may have weakened the chances of the preferred regional contender.
In what was expected to be a unified push for Zambia’s Samuel Maimbo, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region was instead fractured, with South Africa putting forward Bajabulile Swazi Tshabalala as a separate candidate.
The election, conducted in three rounds, saw Mauritanian economist Sidi Ould Tah emerge victorious with 76.18 percent of the vote, securing strong backing from North African nations and broad support across the continent.
Despite being the preferred SADC candidate, Maimbo finished second with 20.26 percent, trailing far behind Ould Tah.
South Africa’s decision to field Tshabalala, instead of rallying behind Maimbo, split the regional bloc’s voting power, weakening Maimbo’s chances of success.
Tshabalala was eliminated early, garnering only 5.9 percent of the vote, but by then, the damage to SADC’s collective bargaining position had already been done.
Unlike North Africa, which largely coalesced around Ould Tah, the SADC region was unable to capitalise on a joint approach, highlighting long-standing fractures in economic and political coordination.
“The result raises important questions about whether SADC can present a unified front on any continental issues as national interests and the big brother mentality often come into play,” analyst Donald Porusingazi said on Friday.
He noted that it was unlikely that the South Africans – and those whom they had convinced to rally behind Tshabalala at the beginning of the race – eventually voted for the preferred SADC candidate after she was eliminated.
“What we have observed in previous continental leadership contests is that it’s usually the South Africans who field a candidate and obtain unanimous regional endorsement while they are indifferent in cases where fellow SADC countries field candidates,” the analyst said.
“This does not augur well for regional unity and cooperation at a time when there is talk of integrating SADC economies and contributing towards the strengthening of the African Union.”
JN/APA