There is a strong need for civil society organisations in the region to ensure that the regional integration is congruent with the development needs of the poor and marginalised communities they serve. They need to share experiences, learn together and co-ordinate their activities and campaigns. Regional capacity building will help strengthen national processes. In this respect a number of regional networks have developed involving a broad range of civil society organisations and institutions including trade unions, journalists, NGOs, churches, etc. which can serve as an important foundation for a regional capacity building network on globalisation. In this respect developing partners in the North is very important for articulating these strategies.
Debt is the means through which the globalisation process has impacted on Southern Africa.
SAPs have prioritised the opening of the economies of Southern Africa to the global economy, through adopting an export orientated economic model. Austerity measures, monetarism, financial, trade and investment liberalisation, privatisation are the basic elements of the SAP programmes. Debt therefore, is an important window through which organisations can engage with and develop concrete alternatives to these current neoliberal macro-economic policies. In this regard a number of organisations in the region have organised around the issues of debt, structural adjustment and globalisation. Increasingly these organisations have been co-operating and networking.