SADC gets Euro 18.7 million to build capacity

Southern African Development Community (SADC), the European Union Delegation to Botswana and the government of Germany have officially launched the SADC Integrated Institutional Capacity Building (IICB) Programme. The European Union has committed Euro 13.2 million to the Programme, while the German government is co-funding with Euro 5.5 million; bringing the total to Euro 18.7 million. The IICB Programme that is expected to expand country coverage to at least ten Member States from the three countries of Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia, will be implemented by the SADC Secretariat supported by the GIZ. According to SADC Executive Secretary, Dr. Stergomena Lawrence Tax, efforts are already underway to establish or revamp SADC National Committees in Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho and Tanzania. Dr Tax added that the support under the Integrated Institutional Capacity Building Programme will be more targeted at activities with impact, therefore the focus will be placed on sectoral coordinating structures in three sectors; industrialisation, agriculture and infrastructure development. Aligned to the Revised SADC Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP), the programme is envisaged to strengthen country-level structures, especially SADC National Committees to implement the regional integration programme at the national level.It is also envisaged to enhance collaboration between National Planning Entities and SADC National Committees, to foster the integration of the regional programmes and their implementation frameworks into national plans. Dr. Tax added that the newly launched programme will develop regionally agreed performance benchmarks that Member States will adhere to in relation to SADC National Committees and programme/project management. IICB Programme will also improve the involvement of civil society, non-governmental organisations, women and youth groups, judicial and legislative structures in the implementation of the regional integration agenda; and improve the alignment of International Cooperating Partners (ICP) technical and financial support to SADC priorities at national and regional level to the achievement of regional integration indicators and targets. Speaking at the launch on Friday, German Ambassador, Ralf Andreas Breth said the launch of the IICB programme reflects and reinforces their belief in sharing the European experiences and providing opportunities to SADC and other regional organisations to benefit from them. “Implementation requires more than just passion and commitment; it also needs capacity. Germany is taking great pride in supporting the continuous capacity development of SADC structures at all levels and in many sectors,” Breth said. He said at the centre of the Programme’s efforts stands the realisation that with competing commitments and insufficient capacities, effective coordination of the SADC agenda at the national level is crucial. “The Programme did not need to reinvent the wheel; it only needed to run back to the SADC Treaty. In article 16A of its Treaty, SADC has mandated National Committees to bring together national governments, the private sector, civil society and other non-state actors to work on implementing the SADC agenda in their Member States,” Breth said. For his part, European Union Ambassador, Jan Sadek said EU support addresses among others areas; peace and security, regional political cooperation and migration, contributing to the implementation of the Strategic Indicative Plan for the Organ on Politics, Defense and Security in the region (SIPO). “I am proud to announce that in the next four years, the EU support to SADC will reach a total of more than Euro150 million, of which around Euro 80 million will be managed directly by SADC in four years,” Sadek said, adding that SADC has to ensure a stable, consistent and competent structure capable of managing, implementing and monitoring the programmes that are benefitting SADC.