Waziri wa Afya Maendeleo ya Jamii Jinsia Wazee na Watoto, Ummy Mwalimu (katikati), Katibu Mtendaji wa SADC Dk. Stergomena Tax (kushoto) na Waziri wa Nishati, Dkt. Medard Kalemani, Madaraka Nyerere (kushoto) na Mkurugenzi Mtendaji wa Utafiti Kusini mwa Afrika wa Sekretarieti ya SADC, Munetsi Madakafumba, wakizindua machapisho matano ya SADC yahusuyo Mkakati wa maendeleo ya amani na usalama, Mkakati wa ufuatiliaji masuala ya Jinsia, Mkakati na mpango wa kushughulikia ukatili wa Kijinsia, Mkakati wa Nishati na Mkakati wa tathmini fupi ya uendelezaji wa Miundombinu kwa kwa nchi za SADC, wakati wa uzinduzi huo uliofanyika katika Ukumbi wa Mikutano wa Kimataifa wa Julius Nyerere Dar es Salaam. (Picha na Muhidin Sufiani)
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Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen…
The Southern African Research and Documentation Centre (SARDC) is an independent regional knowledge resource centre established in 1985 to strengthen regional policy perspectives and track implementation on a range of issues in Southern Africa. SARDC works in partnership at national and regional levels. SARDC is made up of topical institutes that focus on relevant regional processes, and has a long track record of achievements, in partnership with the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and others.
As a regional think tank, SARDC has established several institutes that focus research on regional issues, including economic development, environment and water, gender, history, and China-Africa studies in Southern Africa. The Centre has a regional Board of members from Southern Africa, represented here today by our Founding Director, Ms Phyllis Johnson and two of our Board Members from Tanzania, Mrs Mary Rusimbi and Mr. Godfrey Madaraka Nyerere. Our Board is chaired by Hon. Peter H. Katjavivi, who is the Speaker of the National Assembly of Namibia, and founding Vice Chancellor of the University of Namibia. KUSOMA ZAIDI BOFYA HAPA
I am pleased to inform you that the SARDC Board had its recent meeting a month ago here in Tanzania, at the birthplace and resting place of Mwalimu Nyerere at Butiama, in northern Tanzania. The meeting was intended to raise awareness throughout the region of his significant role in the liberation of the African continent, in commemoration of the 20th year anniversary of his death in 1999.
I must say also that our Board meeting in Butiamawas purposefully planned to draw inspiration from the birthplace of our Founding Patron, Mwalimu Nyerere, to thank him for his vision, and in the process to strengthen our vision of development in the Southern African subregion. This visit was also intended to raise awareness of the regional dimension of Mwalimu’s life during this year, as the SADC leaders convene their annual Summit here in the United Republic of Tanzania, cognisant of the critical role that this country played during the liberation of our region.
S.A.R.D.C. is a longstanding Knowledge Partner of the SADC Secretariat and we draw pride in our continued efforts to actively support the Secretariat’s work in achieving regional integration, through, among other strategies, the sustainable industrial development and building of a more open economy and free trade area. Our thriving partnership has once again culminated in the production of yet another body of knowledge that we hope can assist the region in making informed decisions.
Weare pleased to present to you our latest publications jointly published with SADC Secretariat, titled:
(i) 2018 SADC Gender and Development Monitor:
Women Economic Empowerment and Gender Responsive Budgeting;
(ii) SADC Energy Monitor: Enabling industrialisation and regional integration in SADC; and
(iii) SADC Regional Infrastructcure Development: Short Term Action Plan Assessment 2019.
I should also inform you that as SARDC, we have worked with SADC in publishing the
(iv) 39th SADC Summit Publicationwhich will be launched during opening of Summit on 17 August; and
(v) SADC Today, the official news magazine of SADC which is published every two months and available in the three official languages of SADC.
Allow me to briefly share with you highlights of the observations made in the publications that are about to be officially launched today.
1. 2018 SADC Gender and Development Monitor:
Women Economic Empowerment and Gender Responsive Budgeting
The objective of the 2018 edition of the Gender Monitor is to establish a central knowledge base to strengthen the capacity of Governments of SADC Member States, stakeholders and partners to contribute to the economic empowerment of women. This is in recognition of women as a critical constituency in the socio-economic development of the region.
SADC Member States recognise that economic empowerment is central to women emancipation and the attainment of gender equality. The Gender Monitor therefore establishes an evidence-basedframework with which to track progress made by Member States in implementing the Revised Protocol on Gender and Development. The publication especially focuses on the extent to which financial resources, means of production and employment opportunities have been made accessible to women.
A number of recommendations are proffered in this publication which seek to assist the Member States to strengthen their capacity to contribute to the economic empowerment of women and to follow a system of effective gender responsive budgeting that does not discriminate against women as previously marginalised members of society.
2. SADC Energy Monitor: Enabling industrialisation and regional integration in SADC.
To document progress made by SADC Member States towards implementation of various SADC energy policies and targets including the SADC Protocol on Energy, the S.A.R.D.C has produced the second edition of the SADC Energy Monitor with a sub-theme on Enabling industrialisation and regional integration in SADC. The first edition was launched at the 36th SADC Summit held in Ezulwini, the Kingdom of Eswatini.
Without access to modern energy services, vulnerable members of society spend most of their valuable time on basic tasks that are time consuming, non-remunerative and highly laborious, such as collecting biomass fuels. This regrettably often puts their lives at risk, not to mention the huge cost to the environment through vices such deforestation.
The main objective of this second edition is thereforeto ensure that progress made towards the implementation of the SADC energy commitments in line with the SADC Protocol on Energy and other regional strategies and policies in the energy subsector are documented and communicated widely to the regional community. The publication focuses on energy as a key enabler for industrialisation in line with the new developmental thrust as contained in the Industrialisation Strategy and Roadmap 2015-2063.
3. SADC Regional Infrastructure Development: Short Term Action Plan Assessment 2019.
The SADC region has a huge infrastructure deficit that is characterised by insufficient energy supply; inadequate water supply, reticulation and sanitation systems; inadequate and expensive broadband networks; and an unreliable transport network, among other deficiencies.
Asan acknowledgement of these enormous challenges, SADC leaders adopted the Regional Infrastructure Development Master Plan (RIDMP) in 2012 with the purpose to guide the region’s infrastructure development and rehabilitation programme over the period to 2027. This infrastructure development plan is being implemented in three phases. The first phase is known as the Short Term Action Plan (STAP) 2012 – 2017. The second phase continues from 2018 to 2022 while the last phase runs from 2023 to 2027.
The purpose of this inaugural edition of what shall be many Infrastructure Assessment Reports was therefore to determine the extent of progress in implementation of SADC infrastructure projects since the adoption of the Regional Infrastructure Development Master Plan in 2012.
The overall picture drawn from the assessment of the Regional Infrastructure Development Master Plan Short Term Action Plan is that SADC Member States are lagging behind in terms of implementation of identified projects. Of the 134 projects assessed in the study, only 5 percent were successfully completed, meaning that 95 percent of the projects were behind schedule. The study attributes this unfavourable position to a variety of factors. The factors are, among others:
i. A limited pipeline of bankable projects coupled with limited resources and capacity for project preparation;
ii. Insufficient fiscal allocation by Member States towards infrastructure projects. In some instances, projects listed as regional priority projects were found to be absent from the National Plans of relevant Member States, suggesting a disconnect between regional and national priorities;
iii. Funding Mismatch between Member States and Funding Partners, perhaps attributable to the lack of pipeline of bankable projects that can be submitted for consideration by the various financiers of regional infrastructure;
iv. A severely under resourced Project Preparation and Development Facility which is still overly reliant on donor funding with little or no Member State contributions;
v. Limited Private Sector Participation. For example, only 6 percent of the projects assessed in the study have private sector support. This challenge has been attributed to the lack of a conducive and enabling environment, and the challenges of structuring Public-Private Sector Partnerships (PPPs); and
vi. An unclear delineation of roles between Member States and the Secretariat in terms of their involvement on regional infrastructure projects. For example, there has been an expectation from Member States for the Secretariat to lead the resource mobilisation on their behalf.
A number of lessons can be derived from this report to inform future interventions in the development of infrastructure in the region. There is therefore an expectation that the lessons learnt can inform the next phase of priority projects, otherwise known as STAP II.
Conclusion.
Allow me to thank all our partners who walked with us through the long journey of developing this knowledge products. I want to acknowledge with gratitude the Austrian Development Agency who have been instrumental in supporting SARDC’s research programme since 2014. I wish also to thank the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) who, along with ADA, supported the production of the Infrastructure Report.
In conclusion,as SARDC, we will always be available to support the SADC Secretariat and Member State Governments through, as our motto says, “Knowledge for Development”.
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