by Patson Phiri – SANF 06 No 14
Infrastructure development, food security and approval of budgets for the region’s priority development projects are expected to top the agenda of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Council of Ministers set for Botswana on 23-24 February.
SADC Executive Secretary, Tomaz Augusto Salomão said the ministers will, among others, sign a revised Southern African Power Pool Inter-Governmental Memorandum of Understanding (IGMOU) on 23 February.
The initial IGMOU establishing SAPP, which was concluded in August 1995, has been reviewed to take on board developments in the power sector. The major additions to the IGMOU include SADC reforms, electricity supply industry reforms in member states and recognition and admission of other electrical energy players in the region, including independent power producers.
The ministers will also consider a report on a feasibility study on the transfer of water from the Congo basin to the water scarce countries in the SADC region.
Addressing journalists ahead of Council, Salomão said the SADC Secretariat was discussing with unnamed co-operating partners for funding the study “which will incorporate the impact analysis of this project during its implementation.”
Council is also expected to take note of the current cereal assessment for the region, which points to a deficit of 1.07 million tonnes for the 2005/06 season – almost equivalent to the 2004/2005 deficit of 1.11 million tonnes.
The SADC executive secretary said the meeting will seek to align the Secretariat’s budget to approved priorities as set out in the region’s two 15-year blueprints, the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) and the Strategic Indicative Plan for the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation (SIPO).
The blueprints are critical to the attainment of SADC’s overall regional integration agenda and set out priority areas that member countries, individually or collectively, have to meet by 2015.
Member states contributions for the financial year 2005-06 will also be reviewed at the meeting.
“Let me point out that only three member states have outstanding payments. Contributions for the 2006-07 [financial year] will be set during the forthcoming Council,” Salomão said at a media briefing in Gaborone, Botswana.
The Council of Ministers is responsible for supervising and monitoring the functions and development of SADC, and ensuring that policies are properly implemented, as well as making recommendations to the region’s heads of state and government.
It comprises of ministers of foreign affairs and economic development, planning or finance from each of SADC’s 14 member states.
Other issues on the agenda of Council include a report on the African Union and its New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) programme, cooperation with the international community including the European Union which relates to SADC through the Berlin Initiative as well as the Economic Partnership Agreements that are currently being negotiated.
Council will also discuss preparations for the SADC Consultative Conference scheduled for 26-27 April in Windhoek, Namibia. The conference theme is “Partnership for the Implementation of the SADC Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) and the Strategic Indicative Plan of the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security (SIPO)”.
The conference is aimed at building a new partnership between SADC and its international cooperating partners, mobilise resources for the rollout of RISDP and SIPO and thus facilitate the implementation of a common agenda for SADC.
Council is expected to endorse the decision of the ministers of trade on amending the SADC Trade Protocol to effectively address issues of dispute settlement mechanisms.
Recommendations will include provisions to be made for an appeal mechanism after the panel system, and institutional costs to be borne by the SADC Secretariat while litigation costs are met by the individual parties.
