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CHAPTER 4

ACHIEVEMENTS IN SOCIO-ECONOMIC SECTORS

Introduction
SADC has achieved a lot of milestones in its 40-
year history that have impacted gradually and posi-
tively on the people of the region. Most of these
achievements are visible in various areas of coop-
eration ranging from industry and trade, gender
and health to energy, environment and infrastruc-
ture development.
The milestones are underpinned by more
than 30 legal instruments as well as key strategic
documents such as the Regional Indicative Stra-
tegic Development Plan (RISDP) that have been
developed and adopted by SADC Member States
to drive forward the integration agenda.
This chapter looks at the impact of key deci-
sions and broad legal milestones as highlighted in
Chapter 2, and these achievements are presented
here according to the RISDP pillars. The pillar on 97
Peace and Security Cooperation is covered in the following Chapter 5.

4.1 Historical Context of RISDP
Since its inception in 1980, SADC has been engaged in developing policies and strategies
in the various areas of regional cooperation aimed at advancing regional integration and
sustainable development. Until 1998, regional cooperation was guided by the SADC Pro-
gramme of Action, previously the Lusaka Programme of Action.
Following the decision to transform SADC from a coordinating conference into a
development community, the region embarked on a process in 1998 to establish policy
guidelines to facilitate the speedy completion of the transformation of SADC into a dy-
namic development Community, through the Review and Rationalisation of the SADC
Programme of Action.
At its annual summit held in September 1998 in Mauritius, SADC leaders endorsed
a decision on the Review of the Operations of SADC institutions. A year later in 1999,
SADC leaders emphasised the need to ensure that the review and development of a new
strategy should include the promotion of peace and security in the region. The Summit de-
cided that the Council of Ministers should review the operations of all SADC institutions,
including the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security.
In a major transformative decision taken in March 2001 at an Extraordinary Sum-
mit held in Namibia, SADC Heads of State and Government approved the restructuring
of SADC institutions. The main features of this restructuring included the grouping of
the 21 sectors into clusters under four directorates at the SADC Secretariat, and the es-
tablishment of SADC National Committees to coordinate the respective interests of indi-
vidual Member States relating to SADC.
To buttress the restructuring, the leaders also directed the SADC Secretariat to de-
velop the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP). The RISDP was
launched at the SADC Council of Ministers Meeting in March 2004 in the United Re-
public of Tanzania, while its complementary document – the Strategic Indicative Plan for
the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security (SIPO) was launched in August 2004 at the
SADC Summit held in Mauritius.