The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is working with the African Development Bank (AfDB) to identify options for operationalisation of a proposed facility to fund regional programmes.
Speaking during the SADC Council of Ministers meeting that opened in the Zimbabwean capital Harare on Tuesday, the regional body’s executive secretary Elias Magosi said the AfDB is assisting SADC to come up with recommendations on the best options to raise resources for the proposed Regional Development Fund (RDF) for the region.
“With support from the African Development Bank, we developed a Discussion Paper on the Regional Development Fund, which provides options and recommendations for the operationalisation of the Fund,” Magosi said.
He said officials from ministries responsible for finance and investment issues in the 16 SADC member states are expected to convene a dedicated session to deliberate on the Discussion Paper and “provide concrete proposals to get this assignment to the finish line.”
The RDF aims to ensure that there is a pool of locally raised funds available to finance SADC projects and programmes.
Magosi bemoaned the slow ratification of the Agreement on the Operationalisation of the SADC Regional Development Fund.
“Currently, the Republic of Angola is the only member state that has ratified the Agreement, while the Republic of Zimbabwe is at an advanced stage of ratification,” Magosi said, adding that Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo have also “committed to ratify the Agreement very soon.”
To become binding, the agreement – which was adopted in Tanzania in 2019 – should be ratified by at least two-thirds of the SADC member states.
JN/APA