27 Nov 2018

The SADC Integrated Institutional Capacity Building (IICB) programme, which is financed by the European Union (EU) and the Federal Republic of Germany at €18.7 million (P224.2million) was launched in Gaborone recently.

The programme will play a positive role, not only to reinforce the SADC secretariat to deliver on its mandate, but also to strengthen national structures in SADC member states and bridge the gap that exists between regional and national dimensions of regional integration.

Giving his remarks, head of delegation of the EU to Botswana, Mr Jan Sadek revealed that the IICB programme was also co-funded by the German cooperation and would be partially implemented by the German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ).

He said cooperation between the EU and Germany/GIZ had proved to be  positive to date. Besides the IICB programme, GIZ would implement another EU-funded programme called Support to Industrialisation and the Productive Sectors (SIPS) in the SADC region.

Ambassador Sadek further emphasised that historically EU has been among the major donors in support of SADC’s integration process. He said the EU’s support to SADC was comprehensive, addressing nearly all priority areas within SADC such as infrastructure, trade, business environment and agriculture among others.

He said the EU support also addressed areas of peace and security, regional political cooperation and migration, contributing to the implementation of the Strategic Indicative Plan for the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security in the region (SIPO).

“In the next four years, the EU support to SADC would reach a total of more than €150 million (P1.7 billion), of which around  €80 million (P958.8 million)would be managed directly by SADC. This means flexibility but also responsibility, SADC has to ensure a stable, consistent and competent structure capable of managing, implementing and monitoring the programmes that are benefiting SADC,”  he noted.

German Ambassador to Botswana, Mr Ralf Breth highlighted that supporting regional integration efforts across the African continent was one of the cornerstones of Germany’s Africa initiatives.

He said the German government had advocated for intensifying the EU’s cooperation with Africa’s regional economic communities.

Therefore, he noted that the joint launch of the IICB programme reflected and reinforced their belief in sharing the European experiences and providing opportunities to SADC and other regional organisations to benefit from them.

He further added that at the centre of the programme’s efforts stood the realisation that with competing commitments and insufficient capacities, effective coordination of the SADC agenda at the national level was crucial.

“I am proud that in partnership with the SADC secretariat and the EU delegation, the successful efforts of the national-regional linkages programme can continue in a greater number of SADC member states. From the German side, this is a renewal of our longstanding commitment to advancing the integration of the SADC region, and it marks a new level of partnership,” Mr Breth said.

For her part, SADC executive secretary, Dr Stergomena Tax expressed gratitude to the EU and German government for providing the funding for the programme implementation.

She said implementation was expected to last 39 months, from September 2018 to November 2021. ENDS