Infrastructure development

Over the past years, SADC has made significant progress in regional infrastructure development and performs better than Sub-Saharan Africa as shown in the African Infrastructure Development Index (AIDA), produced by the African Development Bank.

SADC Vision 2050 relies on the development of infrastructure in support of regional integration (Pilar 2). Indeed, developing regional infrastructure, by creating a larger market and greater economic opportunities, sustains economic growth. Therefore, the development of infrastructure is critical for promoting and sustaining regional economic development, trade and investment, and will contribute to poverty eradication and improved social conditions. By 2050, the objective is to achieve efficient and effective, technologically-driven cross-border infrastructure services and networks to support and facilitate deeper regional integration. In order to do so, three main axis are guiding the interventions: the development of quality, interconnected, integrated, and seamless infrastructure and networks; the improvement of the capacity for conceptualisation, design, construction, maintenance, and operation of regional infrastructure and services and; an increased access to affordable infrastructure and services.

Primary infrastructure targeted by the regional approach includes regional transport and communications systems, which are fundamental to the development of exchanges within the region, energy as a corner stone to the development of the industrialisation process and of the wellbeing of the population, water and sanitation to improve agriculture and food security through better irrigation as well as to enhance the wellbeing of the population, and finally meteorology as a key component to efficiently manage climate-sensitive sectors.

Within the SADC region, the SADC Protocol on Transport, Communication and Meteorology provides the framework for regional cooperation. The Regional Infrastructure Development Master Plan (RIDMP) guides the development in key infrastructure and provides a framework for planning and cooperation with both development partners and the private sector. Approved in 2012 with a vision at 2027, the RIDMP costed projects for a total amount of USD 428.10 – 558.10 billion.

The Master Plan is in line with the African Union’s Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) and constitutes a key input into the Inter-Regional Infrastructure Master Plan proposed in the context of the tripartite Free Trade Area of SADC-COMESA-EAC. It is further declined in sector specific policies and strategies leading to Regional Strategic Action Plans for the sectors concerned.

Key elements identified by the RIDMP and substantiating the regional approach include:

• The creation and strengthening of oversight and implementing institutions in order to effectively manage and coordinate the implementation of infrastructure projects. These institutions include the regional bodies mandated to implement projects at a technical level (e.g. Southern African Power Pool, Southern African Railways Association, Southern African Telecommunications Association, etc.) or ad hoc structures, including project implementation structures within ministries or agencies in the Member States;

• The development of appropriate policy, institutional and regulatory framework to provide the necessary enabling environment. The region has developed model policies, regulatory frameworks and institutional frameworks, which are adopted and domesticated by the Member States;

• The availability of a pipeline of bankable projects: the SADC Project Preparation and Development Facility (PPDF), implemented by the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), supports the Member States in the preparation of high quality and viable projects capable of gaining public and private financial support with a specific focus on improving infrastructure project preparation in the transport, energy, water and sanitation, urban and ICT sectors.

• The provision of a robust monitoring and evaluation system to ensure adequate follow-up and reporting on progress relating to infrastructure development based on the agreed targets.

The private sector plays a pivotal role in the provision of infrastructure in an environmentally sustainable manner. In this regard, continuous efforts are undertaken by the region to create an enabling environment and foster a coordinated approach. Joint public-private partnership participation in regional infrastructure development is recommended by the RIDMP while the Member States are encouraged to eliminate monopolies and institutionalise open access options where the services are more amenable to the private sector. Further, the user pays principle is adopted to ensure cost-reflective tariffs across all sectors while the Member States examine, if necessary, the cushioning of the disadvantaged through other means that do not prejudice the ability to foster maintenance to prescribed standards.

Constant efforts are undertaken to improve the free movement of goods, services, and skills. In particular, SADC Simplified Trade Regime Framework and SADC Regional Customs Transit Guarantee Regulations aim at facilitating intra and extra SADC trade, while SADC E-Certificate of Origin (eCoO) Framework, implemented as a pilot phase in 6 Member States, aims at facilitating the application of the Certificate of Origin electronically. In terms of Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) and Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Measures, SADC works to enhance the quality and competitiveness of goods and services produced by the region while ensuring that the goods and services imported meet the international standards.

Cooperation between Member States also aims at ensuring macroeconomic convergence, increased financial integration, monetary cooperation, and investment, with a view to support increased domestic, intra-regional and foreign direct investment. Initiatives such as SADC Real Time Gross Settlement System (RTGS) has lowered transaction costs by removing the need for corresponding banks. As an electronic cross-border funds transfer system, SADC-RTGS facilitates settlement of funds within the SADC region, in real time.