Botswana signs SADC development agreement

Botswana has signed the Agreement on the Operationalisation of the SADC Regional Development Fund (RDF) and the Agreement Amending the SADC Protocol on Finance and Investment. The RDF is a special fund aimed at supporting economic development and sustainable growth in SADC, and consists of contributions from member states and receipts from regional and non-regional sources. Speaking during the signing ceremony at the Office of the President yesterday, President Advocate Duma Boko said Botswana’s commitment to the protocol would help close off micro networks that facilitated money laundering and intensified efforts to fight corruption.

He urged other member states to sign the protocol as that symbolised commitment. The agreement on the operationalisation of the RDF was signed in 2016 and President Boko expressed concern in the delay, noting that governments needed to commit quickly to such obligations. He stressed the effectiveness of the implementation of SADC financial framework, saying it was critical for advancing regional infrastructure development.

Improved infrastructure, President Boko said was essential to enhance connectivity across the region and support broader continental integration including those aligned to the Africa Continental Free Trade Area, President Boko said. SADC executive secretary, Mr Elias Magosi said Botswana’s commitment to signing of the agreement, reflected the country’s unwavering commitment to strengthening regional mechanisms that drove development financing, economic integration and financial stability. He said Botswana was among the few countries that took a bold and decisive step to implement one of the aspirations of the SADC Treaty that established the RDF.

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The RDF, Mr Magosi said had the potential to enhance the region’s stability to mobilise resources for infrastructure, industrialisation and socio-economic transformation, and hence the 2025 SADC Summit urged member states to accelerate national roadmaps and complete signature and ratification processes. “This initiative will support member states in operationalising the RDF and developing a pipeline of bankable regional infrastructure projects. It will also enhance SADC’s institutional capacity to facilitate policy dialogue and foster consensus,” said Mr Magosi.

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