EU Projects with the Southern African Development Community (SADC)

This €15 million programme promotes peace, security, stability and democracy across the Southern Africa in line with the SADC Treaty. This is to be achieved by strengthening the regional peace and security architecture in the areas of conflict prevention & resolution and public & human security. The programme focuses on four main results:

• Strengthened capacity for electoral assistance in SADC;
• Enhanced capacity in SADC for (gender-sensitive) conflict prevention, management and resolution;
• Strengthened capacity of SADC Member States to uphold and enhance cross-border safety and security;
• Strengthened SADC capacity to address the prevalence of sexual and gender-based violence.

This €20 million four-year project will improve migration management in Southern and Eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean region. SAMM aims to facilitate legal labour migration and manage mixed migration by protecting the rights of vulnerable groups, including migrant workers, refugees, children and victims of people trafficking. It follows a comprehensive approach that also identifies the positive effects of labour migration on regional integration and economic development. A key priority of SAMM’s is to formulate and operationalise the frameworks for International Labour Migration and Mixed Migration Policy of three regional communities:

• The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA),
• The Indian Ocean Commission (IOC);
• SADC. It also provides country-level support to member states in Southern Africa and Indian Ocean region.

The project is implemented by four collaborating UN agencies: ILO, IOM, UNODC and UNHCR.

The €21 million TTTFP is harmonising road transport laws, regulations and IT systems across Southern and Eastern Africa. This will boost the efficiency and safety of cross-border road transport and reduce the costs of trade between 26 African countries and their enterprises, from Cairo to Cape Town. Among other achievements, the programme has deployed a corridor monitoring system whose aim is to facilitate cross-border transit of essential goods during periods of covid-19 restrictions. This will speed up border checks of trucks and drivers’ health status.  The TTTFP is implemented by three regional economic communities: COMESA, SADC and the East African Community.

SADC member states face the challenge of balancing regional objectives with national priorities. The soon-to-be finalised €32 million Trade-Related Facility has in the past years provided an innovative mechanism for member states to implement trade-facilitation projects at the national level in alignment with regional commitments. The TRF focuses on the areas of:

• Trade facilitation;
• Addressing technical and non-technical barriers to trade (including quality and standards infrastructure);
• Industrial development.

The TRF also supported the implementation of the EU-SADC Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA).

To achieve economic diversification and job creation, SADC countries need to develop more enabling investment regimes and advance in economic integration. With this €15 million programme, the EU aims to improve the investment climate and attract more foreign direct investment in the region’s non-extractive sectors. The programme is helping remove unfavourable business measures and improve the investment regulatory framework, policy certainty, predictability, consistency and transparency as pre-requisites to attract investment.

Intra-regional trade in SADC is suffering from many challenges, mostly derived from the high cost of trading (poor infrastructure, restrictive practices, complex procedures, non-tariff barriers, sanitary and phyto-sanitary measures, etc.). Besides, SADC member states are not participating in the higher end of global value chains. The €15 million EU-SADC TFP addresses barriers to trade and facilitates harmonisation and recognition of trade tools with the aim of increasing intra-regional and international trade, including reaping the benefits of the EU- SADC Economic Partnership Agreement.

To tackle some key constraints to industrialisation in Southern Africa, the €18 million SIPS  (co-funded with Germany) aims to facilitate stronger dialogue between the private and public sectors and improve the development and governance of regional leather and pharmaceutical value chains, including enhancing local manufacturing. SIPS has been involved in supporting local companies to manufacture medical masks, disinfectants, face shields and ventilators, among other items in response to covid-19, and SADC is further ramping this up.

This €9 million project supports SADC to advance in the implementation of the Regional Agricultural Policy with the goal of achieving agro-industrial development and food and nutrition security.  More specifically, RAP’s objectives are to:

• Enhance sustainable agricultural production, productivity and competitiveness;
• Improve international trade and access to markets for agricultural products;
• Improve private and public engagement and investment in agricultural value chains;
• Cooperate in addressing cross-border agriculture pests and diseases;
• Reduce the social and economic vulnerability of the region’s population in the context of food and nutrition security challenges, economic instability and climate change.

This €6 million programme is enhancing the transboundary governance of the Okavango river basin and promoting sustainable management of its water and land resources. The implementing organisation is the Okavango River Basin Commission (OKACOM) and covers three countries: Namibia, Angola and Botswana. The programme is strengthening the following:

• OKACOM’s Decision Support Systems (DSS) to enable it to provide effective advice to its three member states;
• River water management through improved water resource data and a flood early-warning system;
• Land management in the basin through improved land-use planning, reduction of environmental degradation and improved livelihoods for communities living near the riverbanks.

The €8 million GCCA+ programme supports SADC member states’ capacities to:

• Implement commitments made in the Paris Climate Agreement;
• Mainstream climate adaptation and mitigation in national sector strategies;
• Have a stronger voice at international climate change negotiations.

As a result of more frequent and severe natural disasters in the SADC region, decision-makers are increasingly concerned by the adverse impacts of climate change and variability on their climate-sensitive sectors. The purpose of the €8 million CLIMSA is to build capacity for effective use of science-based climate prediction and information services by SADC member states. This will help in their efforts to adapt to climate change and climate variability by integrating these services in their national and regional planning processes, including in disaster preparedness.

This €3 million project supports the implementation of SADC’s regional integration agenda by facilitating dialogue to improve regional policies and the implementation of key priorities. The project is built around three specific objectives:

• Improving quality regional policy development and implementation of key SADC priorities;
• Strengthening stakeholder engagement and participation in the SADC regional integration process;
• Leveraging and promoting partnerships outside SADC for knowledge management, experience sharing, resource mobilisation and skills enhancement.

The EU supports the SADC Secretariat’s efforts to ensure it can perform its mandate and role in advancing the regional integration agenda. The €14 million IICB programme is strengthening SADC’s institutional capacity and systems and improving national and regional linkages between the SADC Secretariat and its member states on one hand, and between the SADC institutions and national structures on the other.

With an allocation of €3.6 million, the EU has facilitated ad hoc assistance to support and address the SADC Secretariat’s priorities in implementing the EU-SADC Regional Indicative Programme. The TCF facilitates studies, evaluations, and short-term advisory services to address the capacity limitations of the SADC Secretariat.

With a contribution of €12 million, the PPDF supports regional infrastructure project preparation and development. These strategic infrastructure projects are chosen for their significant influence on regional economic integration. Priority sectors include energy, transport, and water resources.